Heron
Herons were the envy of medieval man. Fish made up a large part of the medieval diet, and the Catholic Church forbidding the consumption of meat on a Friday in penitential memory of Christ being crucified on that day of the week made fishing a big business. Indeed, many coastal towns were entirely deserted in countries that abandoned Catholicism in the Early Modern Period as the fishing industry crashed. Thus the heron, with its great success in catching fish, was widely-admired. Nevertheless, they were still hunted for sport with peregrine falcons, which involved a spectacular high-altitude spiral chase.
Herons (ardea in Latin) are called thus because they fly to great altitudes (ardua). This is because they hate rain, and fly above the clouds to avoid storms. Though they feed off fish and catch their prey in rivers, they make their nest in trees, and protect their young with their long, sword-like beaks. The heron is a very intelligent bird, and a superb fisherman. To catch fish, it casts a spell upon them, and thus the fat of herons can be boiled and applied as a salve to fishing rods to improve their success. They are grey and white.
Herons were seen as symbols of good Christian living. Its colours were taken to represent the virtues of innocence and chastity (white) and penitence (grey). Their habit of flying above the clouds symbolised the saints who avoided the devil’s temptations on earth by directing their minds towards heaven. Living high in the trees, yet taking food from rivers, instructed Christians to take only nourishment from transitory things and yet place their hope in higher matters. The heron’s ferocious guarding of its young allegorised the leaders of the Church, who fought against those that tried to mislead its members.