The New Murrey and Blue blog

Beware the boars of Dean….and Romania….!

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from https://www.forestryengland.uk/article/wild-boar-the-forest-dean

I can see why Richard chose this beastie as his emblem! They are indeed alarmingly aggressive, as my daughter and her other half have found out while walking in the Forest of Dean. Whatever you do, stay away from them when they have young. They will protect their offspring  very fiercely indeed. The Forest of Dean boasts around 400 of these creatures, but that is because they have been re-introduced, having been eradicated from Great Britain a long time ago, see https://reshistorica.forumotion.com/t968-wild-boar-in-britain-when-and-how-did-they-go-extinct. So perhaps even in Richard’s time he’d only see the creature he chose for his emblem on rare occasions.

from https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-68216989

There are white boars too, although I don’t think this one prowls the Forest of Dean.

from https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/596164069397025946/

And this one is from Romania!

from https://thewestsidegazette.com/video-rare-white-boar-seen-in-romanian-woods/

The link immediately above has a sensible reference to Richard III, although with a mix-up with Richard II at one point. I’ve looked online for the video, but so far haven’t been able to play it. Maybe you’ll have more luck.

(JL – I found it here: https://youtu.be/pyQDhb127Gw?si=Nmf9z9qmosRz2luH) Thank you, JL!

by viscountessw

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4 responses to “Beware the boars of Dean….and Romania….!”

  1. Beth Williams Avatar
    Beth Williams

    Viscountessw, could be wrong here, but somewhere I read that Gaunt (so the claim goes) was known to have hunted, and killed) the last boar in England (likely they didn’t know it was the last one). One of those things, why can’t I recall now where I read it and the context! And when would he have had time for hunting?

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  2. viscountessw Avatar
    viscountessw

    I’m always prepared to be wrong, Beth! 😊

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    1. Beth Williams Avatar
      Beth Williams

      oh it could just have easily been his son Bolingbroke out hunting – just a bit too apocryphal (House of Lancaster slaying Gloucester and all)

      as to Richard unlikely to have seen one in the wild and yet ideal for his heraldic device, well, Henry wobble knees never saw any dragons but that didn’t keep him from pinching Cadwaladr’s Red Dragon now did it! (I’m ok with Owain Glyndwr’s use of the Gold Dragon or wyvern, on his flag; he actually was Welsh!)

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  3. viscountessw Avatar
    viscountessw

    Henry Wobble Knees. Perfect.

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