Theow

Theow, also called thos, thea or thoye, is a mythological beast, probably based on the jackal. The theow occasionally occurs in heraldry.

The theow goes back to written accounts by Pliny the Elder, who described it to look like a wolf but with bigger body and shorter legs. It is thought to be a wrongly described jackal. It is a wolf-like creature but in heraldry it has gotten cloven hoves like a goat.[1] In Medieval bestiaries it was described as being a kind of wolf with a mane of different colours. During the winter it had thick hair but it lost all its fur in summer. It never attacked humans and was said to live in Ethiopia, the alleged home of many actually unknown animals according to Medieval bestiaries. Except for the hooves, in heraldry it looks like a wolf.[2]

References

  1. ↑ von Volborth, Carl-Alexander (1996). Fabenwesen der Heraldik (in German). Stuttgart/Zurich: Belser Verlag. p. 117. ISBN 3-7630-2329-1.
  2. ↑ Friar, Stephen, ed. (1987). A New Dictionary of Heraldry. London: Alphabooks/A&C Black. p. 342. ISBN 0 906670 44 6.