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Two heraldic attitudes separated by a single raised paw.
Both describe a beast standing in profile. Passant is walking — one forepaw lifted off the ground. Statant is standing still, all four feet down. That single paw is the whole difference, and blazon treats them as distinct because it specifies pose as precisely as it specifies the animal.
Passant and statant differ only in whether one forepaw is raised.
| Passant (heraldic attitude) | Statant (heraldic attitude) | |
|---|---|---|
| Paws on the ground | Three | Four |
| Motion implied | Walking forward | Standing still |
| Body position | In profile | In profile |
| Best-known example | The three lions of England, passant guardant | Used less often, and usually with a qualifier |
| Relationship (from Symbolwise's records) | Commonly confused with Statant (heraldic attitude) — Passant and statant differ only in whether one forepaw is raised. | Commonly confused with Passant (heraldic attitude) — Statant and passant differ only in whether one forepaw is raised. |
Arthur Charles Fox-Davies (1909), via Project Gutenberg · retrieved 2026-08-20
The standard English-language reference, and a period one: published 1909, so it states Edwardian English practice as though universal and is occasionally sharp about continental usage. Cited for blazon terminology, the conventional depiction of charges, and — notably — for its own detailed refutation of tincture symbolism.
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-08-20
Tertiary reference. Cited for the blazon term, the conventional form of a charge and uncontested historical detail. Never cited for a claim that a charge carries a fixed symbolic meaning.
A bend runs from the top left of the shield to the bottom right as you look at it; a bend sinister runs the other way. The bend sinister is widely said to mark illegitimacy, and that is not quite right: the mark used in English practice was the narrower baton sinister, granted case by case rather than applied automatically. 'Bar sinister' is not a heraldic term at all — a bar is horizontal and cannot be sinister.
Look at what the arms end in. A cross patonce widens outward and splits into three splayed points at each end; a cross fleury ends in a full fleur-de-lis. In practice the two are drawn so similarly that the standard authorities themselves differ over particular coats, and this is one of the genuinely unsettled distinctions in blazon.
Count the points. Both have arms that narrow at the centre and widen outward. A cross pattée ends in four straight edges — four points in total. A Maltese cross has each outer edge notched inward, producing two points per arm and eight in all.
Size and feet. An eagle is a principal charge, drawn large with wings spread and talons showing. A martlet is small, swallow-like, and has no feet at all — tufts of feathers appear where the legs would be. The martlet is also a cadency mark: in English practice it identifies a fourth son.