This image of the Muniments Room in Westminster Abbey shows the White Hart of King Richard II, still standing there 623 years after his death. A remarkable survival.
The White Hart was King Richard’s livery badge which he circulated to his supporters in the 1390s. It possibly derived from his mother’s cognizance of the White Hind, a device also used by his close relations, the Holland family.
The White Hart is, or rather was, a mystical beast which appears in English folklore. Not least in the tale of Herne the Hunter. It is sometimes said that Herne lived during the time of King Richard, although his legend seems to have developed rather later in time.
Apart from being worn by nobles and knights in the King’s favour, the White Hart was the livery badge of the King’s Cheshire Archers. Today it is still found with surprising regularity on the signs of public houses. This may be because premises serving beer (or more correctly, ale) were legally required to display a sign by a statute passed during Richard’s reign.
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