Vane

(written also FANE), a plate of metal turning on a vertical spindle so as to show the direction of the wind, frequently fixed on the tops of spires and pinnacles, and in other elevated positions it is often in the form of a cock, and from this circumstance is very commonly called a weathercock. 'Vanes were in use in the times of the Saxons, and in after ages were very extensively employed. They were sometimes perfectly plain, and sometimes cut into ornamental forms, which were hot infrequently heraldic devices. During the prevalence of the Perpendicular and Elizabethan styles figures supporting vanes were often placed on the tops of pinnacles, and in other exposed situations these were usually in the form of small flags, and were sometimes pierced with a representation of some animal bearing. Occasionally the vanes was shaped like an heraldic device.