mermaid

The mermaid is depicted exactly as we now picture the mythical creature, and is almost always shown with dishevelled hair and looking into a hand mirror. A Glossary of Terms used in British Heraldry, J.H. Parker, Oxford, 1894, Entry:Mermaid They tend to more frequent as supporters than being illustrated upon the shield itself. Wade cites Sloane Evans in his belief that the mermaid represents the “Eloquence” of the bearer.