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Section: mermaids Tag: heraldry

Articlewell-documented heraldic and art-historical phenBrowse result

Double-Tailed Mermaids in Heraldry

Double-tailed mermaids in heraldry are usually understood through the figure called the melusine: a mermaid whose two fish tails are spread on either side, often held in the hands. In heraldic usage, the figure is historical, conventional, and visually distinctive, but it also draws power from the wider medieval Melusine tradition of noble ancestry, hybrid identity, and supernatural prestige.

Mermaids / Art Iconography And Symbolism/iconography/2026-03-26

double-tailed mermaids in heraldry melusine heraldry heraldic mermaid mermaid symbolism coats of arms

Articlewell-documented literary and visual traditionBrowse result

Melusine Iconography

Melusine iconography is not reducible to a single mermaid image. Across manuscripts, heraldry, prints, and later art, Melusine appears as a fairy founder, a serpent-tailed wife, a dragon over Lusignan, and a double-tailed heraldic hybrid. Her visual power comes from that instability: she is always recognizably Melusine, but never confined to one body.

Mermaids / Art Iconography And Symbolism/iconography/2026-03-26

Melusine iconography Melusine Mélusine medieval art mermaid iconography serpent woman