Bear and Ragged Staff

The Bear and Ragged Staff is a heraldic emblem or badge associated with the Earldom of Warwick.

[1] The Ragged Staff is believed to refer to Morvidus, an early legendary Earl of Warwick who is said to have slain a giant "with a young ash tree torn up by the roots.

"[2] The emblem of a bear (Latin ursus) is believed to refer to Urse d'Abetot[3] (c. 1040 – 1108), 1st feudal baron of Salwarpe[4] in Worcestershire, a Norman who followed King William the Conqueror to England, and served as Sheriff of Worcestershire.

[5] Similarly the proto-heraldic emblem of Sir Reginald FitzUrse (1145–1173), one of the four knights who murdered Thomas Becket in 1170, was a bear.

[6] His monument in the Collegiate Church of St Mary, Warwick, displays the Bear and Ragged Staff emblem.