Category Archives: Attributed Arms

Feast of St. Nicholas

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Some years back there was a discussion about the devisal of attributed arms for St. Nicholas of Myra (aka Santa Claus). My fellow heraldry enthusiast, Michael Quigley, proposed this design.

Attributed arms are created for individuals who didn’t bear a coat of arms themselves. Either, they are fictitious characters, they simply didn’t have a coat of arms or they may have lived prior to the development of heraldry.

St. Nicholas was definitely a real person but he lived from A.D. 270 – 343, roughly nine hundred years before heraldry existed.

This fanciful coat of arms employs an Eastern mitre and the traditional 3 gold coins associated with St. Nicholas from the story of him ransoming three children from being sold into slavery. It also uses deer (reindeer) supporters, fir twigs and the colors green and red so associated with the legend of Santa Claus and Western Christmas lore and custom.

December 6 is the feast of St. Nicholas.

EPIPHANY: Attributed Arms of the Magi

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In accord with the longstanding custom of attributing armorial bearings to individuals who lived before heraldry existed it was/is commonplace to attribute armorial bearings even to individuals whose very existence can be questioned and cannot be proven. Such is the case with Kaspar, Melchior and Balthazar, collectively known as the Three Wise Men. Even as attributed arms they have a simplicity and clarity that is in keeping with the typical form of more ancient coats of arms. Have a great celebration of the “Little Christmas” known as Epiphany.

Attributed Arms of Jesus Christ

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Attributed arms are Western European coats of arms given retrospectively to persons real or fictitious who died before the start of the age of heraldry in the latter half of the 12th C. Arms were assigned to the knights of the round table, to Biblical figures, to Roman and Greek heroes, and to kings and popes who had not historically borne arms.

The same is true even for divine beings. Arms have been attributed to Jesus Christ by a number of different people. One such example is below:

This image, which I found on the internet, contains many of the traditional elements of arms attributed to Christ. These consist mainly of the instruments of His passion and death. It is, necessarily, rather over-crowded and busy but still rendered well and arranged in a manner that can be called traditionally heraldic. Many would, perhaps, prefer a version like the one depicted below:

May these holy days prove spiritually fruitful to all those who observe them. May you have a Happy Easter!