User:Campergirl3/Yale (mythical creature)

Lead
The Yale is a mythical creature that closely resembles a goat with movable horns and has been used as a royal seal.

Heraldic symbol[edit]
The Yale as one of The Queen's Beasts The Yale represents characteristics of both bravery in action and peace in non war times. As such the Yale is among the heraldic beasts used by the British Royal Family. It was used as a supporter for the arms of John, Duke of Bedford, and by England's House of Beaufort. Its connection with the British monarchy began with Henry VII in 1485. Henry Tudor’s mother, Lady Margaret (1443–1509), was a Beaufort, and the Beaufort heraldic legacy inherited by both her and her son included the Yale. Yales as supporters. Coat of arms of Margaret Beaufort from Christ's College Book of Donors; Cambridge 1623

 Yale in the Modern World 

Lady Margaret Beaufort was a benefactor of Cambridge's Christ's College and St John's College and her Yale can be seen on the college gatehouses. There are also a pair on the roof of St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle. The Yale of Beaufort was one of the Queen's Beasts commissioned for the coronation in 1953; the plaster originals are in Canada, stone copies are at Kew Gardens, outside the palm house.

In the US, the Yale is associated with Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Although the school's primary sports mascot is a bulldog named Handsome Dan, the Yale can be found throughout the university campus. The mythical beast occupies two quadrants of the coat of arms of the Yale Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS), playfully representing the intellectual curiosity and inquiry of the FAS faculty. The Yale is also depicted on the official banner of the president of the university, which, along with a wooden mace capped by a Yale's head, is carried and displayed during commencement exercises each spring. they can also be seen above the gateway to Yale's Davenport College and the pediment of Timothy Dwight College. The student-run campus radio station, WYBCX Yale Radio, uses the Yale as its logo.

 An Explanation 

Just as most myths seek to explain the natural world so do the descriptions of its creatures. It is believed that the creature that Pliny the Elder describe in his book as the Yale could have been the result of catching a glimpse of modern day animals. Through his journey he notes the sighting of this creature while on the sub-Saharan African plains. Animals we know to be the Antelope or Water Buffalo inhabit this area and loosely match the description of our dear Yale. Antelope Water Buffalo