Archbishop Etienne’s Mistake

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On November 9, 2016 the Most Reverend Paul D. Etienne was installed as the fourth Metropolitan Archbishop of Anchorage, Alaska. Since December of 2009, the 57-year-old Indiana native had been serving as the Bishop of Cheyenne, Wyoming. At the time of his election as a bishop he assumed a coat of arms which he bore during his tenure as Bishop of Cheyenne:

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The design was, in my opinion, a bit crowded and fell victim to the usual problem with most of the heraldry of the American hierarchy. Namely, he tried to include too much. Time and time again I warn on this blog and elsewhere against the practice of trying to have a coat of arms be a “CV in pictures”. Sadly, that advice seems to frequently go unheeded.

I noticed that when His Excellency was translated and promoted to Anchorage that he has assumed a new personal coat of arms:

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I must say that the overall design is surely more simple and more clear. In addition, it seems apparent that upon further reflection he realized that he had included too many charges and decided that there were, indeed, some he could live without. I think its unfortunate that he decided to discard the green field because just as it contrasted so nicely with the red-dominated arms of the See of Cheyenne, similarly, the contrast with the predominantly blue arms of the See of Anchorage would have been more striking.

The overall appearance of the coat of arms as it is now is most definitely better. However, the “mistake” I believe the archbishop has made is in entirely changing the original design. He has, in fact, assumed a second new coat of arms. Many prelates feel that when they change assignments that this is a perfectly acceptable practice. It’s as if “a new coat of arms for the new job” is their thought. In addition, after having assumed arms originally, often hastily because of the unfortunate expectation that a bishop in the USA will have his coat of arms prepared and ready to be displayed at the time of his ordination and/or installation, which is an unreasonable and unnecessary expectation, the armiger has had a chance for second thoughts and wishes to make modifications. But there is a problem.

You CANNOT.

That is to say, you really REALLY shouldn’t. A coat of arms isn’t a “logo” which companies often feel free to update, modify or even discard in favor of a new one. A coat of arms is a personal mark of identification and it becomes identified with the particular armiger to whom it belongs. In places like the USA where arms are not granted by a heraldic authority but are legally and quite appropriately assumed (i.e. adopted) great care must be taken to design a coat of arms with which the armiger is happy at the time they are assumed and made public.

In the case of a bishop the personal arms should not be designed to harmonize with the arms of the See with which they will be impaled for the simple reason that bishops sometimes move and re-designing the personal arms to “go better” with the arms of the See is ill-advised. (see the three different versions of the personal arms borne by Cardinal Cupich of Chicago or Bishop Libasci of Manchester, NH. Cardinal O’Brien, the Grandmaster of the Order of the Holy Sepulcher has changed his coat of arms no less than four times!). Part of the problem is the truncated timeline with which so many bishops have to contend when the design process begins. It is not unheard of for there to be as little as six weeks in between the announcement of his appointment and the ordination/installation. The poor heraldic designer must then contend with constant pressure from diocesan officials and committee members demanding the finished artwork for use on things like invitations, programs and in press packets.

But, designing a good coat of arms takes time. Frequently the designer and the armiger will go through three or four sketches (or more) before settling on a proper design. More frequently because of the time constraint (and occasionally because of a complete lack of interest in the subject on the part of the new bishop) something deemed to be “good enough” is cobbled together in a slap-dash manner and the result is, at best, a less-than-perfect design and, at worst, downright ugly and/or ridiculous!

When designing a coat of arms for someone who is not on a three week deadline I often encourage them to use what is jokingly referred to as “the refrigerator test”. That is, they are asked to take a sketch of the coat of arms and put it somewhere, like their refrigerator, where they will see it everyday. The idea is to live with it for a time and keep seeing it over and over to see if the initial ideas have staying power. In the case of Archbishop Etienne such a test might have enabled him to see that the original design was cluttered and that those things he wanted to represent in his coat of arms could have been done with a simpler design. Part of the solution here is to abandon the idea that a new bishop’s coat of arms must be available immediately, in a manner of weeks, and in time for his ordination/installation. I can assure you that in places where arms are granted by a heraldic authority such an authority feels no obligation to do their work with such a ridiculous deadline. There is absolutely nothing that requires a bishop’s coat of arms to be finished and ready by the day of his ordination/installation. A few more weeks to get it right won’t kill anybody.

Part of this problem could be solved by bishops seeking the advice of those competent and well-versed in the principles, customs and traditions of good heraldic practice. More often than not they don’t. They need to stop turning to the myriad of lawyers, engineers, seminarians and other enthusiasts who have read “a whole book” on heraldry and have declared themselves to be “expert” in heraldic design. In addition, the computer age has also led to the advent of a plethora of the heraldic equivalent of the singer/songwriter: those people who are competent artists but who don’t really know the first thing about heraldry or its rules. They can create really nice artistic renderings but should be collaborating with a competent designer instead of trying to do it all. Expertise in DESIGNING a coat of arms and in DEPICTING that design are two very different things.

Finally, it has to be said that, in the Church anyway, it is unfortunate that those who make the most use of heraldry, prelates, are frequently the ones who both know the least about it and also frequently have little interest in learning about its proper use and application. (You know, once they make you a bishop they take the bone out of your head that allows you to remember you can occasionally still be taught something). As mentioned above, a coat of arms can’t simply be changed after several years because one feels like it. Despite the fact that it belongs to the armiger and, in many cases, was devised by him as well as adopted by him he is not free capriciously to change the design on a whim especially not after having borne a particular coat of arms for years. It is akin to deciding to use an alias after years of being known as something else. While there is no “heraldry police” in the Church to stop you it is, nevertheless, wrong to change the design of a personal coat of arms even when such changes result in the general improvement of the design.

Rather, the task is to have a well-designed and pleasing coat of arms the first time around and to use that same coat of arms no matter how often a bishop might be transferred to a new diocese. It is important to remember that impaling the personal arms with the arms of the See is a custom, not a requirement, and not even a universal one at that. It predominates in N. America but it is far from the usual custom throughout the world. When impalement is employed bishops need to remember that the dexter impalement (the arms of the See) does not become part of their coat of arms. Instead, by impaling there are two distinct coats of arms being displayed on one shield. It is a form of marshaling two or more coats of arms and even at that it lasts only for their tenure in that office. A bishop-emeritus of a given diocese has no right whatsoever to continue impaling his personal arms with the arms of the See once he has resigned that See.

The best process to use is the same one which circumstance forces onto those bishops who first become Auxiliary Bishops. Namely, they design and assume a personal coat of arms alone which fills the entire shield. Later, if they are promoted to be a Diocesan Bishop then they may choose to impale their personal arms with the arms of their diocese. If, by chance, such an impalement makes for an aesthetically unpleasing combination then the solution is NOT to change their personal arms (or the diocesan one for that matter). The better option would be for the bishop in question simply to bear his personal arms alone and not impale them at all. It is important, however, for the armiger to maintain that coat of arms which he first assumed and which has become identified with him as much as his signature or the appearance of his face. As already stated above even when the temptation is strong to re-design the coat of arms for the purpose of improving the design after further reflection such an impulse must be stifled and ignored. Once the arms have been assumed it is, frankly, too late. That’s why its better to be sure of what is being assumed in the first place; it cannot, and should not be changed later.

I have written in these pages extensively about the idea of employing various versions of a coat of arms to suit the occasion and/or office held. Sometimes, coats of arms receive legitimate augmentations to reflect some event or change in status. Frequently, the external ornaments in a heraldic achievement, even of a bishop, change or are added to in order to reflect an honor received. All of these are legitimate modifications. However, for a bishop who has assumed a coat of arms and several years later is then moved to a different diocese or some other such position within the Church simply to say to himself, “You know, I’ve had second thoughts about including thus-and-such in my coat of arms. If I had to do it over again I’d use something different. Let me take advantage of this change and the fact that new artwork has to be prepared to redesign the whole thing” is egregiously wrong and is, realistically, a gigantic abuse of his authority. After all, in the Church what a bishop wants is rarely questioned and even more rarely denied.

Nevertheless, it is of utmost importance to get it right the first time, that is, at the time of assuming the coat of arms. Changing it later ISN’T an option and bishops who ignore that are making a mistake.

(The artwork for Archbishop Etienne’s coats of arms is by Deacon Paul Sullivan)

 

 

Cardinal Tobin of Newark

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On Friday, January 6, 2017 His Eminence, Joseph Cardinal Tobin,  CSsR the Cardinal Priest of Santa Maria delle Grazie a Via Trionfale and former metropolitan archbishop of Indianapolis, age 64, will be installed as the tenth bishop and sixth metropolitan archbishop of Newark, New Jersey.

A Redemptorist by Religious Profession he makes the same, long-standing error of including the arms of his Religious Order in his personal arms implying jurisdiction over it. At one time he did actually serve as General Superior of his Order and could have arguably impaled a personal coat of arms with the Order’s arms. However, he did not become a bishop, and assume a coat of arms, until after his tenure as General. As I say, it is a common error for Religious prelates but it is, nevertheless, most definitely an error.

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Coat of Arms for a Priest

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The arms (above) were recently designed and emblazoned by me for an American priest who is also a member of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre.

The priest has a devotion to St. Anthony, his baptismal patron, and is a Third Order Dominican. The gyronny of eight that makes up the field is taken from the arms of the Order of Preachers. In addition, the black and white recalls the arms of the city of Lisbon where St. Anthony was born. The plate charged with a red cross at the center alludes to the arms of the city of Padua, where St. Anthony died and is buried. In addition, this charge represents the sacred Host used at Mass because the armiger has advanced studies in the sacred liturgy. Finally, the counterchanged wavy bar in base alludes to three things: the lake at Mundelein where the liturgical studies were undertaken at the Liturgical Institute there; his home state, Michigan, which is situated in the Great Lakes; a charge in the arms of the diocese in which he serves.

The shield is ensigned with the motto meaning “In Spirit and in Truth”, the priest’s galero and the cross of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre.

Bishop Barres Appointed to Rockville Centre, NY

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On December 9 it was announced that Pope Francis appointed the Most Rev. John O. Barres, since 2009 the Fourth Bishop of Allentown, PA, as the Fifth Bishop of Rockville Centre, NY. (the diocese on Long Island in which I was born and raised)

His coat of arms will be:


The personal arms depict red and silver bars as a canting device recalling the Bishop’s family surname “Barres.” The Bishop’s immigrant ancestor, Jacob Barres came from Prussia and first settled in Lehigh County in 1852.

The blue eagle with the halo is the symbol of St. John the Evangelist, honoring the Bishop’s baptismal name patron. The cross keys symbolically express the Bishop’s dedication and fidelity to the See of Peter and to the Pope. The dolphin is taken from the arms of St. John Fisher, and the rose represents St. Thomas More, particularly his chain of office as Lord Chancellor of England. Pope John Paul II, by motu proprio in 2000, declared Saint Thomas More the Patron of Statesmen, Politicians, and Lawyers. Both of these saints, one a prelate and one a layman, were martyrs for the Faith and remained loyal to the Church and the Holy See. Their symbols are depicted in red to indicate their martyrdom. The axe represents President Abraham Lincoln of whom the Bishop is a great admirer.
They are impaled with the arms of the See of Rockville Centre adopted in 1957. These arms are based on the history of Long Island and the etymology of the name Rockville Centre. The colors of the field within the bordure, gold and blue, appears on the coat of arms of King William III of the House of Nassau and on the arms which the county of Suffolk in England has used at times, these arms being those of Ipswich. Although there are more than 12 names for Long Island, the name generally preferred by the Indians of the mainland was Seawanhacky or “Island of Shells.” The scallop shell is also truly heraldic, and a symbol which is often used to signify the flowing of water in the Sacrament of Baptism.

The wavy silver bordure is the heraldic equivalent of water and surrounding, as it does, the other charges, signifies the insular nature of the diocese. The lamb’s head is the symbol of St. Agnes, virgin and martyr, the titular of the Cathedral of the Diocese of Rockville Centre. St. Agnes has been represented with a lamb, the symbol of her virginal innocence, since the Middle Ages.

The black roundel in the center of the shield with the three stones or rocks affords canting arms for Rockville Centre. The black roundel is in the exact center of the shield. The three rocks or stones are derived from the coat of arms of Pope Pius XII, who established the new Diocese of Rockville Centre in April, 1957. The roundel is tinctured in black to represent the seventeenth century name of Brooklyn, from the diocese from which the See of Rockville Centre was separated. The black tincture represents the marshes, which recalled to the Dutch their homeland in Breuckelen in the Province of Utrecht. The Dutch who first settled Brooklyn called it “Breuck-Landt’” meaning “broken land,’ or “marshland,” inasmuch as a great deal of the land was broken up by patches of water.

Barres will be installed in Rockville Centre on January 31, 2017.

Bishop of Aachen

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On November 12 the Most Rev. Helmut Dieser was installed as the VI Bishop of Aachen, Germany. His coat of arms is:

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The description (translated from the diocesan website) is:

The coat of arms of the new bishop of Aachen shows two motifs in the shield: the one stands for the diocese of Aachen, and the other identifies the person of the bishop.The Diocese of Aachen has a black cross on a golden ground in the shield. In the smaller Mittelschild, the person of Bishop Dr. Helmut is designated.

The middle shield shows a silver dove against a red background with a green olive branch in its beak. The new bishop accepted this motif from his former coat of arms as an auxiliary bishop in Trier. It symbolizes his episcopal motto from the Philippine letter: “The peace of God exceeds all understanding“. The two colors red and silver also recall his origin from the diocese of Trier, which is a red cross in front of a silver ground in the shield. The dove with the olive branch is used in Christian art as a symbol of the new peace that God wants to bring to all his creation. This goes back to the biblical narrative of Noah and the great flood in the Book of Genesis. When finally the water no longer rises and gradually begins to flow away, Noach lets a dove fly from the ark several times. The second time she comes back with a fresh olive branch in the beak (Gen 8, 9-11). Noah understands: God does not want to spoil the earth, but makes it back to the homeland for life. God creates a new peace, which Noah and his own may accept in faith.

Peace, which surpasses all understanding, and which the whole of creation longingly waits for (see Romans 8: 21-22), arises from the greatest love of God, in which he gives his Son, so that all may come to the new life. The embellishments surrounding the coat-of-arms signify its bearer as a bishop: the green hat with six green tassels on each side, and the gold episcopal cross.

Armigerous Candidates for US President

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This is one of those posts that has absolutely nothing to do with the heraldry of the Church. Those do come up occasionally on this blog but I try to keep them to a minimum. I couldn’t let this opportunity pass, however, to discuss how, for what must be the first time in a quite a while (although its not unprecedented) both of this country’s major party candidates are heraldically connected, so to speak.

The Republican candidate, Donald Trump, is well known as a business man with hotels and resorts around the world. One such property is the golf course he built and owns in Scotland. To make it “look good” a logo for the place in the form of a coat of arms (not a particularly good one, in my opinion) was devised and used on their promotional materials. The problem is that Scotland happens to be one of the few countries where they take heraldry and the public use of heraldry very seriously.

The body that regulates heraldry in Scotland is the Court of Lord Lyon and indeed it is a standing civil and criminal court under the Scottish legal system. The incumbent of the office of Lord Lyon King of Arms is usually a lawyer well versed in the laws affecting genealogy and heraldry and he sits as judge over cases of dispute. By contrast the English Heralds are incorporated into a College and while there is Her Majesty’s High Court of Chivalry which has existed since the 14th C. and sits as a civil court to regulate all matters of English and Welsh heraldry it rarely sits. The last time was in 1954 for the case of Manchester Corp. v. Manchester Palace of Varieties, Ltd. Prior to that the court hadn’t sat for 200 years!

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Trump’s self-designed and adopted coat of arms (above) ran afoul of the Scottish legal system in 2008 when it was asserted that he had no right to use the coat of arms. In 2012 the Court of Lord Lyon ruled in Trump’s favor and now he may make use of the coat of arms originally designed for his Aberdeen golf course. Trump’s mother is of Scottish origin and Lord Lyon claims jurisdiction worldwide over any Scot, even expats, or anyone with Scottish ancestry. Unfortunately, I do not have an image of the coat of arms in full color. I wonder if anyone in the Trump organization even bothered to have one made in full color since this is primarily used as a logo.

The Democrat Party candidate, Hillary Clinton, does not, as far as I know, have a coat of arms in her own right, but her husband does. In 1995, at the request of the Taoiseach (the Irish Prime Minister), Mr. John Bruton, the Chief Herald of Ireland devised and granted a coat of arms to Mr. Clinton whose mother was of Irish ancestry (below). It was presented to him as a gift on his state visit to Ireland. As I say, Mrs. Clinton does not have a coat of arms in her own right, at least not yet. Who knows? It is possible that another head of state may be asking another heraldic authority to grant her a coat of arms at some point in the future. Only time will tell.

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Of course the way the election on November 8 will turn out remains to be seen and there is a great deal of speculation on both sides. It does seem to be far from certain even at this very late stage in the campaign. But, one thing is, nevertheless, absolutely certain. Regardless of the result of the voting that will take place across the United States next Tuesday one of the two people mentioned above, Trump or Clinton, come next January 20th will be able to make use of yet another old and venerable means of identification that employs the ancient and respected use of heraldry as a large part of its symbolism. It’s an armorial seal…

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Bishop Rodríguez

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Today, November 4, in Denver, CO the Most Rev. Jorge Humberto Rodríguez-Novelo is to be ordained Titular Bishop of Azura and Auxiliary Bishop of Denver.

His coat of arms was designed by the Vicar General of the Archdiocese. However, early on in the process, very shortly after the bishop’s appointment was announced, the director of the Office of Worship of the Archdiocese contacted me to ask if I might be willing to act as a consultant during the design phase of the project which I was happy to do. In fact, I explained, this is really and truly the area of heraldry where I am most at home. I am far from a great artist but my real expertise is in the designing of a good coat of arms. I can tell you all the “whys and wherefores” about what goes into a good design. Once again, we see that heraldry is both an art and a science. It is not primarily the realm of the heraldic artist. Rather, first and foremost the whole thing must start with someone who is knowledgeable about the rules, customs and history of heraldry as well as have a good eye for composition, balance and proportion. I am far more at ease with the work of the herald than that of the heraldic artist.

Since its beginnings, and right down to our own day, the work of heralds has involved the devising, granting and recording of coats of arms. However, it has also included expertise in genealogy and family history, protocol and ceremony. In addition, it is rare that the herald actually renders the artistic depictions of the arms he designs. That task is left to those with expertise in drafting and art who are usually contracted independently by the herald or by the armiger to create beautiful emblazonments.

I have always been one of those who comes down firmly in this debate on the side of the herald, not the artist, as the person who does the “real work” of heraldry. This is not to disparage heraldic artist, whose work is not only painstaking and highly detailed but requires tremendous skill as well as training. But, the simple truth is that one can still paint a coat of arms while at the same time knowing absolutely nothing about the science of heraldry whereas one cannot claim to be competent at designing a coat of arms simply because one can paint or draw well. The heraldic world is best served when both act together in tandem to produce beautiful and correct heraldry.

Over the last thirty-three years my focus has been on learning as much as I can about the science of heraldry and only dabbling as an amateur in producing heraldic artwork. I do not now, nor have I ever, claimed otherwise. So, when a person contacts me to ask me to paint their coat of arms I usually balk but when they ask me to consult on a design I’m right in my comfort zone, as well as my “competency zone”.

In the case of the coat of arms of Bishop Rodríguez there were several elements of his life and ministry he wished to represent in his coat of arms. In Denver they came up with an initial design, very much a work in progress and then asked for my in put. The bishop wanted to represent Christ the King, priestly ministry, the local church in Colorado and Our Lady of Guadalupe. This is the first draft:

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After some discussion back and forth I made several proposals that sought to unify the imagery and create a single, more simple, more bold design. The first thing to be avoided was falling into the trap of quartering the field and then filling each quarter with things. It was also important to avoid the use of the color brown as this is not one of the tinctures used in heraldry. Since the symbol for Christ the King occupied the first quarter and was, in a sense, the principal element to be represented we first moved to create a large compound charge of the crowned Chi-Rho. This, then alludes to Christ, the King as well as to priestly service as all priests share in the High Priesthood of Jesus. Then it was a simple matter to allude to the Rocky Mountains of Colorado by a division line in the field and to add the rose as a fitting heraldic charge that is frequently used as a reference not only to Our Lady in general but to Guadalupe in particular. This is because of the roses that bloomed in December which were brought by Juan Diego to his bishop who asked for “proof” of the apparitions. I originally proposed placing the red rose on the silver chief or changing it to a golden rose. However, the bishop really wanted the rose depicted in the traditional red so we cheated a little on the tincture rule (avoiding a color on a color or a metal on a metal) by blazoning the rose as “Proper” which does permit such violations in the case of charges that are depicted Proper. After some of my suggestions were considered a second draft was prepared in Denver which also changed the general shape of the episcopal cross behind the shield and the galero and tassels in order to give the whole achievement a look that was unique. This draft met with the new bishop’s approval. So, the arms he has assumed today are:

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These arms were designed and emblazoned by Fr. Randy Dollins with me acting as design consultant.

 

John Cardinal Ribat, MSC, KBE

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(Sir) John Ribat, MSC, KBE currently the Archbishop of Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, will be elevated to the Sacred Purple and created Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church on November 19, 2016. We’re not concerned with his coat of arms as they would have appeared upon his ordination to the episcopacy as Auxiliary Bishop of Bereina, PNG in 2001. Rather, since 2008 when he succeeded as Archbishop of Port Moresby he has born the arms:

Quartered; 1) Argent, the Sacred Heart of Jesus enflamed superimposed on the Greek letters Chi and Rho all Gules, 2) Azure, the monogram of Our Lady Or, 3) Azure an open book Or the pages charged with the Greek letters Alpha and Omega Gules, 4) Argent, a branch of betel nut Proper.

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These arms had been rendered for him by Renato Poletti, a Roman lawyer who, like many amateur heraldic enthusiasts, dabbles in heraldic design and produces his artwork on computer. He took it upon himself, unsolicited, to produce a new rendering of the Cardinal-designate’s coat of arms with the external ornaments of a Cardinal (above). However, Archbishop Ribat had already been contacted by Mr. Richard d’Apice of the Australian Heraldry Society to discuss a re-working of the emblazonment of his arms to reflect his new honor. Such projects have frequently been undertaken by Mr. d’Apice before as well as the designs of new coats of arms for many prelates and laypeople in his own Australia. Mr. d’Apice, as he often does, consulted with me to seek some advice and input.

While I do not particularly like the design of the arms I advised that it would be best at this point for a man who has been a bishop for fifteen years and an archbishop for eight to retain the arms he has been using. The deplorable habit so many bishops have today of completely redesigning their coats of arms every time they move or are promoted is to be avoided at all costs, even at the cost of maintaining a coat of arms of an inferior design. Simply to change one’s personal arms because there has been a change in office or rank goes against the whole point of heraldry as a mark of personal identification. While external ornaments correctly change to indicate a change in rank and personal arms may be marshaled with other coats of arms simply deciding after several years that one would like to adopt a different coat of arms is, in a word, wrong.

However, it is often the case that a different artist can emblazon a coat of arms in a manner that will make it both aesthetically more pleasing as well as heraldically more bearable (pun intended). This is the case with the arms of Cardinal Ribat. Mr. d’Apice and I agreed that perhaps the best thing we could do was to advise His soon-to-be Eminence to have the arms rendered by the artist with whom we usually work, Mr. Sandy Turnbull, also a member of the Australian Heraldry Society who also works in computer generated artwork. The result of Mr. Turnbull’s efforts may be seen below.

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The overall shape of the achievement and the rendering of the charges, in particular the fact that they fill the field in each quarter better, as well as the depiction of the branch of betel nut are definitely an improvement. The placement of the pallium (which, for the record, I oppose in any heraldic achievement) is also better. In addition, the color palette and vibrancy of the colors is, in my opinion, also superior. The Cardinal-designate was so pleased that he communicated to Mr. d’Apice through his Vicar General that Mr. Turnbull’s rendering will be used, in particular, on his letterhead and official documents. It is indeed difficult to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear but, on occasion, the solution to what to do about a less than happy heraldic design is simply to emblazon the arms in a better fashion.

Cardinals from Noble Families (a continuation)

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In the past I have highlighted some of the coats of arms of members of the College of Cardinals who had come from some of the great noble families of Europe. Unlike the Cardinals of today, almost all of whom simply assume a coat of arms on becoming a bishop, many Cardinals from an earlier time came from armigerous families and the arms they bore as Cardinals were composed of coats of arms they had inherited. Here are just a few (all rendered by the late Michael McCarthy).

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Ippolito d’Este, created Cardinal-Deacon of S. Lucia in Silice in 1493 (later Archbishop of Capua)

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Philipe de la Chambre, OSB, created Cardinal-Priest of S. Martino ai Monte in 1533 (later made Bishop of Frascati)

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Simone Tagliavia de Aragon, created Cardinal-Deacon of S. Maria degli Angeli in 1583 (later Bishop of Albano, and Bishop of Sabina)

King of Thailand, RIP

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With the death of King Bhumibol of Thailand, who was the world’s longest reigning monarch at the time of his death, the country enters into a period of mourning under a regent until the accession of Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn. According to Thai law Prem Tinsulanonda, President of the Privy Council, assumes the regency until the accession of the new king.

While the former Kingdom of Siam made use of an emblem a bit more similar to the western idea of a coat of arms the current royal emblem or “arms”, which appears on the yellow royal standard, is the Buddhist Garuda.

Appearing in the Hindu epic, the Ramayana, Garuda is the mystical firebird who serves as the mount of the god Vishnu. Garuda appears as the coat of arms of the Republic of Indonesia as well as the royal emblem of the Kingdom of Thailand.

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Abbot Elias Lorenzo, OSB

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The delegates to the general chapter of the American-Cassinese Congregation, from June 19-24, 2016 elected Father Elias Lorenzo OSB, monk of St. Mary’s Abbey, Morristown, NJ as their new Abbot-President (Abbot-Praeses). For seven years Abbot President Elias had been Prior at Collegio Sant’Anselmo, Rome. Thursday, June 23, 2016, the Rt. Rev. Douglas R. Nowicki OSB, Archabbot of St. Vincent Archabbey, Latrobe, PA, motherhouse of the congregation, conferred the abbatial blessing during the chapter. Abbot Elias returned to Sant’Anselmo for the Congress of Abbots, September 2016 and thereafter he will reside in Morristown.

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Shortly after his election, Abbot Elias contacted me to ask that I assist him in designing his coat of arms. The explanation I also provided for him is:

The shield is divided by a line shaped like a chevron. This creates the general shape alluding to a mountain, in this case Mount Carmel, the mountain associated with the prophet Elijah from whom the name Elias is derived. The large tongue of fire in the center of the lower portion of the shield (referred to as “in base”) combined with the mountain allude to St. Elias.

In addition, the blue and silver (white) checked pattern also has a multi-layered meaning. The American-Cassinese Congregation was founded by Benedictines from St. Michael’s Abbey in Bavaria. The motherhouse of the Congregation, St. Vincent Archabbey in Pennsylvania, makes use of the blue and silver fusils (a kind of elongated diamond pattern) from the coat of arms of Bavaria in its own coat of arms. Several other monasteries in the Congregation which are daughter houses or grand-daughter houses of St. Vincent also make use of this pattern. One such abbey is St. Mary’s in Morristown, New Jersey. At this monastery Abbot Elias entered monastic life, made his profession of vows and was ordained. In his coat of arms the blue and silver (white) fusils have been turned sideways forming a grid of blue and white squares or checks. The grid pattern suggests the gridiron on which St. Lawrence was roasted alive as the means of his martyrdom. This is an allusion to the Abbot’s surname, “Lorenzo” which in Italian means “Lawrence”. The grid of blue and white squares combined with the fire represents St. Lawrence while at the same time the blue and white squares are a slightly differenced reference to the coat of arms of St. Mary’s Abbey as well as Bavaria in general as the homeland of the Congregation’s founders.

At the center of the flame there is a red rounded cross. This cross is taken from the coat of arms of Sant’Anselmo in Rome where, for seven years before his election as Abbot-President, the armiger was serving as Prior of the monastic community.

Above the chevron in the upper portion of the shield (referred to as “in chief”) there are two blue crescents. The crescent has long been associated with Our Lady in particular under her title of the Immaculate Conception. That title is also the one by which Mary is the Patroness of the United States of America. While the Congregation is made up of American monasteries as well as some communities outside the U.S. it was, nevertheless, founded in the U.S. so the reference to the patroness of that country is fitting. In addition, crescents appear in the coat of arms of St. Mary’s Abbey and the coat of arms of the Delbarton School, the Abbey’s principal apostolate, both of with which Abbot Elias is closely associated.

The motto below the shield is taken from Luke 1:37 and is translated as, “Nothing is impossible with God”.

The shield is also ensigned with those external ornaments that indicate the bearer is an abbot. The gold (yellow) crozier is placed vertically behind and extending above and below the shield. Attached to the crozier is a veil or sudarium. Widely used in the Middle Ages it is rarely seen in actual use today. It dates from a time when abbots were already making use of the crozier as a sign of their authority but had not been granted the privilege of full pontificals which would have included liturgical gloves. The purpose of the sudarium was originally practical; it shielded the metal of the crozier from dirt and perspiration from the hands. Later, it became merely symbolic and has been retained in heraldry as distinguishing the crozier of an abbot. The use of pontificals by an abbot is regulated in the Motu Proprio, “Pontificalia Insignia” of June 21, 1968 (Acta Apostolicae Sedis 60 (1968) 374-377 Not 4 (1968) 224-226). Because abbots make use of the crozier they may use it as an external ornament in their coats of arms. The prohibition against the use of croziers in heraldry found in the Instruction of the Secretariat of State of the Holy See, “Ut Sive” of 31 March, 1969 (Acta Apostolicae Sedis 61 (1969) 334-40) does not apply to abbatial heraldry. Above the shield is the ecclesiastical hat, called a galero which, in heraldry, replaces the martial helmet, mantling and crest. The galero is black with black cords pendant from it and twelve black tassels arranged in a pyramid shape on either side of the shield. “The hat with six pendant tassels (green, purple or black) on each side is universally considered in heraldry as the sign of prelacy. It, therefore, pertains to all who are actually prelates…Prelates who are regulars do not, as a rule, wear purple. (Abbots’) ceremonial garb is normally black and, in consequence, their heraldic hats are also black.” (Heim, Bruno B., Heraldry in the Catholic Church, 1978, page 114).

Auxiliaries of Boston

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On August 24, 2016 two new Auxiliary Bishops to the Archbishop of Boston will be ordained. Their coat of arms are below for

The Most Rev. Robert Reed, Titular Bishop of Sufaritanus

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The Most Rev. Mark O’Connell, Titular Bishop of Gigthensis

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Hmmmm…interesting. Pretty. Busy. Good?

The designs, accompanied by very interesting descriptions, especially for lovers of fiction, are by J.C. Noonan and the artwork is by his usual collaborator Linda Nicholson.

Two New Auxiliaries for Sydney

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On August 24 two new auxiliary bishops to the archbishop of Sydney will be ordained. I had a hand in designing both of their coats of arms along with Mr. Richard d’Apice and they were rendered by Mr. Sandy Turnbull. Both of these men are members of the Australian Heraldry Society. The two bishop are The Most Rev. Anthony Randazzo (49) a Sydneysider who is a priest of the Archdiocese of Brisbane. He will be Titular Bishop of Quiza. (arms below)

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And the Most Rev. Richard Umbers (45) born in New Zealand, a priest of the Personal Prelature Opus Dei who will be Titular Bishop of Thala. (arms below)

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Clergy With More Than One Coat of Arms

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We turn, this time, to the Church in Wales and the Church of England to see examples of a single armiger who employs more than one version of his coat of arms depending on the place, occasion, function or group.

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The first image (above) is the personal coat of arms of the Rt. Rev. Gregory Cameron, Bishop of St. Asaph in Wales. It is a an armorial achievement which is depicted in the traditional manner with shield, helm, mantle and crest. In addition, the bishop employs a version of his arms ensigned with the bishop’s mitre (below) as is the usual custom in the constituent churches of the Anglican Communion.

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Finally, there is also a version, as diocesan bishop, of his personal arms impaling those of his See.(below)

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The other example is the Rev. Canon Robin Ward, SSC, Principal at St. Stephen’s House, Oxford. The first example shows his personal arms as granted with helm mantling and crest. (below)

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The next image depicts an “ecclesiastical version” of the same arms ensigned with the ecclesiastical hat of a Canon according to the Earl Marshal’s Warrant of 1976.

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Finally, there is an example, though not used by him, of his arms “as Principal” impaling the arms of St. Stephen’s House.

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In both cases it’s just one armiger but his coat of arms can be depicted in different exemplifications.

Yet More on Variations

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Again, a continuation of this examination of different versions, as opposed to merely different renderings of the exact same version, of the coat of arms of one armiger used at various times, for certain occasions, for a specific place or group or to either add to or subtract from the elaboration of the display. We turn once again to the glorious Imperial arms of the Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary, later to be the Austro-Hungarian Emperor.

First we have the “small” arms of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine (displaying the arms of Habsburg, Babenberg and Lorraine impaled together on the shield.

13726824_10208089859297016_8059400258853156733_nThe second image shows the “medium” common coat of arms of Austria Hungary with the shields of (counterclockwise): Hungary, Galicia, Lower Austria, Salzburg, Styria, Tyrol, Carinthia & Carniola, Silesia & Moravia, Transylvania, Illyria and Bohemia. This was used from 1867-1915.

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Third, we see the “small” arms of Hungary.

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Fourth is the “medium” coat of arms of Hungary also displaying: Croatia, Slavonia, Dalmatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Transylvania, the city of Rijeka and the Kingdom of Hungary on the inescutcheon.

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Next, the fifth example is the “medium” coat of arms of Austria.

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The sixth is the small common coat of arms of the dual monarchy from 1915-1918.

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Finally, the seventh is the “medium” common arms used 1915-1918.

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One Emperor: lots of versions of his coat of arms all of which are his.

More Variety

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Another in this kind of series I’m doing on single armigers with various versions of their coats of arms. This time it is Elizabeth II, well, really the British Sovereign regardless of who it is. The first is a “small” version. You can see this one carved in stone on the facade of Buckingham Palace but it shows up most frequently on Letters Patent for a grant of arms.

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The second is a kind of “middle version” and it is versions like this frequently used by the government on documents and signage.

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The third is, of course, the “large” or full armorial achievement.

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Next is the Royal arms as used in Scotland (same sovereign but a different version of the arms).

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Fifth is the Royal arms OF Scotland as opposed to the Royal arms of the U.K. as used IN Scotland.

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Finally, one used by the sovereign for the Duchy of Lancaster. (By the way even though the Queen is a woman she is still the “Duke” of Lancaster).

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Varying Versions

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A recent Facebook post of mine on the arms of three English Kings of Arms on a College of Arms devisal for the Cathedral Church of the Advent in Birmingham, Alabama piqued my interest about how some armigers employ different versions, not just renderings by different artists but actual different versions, of their armorial achievements. Sometimes this reflects added honors; sometimes the exercise of a new or different office (appointed or elected); sometimes it’s a version to be used specifically on certain occasions or under specific circumstances or only for use within a particular group, etc.

One of the Kings of Arms whose coat of arms appeared in that post was the late, great John Brooke-Little. Here we see his full achievement as Norroy & Ulster King of Arms:

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Brook-Little’s own personal coat of arms were used by him without any extras. Here the arms are rendered by Anthony Wood:

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In addition, we see that sometime he added quite a bit to the achievement to indicate offices held such as a bookplate depicting his coat of arms and banner as Richmond Herald (1967-1980) including both the Richmond Herald badge and the badge from when he had been Bluemantle Pursuivant (1956-1967):

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Finally I include one probably not seen by many: a version of his arms impaled with those of The Heraldry Society which he founded and served for many years as chairman and later as president. This last one was simply for use within that Society:

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All his life his own coat of arms remained as it is depicted in the second image. In other words he did not “change” his coat of arms. However, throughout his life and career he did employ various versions of his achievement some of which included personal honors, some ornaments of office and others additions for private use. This is a good thing to know about and an idea that many interested in heraldry, especially the various uses for a coat of arms, too often overlook. A coat of arms as a personal mark of identification may be employed in various ways to suit the various things one does in life. The armorial achievement does not have to be singular and include everything from every aspect of the life of the armiger. To be sure there are those who prefer this “maximum display” theory. However, an equally meritorious theory is one that makes use of varying versions or varying achievements suited to the time, place, group or activity in which the armiger is engaged.

Here is another example, again from the English College of arms, using the coat of arms of Sir Henry Paston-Bedingfeld, Bt. which are:

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Sir Henry, when he was still just plain old “Mister” served the College as Rouge Croix Pursuivant from 1983-1993 and the as York Herald from 1993-2010. In that latter capacity and prior to the death of his father and his inheriting the title “Baronet” he used the following achievement:

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Sir Henry was appointed Norroy & Ulster King of Arms in 2010 and served in that capacity until his retirement in 2014. Here is a version of the shield of his arms from that time:

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Finally, another example of a different version for private use and also only for a set period of time. From 2012-2013, for just a year Sir Henry served as Master of the Worshipful Company of Scriveners and impaled his arms with the arms of the Company for use in that capacity while at the same time also using the version above and the version in the first photo:

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Again we see that he maintained the personal arms he had inherited from his father and did not “change” his coat of arms. Rather, he chose to display it in varying versions to suit the role of the moment or group.

The world at large already, for the most part, sees heraldry as effete but there are many within the (for lack of a better term) heraldic community, that is to say, the rather small group of people in the world who account themselves heraldic enthusiasts, who, through their own ignorance, misunderstand the concept I’m illustrating here. The advent of the internet has increased the possibility for communication between such enthusiasts throughout the world but has also made for a rash of self-appointed heraldic “experts” who don’t wish to engage in any scholarly pursuit of the heraldic arts and sciences and, either accidentally or purposefully, seek to limit the possibilities for heraldic display accusing anyone who deviates from their own preconceived notions as guilty of self aggrandizement.

It strikes me as slightly ironic that in a modern world that eschews heraldry as an anachronistic pretense anyone possessing a coat of arms themselves could accuse others of self aggrandizement. Then again, ignorance and irony can, at times, be seen to be cousins.