" ICH DIENE 



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heir, or eldest son, and bear above them the word 

 " Houmout." This is a Flemish word meaning 

 " Chivalry," literally " high mood." The Dutch 

 language has '' hoog moed," Avith the same sense. 



^^1^ 



THE BLACK PRINCE'S ARMS AND BADGE. 



The shield with the badge of three ostrich feathers 

 standing upright on their quills, bears the words 

 '' Ich diene." In his will the Prince especially directed 

 that these should appear. These " Prince of Wales " 

 feathers, said to derive from the ostrich plumes of John, 

 King of Bohemia, slain in the Battle of Crecy, give 

 antiquaries a good deal to consider, for it is by no means 

 certain that this is all the stor}^ The Prince's mother, 

 Queen Philippa, used the badge ; which, furthermore, 

 seems to have been not unknown as a royal device. 

 '' Ich Dien " = " I serve," is an expression of the heir's 

 loyalty and submission to the sovereign ; and is perhaps 

 a reading of Galatians IV, i, " The heir, as long as he is a 

 child, differcth nothing from a servant, though he be 



