And what, by the by, is a yale?"
"A heraldic beast," Thomas explained.
The doctor sniffed. "God, in His infinite wisdom, made the fishes and the whales on the fifth day, and on the sixth he made the beasts of the land, and He looked at what He had done and saw that it was good. But not good enough for the heralds, who have to add wings, horns, tusks and claws to His inadequate work.

Bernard Cornwell