SLOGANS AND WAR-CRIES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVII, Issue 8354, 6 September 1890, Page 2 (Supplement)

SLOGANS AND WAR-CRIES.

The "war-cry," or "word of onset"—the "clamor militaris" of the Romans, the "cri do guerre" of the French, "cathghairrn," " slughorn,"" slugan,"" sloggan," "slogan," "slagan," or "ensenzie" of the Scots, the " tibnb" of the Welsh, the "ill* lulu" of the Irishis of very remote antiquity, and from it is generally derived the motto beneath the heraldic shield. Like tlie war-whoop of tho modern savage, it served to terrify the enemy, and at tho same time by its peculiar sound to animate the courage of the friends within earshot and guide them to the point of danger. Amongst Asiatics especially it still flourishes in all its vigour, and many a hard-fought field in recent days can tell of the power of the Mohammedan "Allah! II Allah! amongst Oriental cries, second only in its volume of sound to the " Hur, Hur, Mahadeo !" of the Mahrattas. Tho modern British slogan is the cheer that is nearest expressed by "h'ray"— hooraythere is no " hoo" in tho genuine British cheer —which is just as effective and very much more simple than the old "St. George!" of the English kings, or " St. Andrew !" of the Scotch, or the " Merry England!" of tho bowmen, and " Scotland for ever!" of the Lowland rank-and-file, which it has almost superseded. Some of tho ancient war-cries, in truth, were very much too elaborate for popular consumption, and in the heat of fight could never have been used except in an abbreviated forrr. Although they arc chronicled at full length by the courtly historians, it is obvious, from an unguarded expression here and there, that there was a great diflerence between the formal war-cry of the knight and the actual shout of his men. At Hastings, for instance, in reply to the Norman " Notre Dame, Dieu ay nous ade!—a variant of the Scandinavian " Thor aid !" —the English cry was an invocation of considerable length, which as the fight proceeded was dropped altogether and replaced by the very homely equivalent of " Get out !" The national war-cry of England was "St. Georgo !" though many of the kings used " Montjoio!" which as a good loudsounding word of many meanings was also adopted by the kings of France and the dukes of Burgundy. " Montjoie Notre Dame!" was the English cry, " Montjoie Saint Denis !" the French, " Montjoio St. Andrew !'' the Burgundian. Richard I. at Jaffa used "Guyenneau Roi d'Angleterre !" and it was in Palestine that he adopted what afterwards became the Garter motto, " Dieu et Mon Droit." King Edward 111. at Calais shouted " St. Edward and St. George !" Cressy was won by " St. George !" alone, and the Black Prince at Poictiers led on his men to "St. (>'eoige, Guyenne !" The Scottish cry from the very earliest times was " St. Andrew !" although the Western Highlanders at the fight on Luton Moor in 1138, since known as the battle of the Standard, were rallied to tho shout of " Albin ! Albin !" Tho Welsh war-cry was "Alleluia!" The Iri-h war-cry, wo are told, was not " St. Patrick but " Aboo !" meaning "Victory!" or 'I will burn," and hence the "Crom-aboo - ' of the Leinster Fitzgeralds, the " Shanet-ftboo" of the Desmonds, the " Gabriagh-aboo" of the Bourkes, the " Butler aboo" of the Butlers, and the " Laundarg-aboo" of ' \an O'Neil, who gave such trouble to Elizabeth. The war-cries of the Continental nobles are handed down to us with great care. Anjou shouted " St. Maurice !" Artois " Montjoie an blanc ei>ervier !" Auvergne " Clermont au dauphin d'Auvergne !" Bourbon the common "Notre Dame," Bar " Bar au riche due," Bretagne "St. Yves, St. Malo," Champagne "Chartrcs et Pars avant," Flanders "Au Lion'' or Arras," and Foix "Beam."

Of other historical warcrys we have the " Ambroties" of the Goths, the " Right and Left" of the Germans, and the "A Mat" or " Santiago ! Close !" of Spain ; the " St. Peter !" of the Papal troops, and the " Montjoio d'Anjou 1" of the French kings of Sicily ; the " Palle !" of the Medici, the " Marco !" of the Venetians, and the " Marzocco !" of the Florentines ; to say nothing of the more ancient shouts of the Roman and Italian soldiery—such as the Hercules invictus !" of I'ompey and the " Venus victrix !" of Crcsar — varying with each general and each war. Scotland has quite a reputation for curious and expressive war-cries. Thanks to Sir Walter Scott, many are "familiar as household words." Says he in " Marmion," before the armies join battle at Flodden Field O for one hour of Wallace wight. Or well-skilled lirtioe, to rule the fight, And cry—".Saint Andrew and our right!" And at the taking of Turnberry, in the " Lord of the Isles" : — "The Hrueo! the Hruco!" the well-known cry, His nativ- rocks and woods reply. "The Bruce ! the Bruce !" in that dread word The knell of hundred deaths \v;n heard. And in the same poein, in the last charge of De Argentine on the Knglish side :— Then in his stirrups ris na: high, He shouted loud his battle-cry, "St. James for Argentine !" And there are many other instances. —Boy's Own Paper.