HERALDRY

Evening Star, Issue 22229, 6 January 1936, Page 8

HERALDRY

CIVIC AND CHURCH In this article I am endeavouring to show that civic heraldy deals not only with municipal/ and public coats of arms, but also with ecclesiastical heraldry and naval and military insignia (writes A.W.D.M. in the Melbourne ‘-Awe*). By using in each case the word “ Blazon,” 1 mean the heraldic example of the coat of arms in every case. The warrant addressed to the Earl Marshal in application of a grant of public arms is slightly different from that of a personal grant. The arms of the Great Central _ Railway (Blazon) are a good illustration.' The heraldic particulars ars as follow: Arms: Argent ou a cross gules, voided of the field, between two wings in chief sable, and as many daggers in base of the second; in the fess point a morian winged of the third; oni a chief also of the second a pale of the first, thereon eight arrows saltirewise banded also of the third, between on the dexter side three hendlets enhanced, and on the sinister a fleur-de-lis or. Crest: On a wreath of the colours a representation of the front of a locomotive engine proper, ' between two wings or. The grant'is dated 2oth February, 1898. This illustration shows a comparatively recent grant to a public company. The arms of the City of London, over which of recent years there has been so much controversy, are recorded in a Vincent MS. at the College of Arms without a crest or supporters. The Lord Mayor of London and aldermen use chains or “ S.S. collar,” which may be described as follows:—The chain is a three-stranded roller curb chain, supporting a carved full blazon of the City of London arms, with the motto in heraldic coloured enamels. Below this badge hangs the wearer’s own coat of arms, encircled by the arms of the city companies to which he belongs, and the arms of the boroughs in which he is interested. The arms.of Derry were augmented by the arms of the City of London in chief, when after its fearful seige the name of Derry was changed to Londonderry to commemorate and help given by the City of London.

The arms of Capetown are as follows:—(Blazon): On an anchor erect sable, stock.proper, form a ring or riband flowing azure, and suspended therefrom an escutcheon gules charged

with three annulets of the field. The crest may be described thus:—On a wreath of colours, upon the battle-

ments of tower proper a trident in bend dexter or, surmounted by an anchor and cable, in bend sinister sable. Supporters:—“ On the dexter side, standing on a rock, a female figure, vested ag»nt, mantle and sandals azure, on her head an estoile radiated or and supporting with her exterior hand an anchor also proper. On the sinster side, standing on a like rock, a lion rampant guardant gules.” In this case it will be seen

that the rocks form an integral part of ' the supporters, and are not merely an artistic rendering of the compartment. The human figure is a common feature in heraldry, and is found both in the Royal Burgh arms of Inverness, also in those of Marylebone, of which the following are the blazons: —lnverness: Gales, our Lord upon the cross proper, mantling gules, doubled or. Crest: Upon a wreath of the proper liveries a cornucopia proper. Supporters: Dexter, a dromedary’, sinister, an elephant, ; both proper. ' The arms of Marylebone are a further interesting example, the details being as follow: —Per chevron sable and harry wavy of six, argent and azure in chief, in the dexter a fleur-de-lis, and in the sinister a rose, both or. Crest: On a wreath of the colours, upon two bars, wavy argent and azure, between as many lilies of the first, stalked and leaved vent, a female figure, affronte proper, vested of the first, mantled of the second, on the left arm a child also proper, vested or, around the head of each a halo of the last. The city’s motto ’ is; “Fiat secundum verbum tuum.” Another interesting branch of this study is ecclesiastical heraldry. The coats of arms of an archbishop or bishop are the official arms of the see to which they belong, also impaling their own coat of arms surmounted by a mitre. No ecclesiastic is entitled to bear a crest. The mitres of both an archbishop and bishop are identical. The arms of the see of Canterbury are: Azure, ah episcopal staff in pale or/and ensigned with a cross patee argent, surmounted of the pall of the last, charged with four crosses, formee fitchee sable, edged and fringed or. The Bishopric of Durham, until the early part of the nineteenth century, was a Palatinate, and in earlier times the Bishops of Durham had their own Parliament and barons, and exercised a jurisdiction little short of the Crown. The result of this temporal power is seen in their heraldic achievement. In the place of the two crosiers in saltire behind the shield, as used by other bishops, the Bishops of Durham place a sword and a crosier in saltire behind their shield to show their temporal and ' spiritual jurisdiction. Heraldic flags, banners, and stan- ■ dards are all part of civic heraldry. The banner of St. George, which is a • white flag with a plain red cross of St. George throughout, is now appropriated to the Order of the Garter, of which St. George is the patron saint. The White Ensign, which is a white flag bearing the cross of St. George, and in the upper quarter next to the staff a reproduction of the Union device, belongs to the Royal Navy. All the larger public institutions throughout the Empire and Commonwealth .'have applied for and been granted arms to-day, which are not only an honour from the Sovereign head, but also determine the correct colours of the institution. This, in the case of universities and public schools,

lias been invaluable, as it distinctly

defines -the definite colours, which in numbers of cases are erroneously changed at the discretion of the head of the institution, which at once makes the shield meaningless and valueless. Many people will not realise that a new grant is just ns valuable as an old one, as long as it is recorded, and that, furthermore, it hands down 1 to posterity the tradition of the institution in precisely the same manner as a shield dat-

ing back to the sixteenth century. The chief trouble that one sees to-day is that many institutions and cities have both erroneously and illegally assumed arms which are not according to the law of heraldry, and are loath to change, because they have been in use for perhaps a century, but, as far as 1 can see, there is no reason if my forefathers sinned unwittingly why I should do the same in an enlightened age.