Heraldry

HERALDRY. – An auxiliary science of history. It derives from the word “herald,” because it was precisely the heralds’ task to recognize the coats of arms of the knights at tournaments, establish their authenticity, and proclaim them in the lists. Historically, it derives coats of arms from flags. Like flags, in fact, coats of arms were originally colored signs distinguishing chiefs and divisions of troops. Their origin may be traced back to the twelfth century, when these signs, formerly found on ensigns and banners, appeared on persons, constituting their “liveries,” and on the various types of armor; hence the heraldically more proper name “arms,” instead of coat of arms. From a personal mark on the shield or seal, the “arms” then became a mark of family and territory. Precisely for this reason

the presence of a coat of arms in archaeological remains and on buildings may indicate—as a name or an inscription does—an epoch, an event, an undertaking, or a dominion. But h. is also the science of the composition, interpretation, and reading of coats of arms, and for this reason it is more properly called “blazon,” according to some from the German blasen: the sounding of the horn to summon the knights; according to others from the Old French word blason: to praise, to describe virtues.

H., therefore, understood as blazon, is the science of a genuine figurative language, with, so to speak, a particular grammar and syntax concerning the use of colors and figures, comparable to words, and their overall expression in the shield, comparable to a proposition or a period.

This language is summarized in the arms. The arms may be personal, belonging to a person or family, or social, belonging to bodies, provinces, cities, institutions, and associations. In the arms one distinguishes between the shield and the ornaments.

1. THE SHIELD

It has had various forms; today the Samnite form is commonly used, that is, a vertical rectangle whose lower side is shaped like a horizontal brace. Its field, that is, its entire surface, contains the heraldic expression of the arms. The shield may therefore be simple, if it expresses a single heraldic device; composite, if it consists of several coats of arms united in a single shield, through dominion, marriage, grant, etc. It may be plain if it bears no figures and is expressed by a single tincture; figured, if it bears figures.

The tinctures are divided into metals, gold and silver (yellow and white; figs. 18, 20); colors, red, blue, black, green, purple (figs. 21, 25); and furs, ermine, counter-ermine, vair, and counter-vair (figs. 26, 29). Metals and colors are also represented by hatching, chiefly for the reproduction of coats of arms on seals. Thus gold is rendered by stippling (fig. 18), silver without any hatching (fig. 20), red by closely spaced perpendicular lines (fig. 22), blue by horizontal lines (fig. 23), green by diagonals running from right to left (fig. 25), black by crossed horizontal and vertical lines (fig. 21), and purple by diagonals running from left to right (fig. 24). Ermine is silver with black ermine spots (figs. 6, 26), counter-ermine black with silver ermine spots (figs. 8, 27); vair is blue with adjoining, inverted silver bells (figs. 14, 28), while counter-vair is metal against metal and color against color (figs. 16, 29).

The shield is called figured if its field is charged with the various figures of blazon. These are divided into heraldic figures, that is, determinate geometric figures; natural figures, if taken from nature; artificial figures, such as castles, bridges, instruments, etc.; and chimerical figures, such as dragons, sirens, etc. All these too have a particular stylization in blazon, in the sense that the reproduction of any figure in the shield does not follow the details and developments proper to a painting, but is executed in as schematic a design as possible, most often already classified in h. Thus, for example, there are the heraldic lion, eagle, castle, bridge, star, and sun, and the postures of particular animals and the manner of reproducing other natural figures are governed by specific rules. With regard to their arrangement in the shield, figures may be figures of the field or figures upon the field. Figures of the field are the heraldic figures that divide it and are drawn in the most varied ways, giving the shield its respective names: namely, the partitions that divide it by means of one or two lines, whereby the shield is called “parted” (fig. 1), “per fess,” “per bend,” or “per bend sinister,” if divided into two equal parts according to the direction of the single dividing line, or “tierced” (fig. 2) and “quarterly” (fig. 3) if divided into three or four parts, with corresponding specifications for the different directions of the lines; the subpartitions that subdivide the partitions by means of a third line; the conventional partitions that subdivide the partitions by means of several lines, producing the shield “banded,” “barred,” “bendy sinister,” “paly”

(fig. 4), “chequy” (fig. 5), “fusilly,” etc. Figures upon the field, whether heraldic or generic, are those that charge it, whether it is plain or already charged with these proper figures of its own. The heraldic figures upon the field are the honorable ordinaries and the subordinaries. The former occupy one third of the field, such as the “chief” (fig. 6), the “pale” (fig. 7), the “fess” (fig. 8), the “bend” (fig. 9), the “bend sinister” (fig. 10), the “cross” (fig. 11), the “cross of s. Andrew” (fig. 12), the “chevron” (fig. 13), the “point” (fig. 14), the “pergola” (fig. 15), and the “bordure” (along the edge of the shield: fig. 15). When reduced to less than one third, they have other names, such as “cotise” instead of “pale,” “closet” instead of “fess,” etc. The subordinaries are the “roundels,” the “annulets,” the “torteaux,” the “lozenges,” the “billets,” etc. Both the heraldic figures and the generic ones are arranged according to specific rules that assign them their “position,” whereby the field is ideally divided into “modules,” seven in height and nine in width, so as to specify whether a figure is placed in the “chief,” in the “point,” in the respective left and right “angles” and “cantons,” in the “heart” or “center,” or in the right and left “flanks.” These rules also govern the writing, that is, the composition of the shield: special norms concern the use of tinctures and the colors of figures in relation to those of the field or of other figures, especially the honorable ordinaries, which may themselves be charged with further heraldic or generic figures. Thus, for reading, it is determined where one begins, how the description proceeds, and how it is completed, by means of characteristic words and terms that greatly simplify descriptions which would otherwise be complicated if expressed in ordinary language. For example: “Per fess: in the first, azure, a demi-greyhound reguardant argent, collared gules; in the second, argent” (fig. 17, Castracani). “Per bend sinister: azure and gold, three stars counterchanged, and in chief gold an eagle displayed sable” (fig. 19, Dandini).

Enamels and figures of every kind have their own meaning, which they gradually acquired as heraldry, having begun, as stated, with the knowledge of the devices of troops and commanders in combat, passed into chivalry as an exclusive means of signifying heroic deeds accomplished or purposes and aspirations, often supplemented by “mottoes” or “devices” inserted among the ornaments of the shield. This probably began in the age of the “dolce stil nuovo” and its poetic hermeticism, and, in accordance with the spirit of the age, reached its fantastic development between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, with a veritable vocabulary. This is why the oldest arms are the simplest, and why generic figures follow those heraldic figures more suited to indicate a mere distinguishing mark than a symbol, although later they too were assigned particular meanings. The so-called “canting arms,” that is, those which allude to the surname, are the most recent, unless the surname itself is derived from the arms, in which case they indicate ancient nobility, since the family took its name from the device. Here it should be observed that the abuse of canting arms is noticeable in ecclesiastical heraldry, where one also finds the widespread application of a figure to the meaning one wishes to assign to it, apart from heraldic meanings and symbols, whereas it is preferably through these that any motto or device is expressed. Above all, it must be emphasized that in sacred symbols, of which there is an abundance in the catacombs and in the liturgy, it is always possible to find material for making inspirations and aspirations nobly intelligible to the people, especially those relating to the pastoral mission, without thereby turning the coat of arms, as often happens, into an arbitrary composition, frequently anything but clear and always anti-heraldic—that is, in complete contradiction with the very fact of setting it within a shield.

2. THE ORNAMENTS OF THE SHIELD

In arms they indicate the degree of nobility, the dignity, and the office of the person who bears them. They are therefore hereditary and personal.

Hereditary are the helmet, with the crest, the mantling or lambrequins, and the wreath; the crown, the mantle, and the pavilion.

The helmet. — This is the exclusive ornament of male coats of arms: although it does not at present constitute as precise an indication of noble rank as the crown, nor has it historically always provided exactly the same designation, nevertheless from the heraldists of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries onward it appeared on shields for this purpose as well. Thus the royal helmet is of gold with arabesque ornament, placed frontally with the visor raised (fig. 1); that of the prince (fig. 2) and of the duke (fig. 3) is of the same metal, in the same position, with the visor half raised, with gorget and gold medal; that of the marquis (fig. 4) is of silver with arabesque ornament and edged in gold, with gorget and medal of the same material, and a closed visor latticed with 11 bars; the count’s helmet (fig. 5) is identical, latticed with 17 bars, but shown in profile by one-third; that of the viscount (fig. 6) is shown by two-thirds, latticed with 13 bars, as is that of the baron (fig. 7), which is plain and edged in gold; the helmet of a nobleman (fig. 8) is of plain silver, fully shown in profile, latticed with 9 bars; that of the hereditary knight (fig. 9) is the same, but latticed with 3 bars; the helmet of a patrician is of silver arabesqued in gold, with the visor half raised (fig. 10). The crest adorns the top of the helmet with sculptural figures that usually reproduce the principal figures of the shield, or other different figures having the same origin and the same purpose of marking and distinction. The wreath is a ring of cloth in the colors of the shield, used to cushion blows and to cover the joining of the crest to the helmet; the crown rests upon it when worn on the helmet itself. The mantling was originally a single piece of cloth hanging from the wreath to provide protection from the sun’s heat; it was later cut into points until it assumed the form of foliage and feathers, likewise in the colors of the shield.

The crown. — Royal crowns vary according to the tradition of each dynasty and kingdom. They are commonly formed by a jeweled gold circlet with several points topped by crosses, enclosing a crimson velvet cap (fig. 1). In Italian heraldry, the crown of a prince (fig. 2) is a jeweled gold circlet topped by eight fleurs-de-lis, set on as many gold points—five visible—alternating with eight pearls (four visible); the crown of a duke (fig. 3) is the same without the pearls. These two also use a cap of red velvet within the circlet when belonging to families that were formerly sovereign or to the Holy Roman Empire. The crown of a marquis (fig. 4) is topped by four fleurs-de-lis (three visible) on the circlet, alternating with four pyramidal groups of pearls—two visible—arranged in groups of three; that of a count (fig. 5) is topped by sixteen pearls—nine visible—; that of a viscount (fig. 6) by four large pearls—three visible—supported by as many points alternating with four small pearls—two visible—; that of a baron (fig. 7) has the circlet encircled by a row of pearls in six strands, or bears ten large pearls—five visible—on the circlet; that of a nobleman (fig. 8) is topped by eight pearls—five visible—; that of a hereditary knight by four—three visible—; that of a patrician has only a jeweled gold circlet, except in the case of Venetian patricianship, which tops it with eight fleurs-de-lis—five visible—set with pearls, and eight points supporting as many pearls, while dogal families place it around the dogal horn. Titled nobles and patricians place the crown above the helmet; women place it exclusively on the shield, flanked—as its sole ornament—by two cordons or, as in Italy, by two palm leaves set in saltire and crossed beneath its point.

The mantle (fig. 2), proper to sovereign and princely or ducal families, or to others possessing the privilege, descends from the crown behind the arms and is of crimson velvet lined with ermine, edged in gold, and raised by cords and tassels of the same material. The pavilion (fig. 1) is the mantle gathered into a silver peak topped by the crown, and is exclusive to sovereignty.

Personal ornaments are distinguished as ecclesiastical, civil, military, and equestrian. Ecclesiastical ornaments are those of jurisdiction or office, and those of dignity.

Those of jurisdiction and office are the tiara, the keys, the cross, the mitre, the pastoral staff, the pallium, and the staff.

The tiara and the keys, one of gold and the other of silver, crossed in the form of a St. Andrew’s cross, tied with a red cord and tassels descending on either side of the shield, surmount the coat of arms.

of the Supreme Pontiff (fig. 11). The tiara is also used by tradition, though not by right, by the patriarch of Lisbon. The trefoiled cross placed behind the arms in pale, that is, vertically, at the center, of the cardinal legate and of bishops and ordinaries (fig. 12), has two arms for the patriarch and the archbishop (figs. 13, 14). The mitre is jewelled for those who possess episcopal orders, placed frontally and surmounting the shield to the right of the cross (figs. 14, 15); it is white and shown in profile for abbots possessing jurisdiction (fig. 16), inclined to the left for the others; it is gold for protonotaries, and white for the others who have that privilege, and is placed at the center in place of the cross. The crozier is gold for the episcopal order (figs. 14, 15), to the left of the cross and turned outward; it is silver in the same position for general abbots and abbots nullius dioecesis; turned inward for abbots possessing jurisdiction in their own monastery (fig. 16); inclined to the left for the others. The pallium, heraldically rendered in silver charged with black crosses, descends on either side of the cross from the upper edge of the shield of patriarchs and archbishops, as a sign of metropolitan jurisdiction, and of others who possess that privilege (fig. 13). The staff (fig. 19), in the form of a pilgrim’s staff, is placed in pale behind the shield of the arms of the superior generals whose dignity is distinguished by the “head of the religious order” on the personal device; of priors of the mendicant Orders and religious congregations; for women religious, it bears a crown of paternosters, called a “paternoster.”

The ornaments of dignity are the hat and the tassels. The hat surmounts the shield, replacing the helmet of noble arms and rising above the ornaments of jurisdiction and office. The tassels descend on either side of the shield, arranged in a cone. For a cardinal, the hat—surmounted by the “basilica” in the case of the cardinal camerlengo—and the tassels are red, the latter numbering thirty, arranged fifteen on each side in five rows of 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 (fig. 12). For patriarchs, the hat is green, ornamented with a ribbon of the same color and gold threads, and the tassels number thirty, in the same arrangement as for a cardinal (fig. 13); for archbishops and immediately subject bishops, it is green with green cord and tassels, numbering twenty, ten on each side in four rows (fig. 14); the same applies to a bishop, who has twelve, six on each side in three rows (fig. 15). For participating protonotaries and ad iustro, it is purple with crimson cords and tassels numbering twelve, six on each side in three rows; for honorary protonotaries, it is black with black tassels. For the prelati di fiocchetto—the major-domo, vice-camerlengo, auditor general, and treasurer general of the Most Reverend Apostolic Camera—the hat is purple with twenty crimson tassels, ten on each side in four rows (fig. 17); it is purple for domestic prelates, with twelve tassels of the same color, six on each side in three rows; and green for the regent of the chancery. The hat is black for secret chamberlains and secret chaplains, with twelve purple tassels, six on each side in three rows; black, with the same number and arrangement, for abbots, vicars general, archpriests, and vicars forane (fig. 16); numbering six in two rows for beneficiaries—with gold threads for military and Court chaplains—and for priors, guardians, and rectors (fig. 19). Ecclesiastical arms are surmounted by the noble crown when the title belongs to a church or has been granted by the Supreme Pontiff, while the crown of a family title is tolerated. The crown surrounds the cross, whereas, for princely titles alone, the helmet is placed between the crozier and the cross itself, the whole being surmounted by the hat (fig. 14), above which only the mantle appears if the prelate belongs to a royal family; in this case, the crown supports the mantle. The same exception applies to cardinals, whose proper emblem otherwise, beneath the hat, is exclusively the cross, without any other ornament of jurisdiction, office, or dignity, since the office and dignity of a cardinal are considered superior to all others.

Personal civil ornaments are the insignia of rank in the State’s higher magistracies, especially those which raised a person to the noble Order, such as the toque and maces for supreme judges, and equestrian insignia which hang from the point of the shield, sometimes surrounding its sides with their ribbon. Military ornaments are likewise those proper to supreme commands in the armed forces. The marshal places the staffs, insignia of command, in the cross of s. Andrea; the admiral, the anchors; and the Grand Master of Artillery, the cannons.

Personal equestrian ornaments belong to members of the noble equestrian Orders, who place the corresponding cross behind the shield.

To all ornaments are added the mottoes, derived from the ancient war cries. Written in black or red on a silver or gold ribbon, they are placed above the arms; for ecclesiastics, they are tied to the projecting shaft of the cross, where one exists.

3. SOCIAL ARMS

States, municipalities, cities, provinces, dioceses, congregations and religious Orders, public bodies, and associations have, or may have, their own duly approved arms, which follow the same heraldic rules as personal arms and likewise consist of a shield and ornaments. The Church, too, bears the basilica with the Supreme Keys crossed in the cross of S. Andrea. The arms of the Holy See during a vacancy are likewise those, since otherwise its proper arms are those of the reigning Pontiff. The arms of municipalities, cities, and provinces are prescribed by heraldic regulations. In Italy, municipalities and cities bear a mural crown surmounted by nine merlons in the former case and by five towers in the latter; the provinces bear a gold eye gemmed with a double border, together with two branches of oak and laurel bearing berries, crossed in the cross of S. Andrea within the crown. — Vedi Tavv. a colori.

Giuseppe Dalla Torre