ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1159
http://www.s-gabriel.org/1159
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From: "S Friedemann" 
15 Aug 1998

Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel!

You wanted to know what the historical significance of savages and savages'
heads used in heraldic devices was, and when they were used.  Here is the
information we have found.

The charge called a savage is a Caucasian, naked, sometimes with the loins
girded with leaves and a chaplet of leaves, other times with most of the
skin covered with greenery that sometimes looks like leaves and sometimes
looks like fur.  A savage's head is a bearded Caucasian man's head with a
chaplet of greenery.

Savages and their heads were never common charges, and we cannot pinpoint
when and where they first appeared.  They were not in use in the 12th and
13th centuries [2].  They were used in England and on the Continent before
1600, but were apparently more common in England than elsewhere [1].

When used in arms, the savage or its head has no particular meaning.  The
notion that each heraldic charge has a specific meaning is a modern myth.
You can find a discussion of the modern tradition of assigning meaning to
charges in the rec.heraldry MFAQ, available on the web at

  	http://www.heraldica.org/faqs/mfaq

We hope that this letter has been useful to you, and that you will not
hesitate to write again if any part was unclear or if you have further
questions.  Research and commentary on this letter was provided by Josh
Mittleman, Leslie Schweitzer, Brian R. Speer, Paula Wallace, Julia E. Smith,
and Brian M. Scott.

For the Academy,
--Sara L. Friedemann
     August 15, 1998

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References:

[1] Woodward, John and George Burnett, _A Treatise on Heraldry British and
Foreign_ (Rutland, VT: Charles E. Tuttle, 1969). p.198ff

[2] Brault, Gerard J., _Early Blazon_ (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1972).