ALL the very best for a corker of a week to our many readers around the globe – may your problems be miniscule and your achievements humungous!
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OF griffins; regulars will recall that we expressed an interest in these legendary animals and idly wondered whether or not anyone else shared our sentiments. We should have known better – Column One readers are notorious for their mastery of the trivial.
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SO the result was a mini-tidal wave of griffin fanciers, all with a tale to tell. First of all, good morning to Steven Anda, a regular Quizzer, who is with Pangtel. Steven says “a griffin is a winged monster with the head of an eagle and the body of a lion”. Quite correct; the griffin is clearly not something you would care to meet at midnight at the end of a dark alley in downtown Port Moresby.
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AS for “rampant,” Steven adds that it means “rearing on the left hind leg with the forelegs elevated and the head usually in profile”. Now from this you will probably have gathered that the griffin is mainly seen in coats of arms or in the form of bas relief on cathedrals of stately homes and castles throughout Europe.
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HERALDRY relates to a group of arts that inform family histories; coats of arms are passed down for centuries and often contain griffins, lions, unicorns and other real and legendary beasts. They are generally posed on heraldic coats of arms, perhaps rearing on their hind legs or in the case of lions, roaring at the viewer.
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FOLLOWING Steven comes Col Shephard of Yamba, NSW; he gave much the same answer as Steven but also added a splendid picture of a griffin on a coat of arms. Now if we can persuade our sub-editor, who shapes the Column for us, to reproduce a mini-Griffin ...
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THEN a big hello to Benzamin Zairo who is with NISIT and who adds that “the griffin is thought to be the agent of some kind of retribution and the enforcer of destiny, just like the unicorn and other fearsome and legendary beasts. A pair of rampant griffins would underline that message.” Benz, our thanks. Cheers!
– Dee Nesenolis