A Great Display of National and Provincial Heraldry

While wandering the streets of Victoria, British Columbia, I found myself walking by Confederation Garden Park which, in addition to having a lot of tourists (including me) and a large attractive fountain, has a great display of Canadian heraldry.

The central coat of arms is, of course, the full achievement of the arms of Canada:

And then, flanking the central achievement of arms, we find the coats of arms of the thirteen provinces of Canada:

On the left side, from left to right, the arms of Yukon, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario:

And on the right, from left to right, the arms of Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut:

As you can see, although it took a bit of patient waiting and some careful timing, I did manage to get photographs of all of these shields without any tourists blocking the view.

And please feel free to click on any of the images above to go to a larger, more detailed picture to get the full effect of the detail in these coats of arms. They are well worth the look!

Anyway, it was nice to see such a great display of heraldry, right out there in the open for anyone walking by to enjoy!

Can You Guess Where I Went on My Most Recent Trip?

I recently came back from my first trip in two years. If I give you a heraldic clue, can you guess where I went?

Okay, not the clearest clue, I will admit. Is this one better? 

Here's another hint: here are the arms of the country I went to:

Many of you will recognize where I was now.

That's right! I was off in the "wilds" of British Columbia, Canada.

Specifically, I had returned to Victoria, British Columbia, for the annual general meeting of the Royal Heraldry Society of Canada. (Jo Ann and I had gone to Victoria in 2007 for that year's annual general meeting of the RHSC. Alas, this trip had to be made on my own owing to her death from cancer last October.)

I didn't happen to run across any depictions of the arms of the city of Victoria, but as you can see below, there are plenty of portrayals of the arms of British Columbia to be found, especially in Government House, the official residence of the Lieutenant Governor, which we visited while we were there:

The arms of British Columbia are blazoned as: Argent three bars wavy Azure issuant from the base over all a demi sun in splendour Or a chief of the Royal Union Flag charged in the centre with an antique crown Or.

That blazon is taken from the website of the CHA, hence the British spellings of “centre” and “splendour”.*

Victoria is a lovely city in a beautiful setting, and it was nice to be able to spend some time again there, and to see the use of the provincial coat of arms in various places.

* I am reminded of the old saw:

   Q: What is the difference between grey and gray?

   A: Grey is a colour, while gray is a color.

Heraldry in the Wild

I've said it many times before, and it continues to prove true:

You can find heraldry everywhere!

The most recent occasion for me was on one of my regular visits to a local gym. (At my age, I've got to do what I can to keep my body from deteriorating further, so I try to get there four times a week: twice to work on building up the sometimes painful right shoulder (one of my docs thinks it's got arthritis) and a half hour of cardio; and twice for the aqua fitness program that helps me stay flexible.)

Anyway, as I said, there I was in the gym parking lot early one morning and right there out in the "wilds" of Cedar Hill, Texas, I saw this:

On a custom automobile license plate, the arms of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, and just in case you didn't quite catch it, the plate was surrounded by a license plate holder proclaiming the driver to be a "proud member of S[outh]W[est] D[allas] C[ounty] A[lumnae]" Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta.

The Chapter's website notes that: "SWDCA is known for its diversity and leadership within the community. Our members are leaders in every facet of life within Delta Sigma Theta and their professional careers. With Service, Scholarship, Sisterhood, and Social Action at the forefront of our mission, SWDCA is a welcoming space for all members."

Delta Sigma Theta is a historically African American sorority. The organization was founded by college-educated women dedicated to public service with an emphasis on programs that assist the African American community. Delta Sigma Theta was founded on January 13, 1913 by twenty-two women at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Membership is open to any woman, regardless of religion, race, or nationality.

And here's a clearer image of the sorority's coat of arms, taken from Wikipedia:

As heraldry, sure, there can be some quibbles about the design and choice of colors. (For example: The cream color used here has the same issue as Pope Leo XIV's recently announced coat of arms; is it supposed to be argent [white] or or [gold/yellow]? On the other hand, it is certainly no worse, and in many cases is distinctly better, than the "arms" of many other American collegiate fraternities and sororities.

Still and all, it was fun to run across a coat of arms unexpectedly, out in the "wild" of a local gym parking lot.

Heraldry In The News! Updated.

I know, I know! It's been a few weeks now, and I you probably think I should have gotten around to mentioning this heraldic news item sooner than this.

But frankly, there has been some controversy about this coat of arms since it first popped up in the news, and it's been my observation over the years that if you wait just a little while before commenting about something that may be a little controversial, things will settle down a bit and you can get more accurate information.

Well, that, and the fact that I'm no fan of the 24-hour news cycle generally, for pretty much the same reason.

Anyway, for the one or two of you who may not have heard yet, the Roman Catholic Church has a new Pope, elected just a few weeks after the passing of Pope Francis. The new American-born Pope has taken the name Leo XIV, and his coat of arms, with the Papal additaments, has hit the heraldic news world.

An early announcement, with an image and explanation of the new Pope's arms, was made by the Vatican News on their website at https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2025-05/pope-leo-xiv-official-explanation-coat-arms.html

And almost immediately, there were complaints about it both in news items generally as well as some of the heraldry blogs, newsgroups, and Facebook groups, with headlines like "Heraldry buffs demand answers on "confusing" background colour" (https://www.creativebloq.com/design/logos-icons/the-design-of-pope-leo-xivs-coat-of-arms-is-proving-to-be-surprisingly-controversial), based primarily on the fact that the tincture in the lower part of the shield was said to be of a "light background" that in appearance is neither Argent nor Or, but rather a kind of cream color. (See also https://mymodernmet.com/pope-leo-xiv-portrait-signature-coat-of-arms/)

Other stories with similar, though sometimes slightly different, explanations of the various elements of the arms can be found at https://www.msn.com/en-ie/lifestyle/lifestylegeneral/pope-leo-xiv-s-new-coat-of-arms-a-symbol-of-unity-and-faith/ar-AA1EMh8k , https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/pope-leo-xivs-new-coat-of-arms-a-blend-of-faith-and-tradition/ar-AA1EMGXL, and https://www.inkl.com/news/what-pope-leo-xiv-s-coat-of-arms-and-motto-reveal-about-his-dedication-to-the-ideals-of-st-augustine-an-art-historian-explains, all appeared within days.

Finally, though, the Vatican issued an "official" portrait of Pope Leo XIV along with his signature and depiction of his coat of arms with the Papal additaments. See if you can spot the difference in the official version from the earlier ones.

Yeah, I know it may be a little hard to see here. Let me help. Here's an enlarged version of the arms taken from the image above.

The lower half of the shield is no longer "light" or "cream" or whatever you want to call the "neither argent nor or" of the earlier depictions. Here, in the official version, it is clearly the same argent as appears in the fleur-de-lis, one of the two keys of St. Peter behind the shield, and the white portions of the Papal tiara.

So by waiting just a few days, the "controversy" over the new Pope's arms has been settled, all without any help, or complaint, from me.

Lesson learned? I hope so.

People? It's no longer a "'confusing' background colour"; it's argent.*

* Except if it isn't? Since writing this post, I have found other "official portraits" of the Pope where the coat of arms is still in that "cream" color, clearly different from argent. For example: https://www.nashvillecatholic.org/news/posts/vatican-releases-official-portrait-of-pope-leo-xiv; https://www.reddit.com/r/Catholicism/comments/1knyoga/official_portrait_of_pope_leo_xiv/; https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/pope-leo-xivs-portrait/; and https://www.instagram.com/p/DJt8FBFOisR/

So the confusion continues.

And just when I thought it had been locked down.

And then again ... just today (Tuesday, May 27) I ran across yet another entry in the "Is it white or is it cream?" debate, in the form of this photograph:

This is the official banner with the Pope's coat of arms that hangs outside the window of the Apostolic Palace. Note that it does have the color of the lower half of the shield as argent (white).

So I'm going to try to put a peg in this again, and rule definitively that the shield is Per bend sinister azure and argent!

Heraldry in the News!

It's taken a little time (but then, it always has!), but King Charles III of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland now has his very own Great Seal.

One of the best stories I've seen about this was a May 10, 2025 article over on Royal Central, which you can see on-line at https://royalcentral.co.uk/royal-news/king-charles-iiis-great-seal-of-the-realm-unveiled-210198/

The article contains some images from the Royal Mint of the obverse and reverse of the new Great Seal.

The obverse (front side) of the seal has a very well done image of Charles III seated on a throne, and the reverse (back side) has a nice image of the Royal Arms, updated with the Tudor crown which Charles prefers.

I think all that is well and good, but I have a question about one part of the new seal.

It contains the expected Latin inscription around the outer edge, but ...

... if you take a close look at the inscription, which I have mirrored in the image immediately above so it is easier to read (and you can click on this image to go to a larger version which is even more clear), beginning at the 12 o'clock position and running clockwise around the seal. It is all in Latin except for one word: the King's name is given in its English form ("Charles") rather than its Latin equivalent ("Carolus").

Now, I will admit to finding the use of Charles rather than Carolus a little jarring in an otherwise entirely Latin inscription, but as a good friend of mine told me, "You're expecting consistency from the English. Ain't gonna happen. That ship sailed when Edward VII died."

So maybe I am, even as an historian, asking a little too much by expecting an otherwise entirely Latin inscription to use the Latin form of the King's name. And, truthfully, it's really a pretty minor quibble.

But don't you have to be impressed by the engraver's art here? I know I am.

A Final Armorial Memorial in Temple Church, London

For our last look at some of the armorial memorials in Temple Church, London, we come to that of Sir John Witham, Baronet, of the Inner Temple, who was buried in the Temple Church vault November 28, 1689.

The long Latin inscription reads:

Memoriæ Sacrum

Johannes Witham, Baronetti

Qui prosapia in Agro Eboracensi ortus 

Inclyta & antiqua

Cuin res domi animo impar Esset 

Patriæ reliquit fines, 

et Majora Meditatus In Novum Virtute duce, orbem 

Provectus est 

ubi per varios casus suæ faber fortunæ 

Anglorum Nobilissimæ in Barbados Insula Coloniæ præpositus 

Summo Magistratu Maxima cum Laude 

Defunctus est. 

Ubi opes ibi honores bene promeritos 

Ob rrem feliciter gestam adeptus, 

In Angliam reversus est 

Semel Matrimonium Experto 

Soboles una Superstes nulla 

quod reliquum 

In votis erat inter suos in Templo Interiori Socios 

Vivus versari. 

Mortuus sepeliri 

Obijt XV die Novembris Anno gratiæ MDCLXXXIX Ætatis Suæ XLV 

Hoc Sepulcrale Marmor 

Amicitiæ pignus 

Posuit 

Robertus Chaplin Mercator Londinensis.

(Sacred Memory. John Witham, Baronet, Whose lineage was born in the Yorkshire Country Illustrious and ancient When things were not at home in his mind He left the borders of his country, and, having meditated on greater things, as a leader in a new Virtue, He advanced where, through various accidents, the architect of his fortune He was appointed to the colony of the most noble Englishmen in Barbados Island He died with the highest Magistracy with great honors. Where, having obtained wealth and well-deserved honors For his successful deeds, He returned to England Having once experienced marriage One issue, none surviving what remained He wished to spend his remaining times among his companions in the Inner Temple Alive. The deceased was buried Obituary on the 15th day of November in the year of his grace 1689, aged 45 This marble tomb was laid as a pledge of friendship

by Robert Chaplin, a merchant of London.)

But of course it's the heraldry, and the unusual crest, on the monument that caught my attention:

Burke’s General Armory cites: Witham (Cliffe, co. York). Or a bend gules between three pewits sable. Crest: Issuant from a ducal coronet or, a demi-woman hair dishevelled proper holding in her dexter hand a gem-ring or.

Here, we see Witham in the first and fourth, quartering: 2, Per fess argent and gules (Wawton); and 3, Argent on a fess gules between three birds close [sable] three escallops [argent] (Thweng); overall the badge of a baronet (Argent a dexter hand couped appaumy gules).

Burke notes that “this family, originally of co. Lincoln, acquired the lands of Cliffe by the marriage of George Witham, temp. Henry V., with Margaret, daughter and co-heir of John Wawton, of that place.” Which thus totally explains Wawton in the second quarter.

The Dictionary of British Arms, Vol. 3, notes the arms of Thweng (where it states that the birds are "very indistinct poss[ibly] popinjays"), on a brass to Thomas Wytham, d. 1481, and his wife Agnes, daughter of William Thweng of Comburgh, d. 1495, Sheriff Hutton, Yorkshire. And thus we find the explanation of the arms in the third quarter of the shield.

It's always kind of fun to find out where the various quarters on a multiply divided shield have come from. It's not always easy to track them all down, but I am glad that I was able to do so here, giving us a greater look at the family history and connections over the years than the inscription on the monument gave us on its own.

Another Reason I Like to Travel

I've been lucky enough (or as my wife used to say, we've been willing enough to go into debt) to travel a lot of different places over the years.

And every place I go, I look for wearable heraldic souvenirs of our travels. What this means in practice is tee shirts and baseball caps with coats of arms on them.

Now, not every place offers such items (I'm looking at you, Dublin, Ireland and Glasgow, Scotland! No tee shirts, no baseball caps, not even a keychain with the city arms on them. And I looked! I even asked! The closest I came in Dublin was a fuzzy "viking" horned hat with the city's coat of arms on it. I bought it, but it's not something I feel quite brave enough to wear in public. Especially with the little bells hanging from the ends of the horns, not to mention the blue braids on each side. See photograph immediately below).

And, of course, not every place I've gone offers "real" heraldry on their wearable souvenirs.

Once example of this is my recent trip to Victoria, British Columbia, to attend the Annual General Meeting of the Royal Heraldry Society of Canada, of which I have been a member for more years than I care to remember.

Having some free time before meetings, I wandered down to the central city to see what I could find. And I found an armorial tee shirt and matching (sort of) baseball cap.

As you can see, they both bear the same fictitious coat of arms, though only the shirt bears the legend: Canada: Fast and Furious.

The "arms" consist of the logo of the Porsche automobile company (with the legend "Canada" across the top of the shield instead of "Porsche"), and the inescutcheon bears a black rampant moose (instead of the black rearing horse) and the word "Original" in chief instead of "Stuttgart", the city where Porsche is located.

Here's Porsche to compare:

And the "arms" on the shirt:

So, while it may not be the arms of the city of Victoria, or even the arms of British Columbia, it's a fun little take-off with a specifically Canadian twist of the logo of Porsche, and I expect to have some fun wearing each of these items in the future.

And if you can't have some fun with heraldry, what's the point? As J.P. Brooke-Little said in his Introduction to his book An Heraldic Alphabet: "[H]erein lies the fun and if heraldry ever ceases to be fun - chuck it."

Why I Like to Travel

Well, maybe saying that I "like" to travel is a bit of an overstatement.

Because, honestly, while I like being in new and different places, or revisiting places I have been to before, the getting there -- whether by plane, train, or automobile -- isn't all that pleasant to me, especially at my increasing age.

Nonetheless, I can't do one without the other (at least until they invent the Star Trek transporter system), so I at least tolerate the going to enjoy the being.

A recent trip to the Pacific Northwest allowed me to indulge myself in at least one way; I was able for the first time since I commissioned it (from artist and craftsman Steve Cowan) to use my heraldic table banner to mark my place at the table at the gala banquet at the Annual General Meeting of the Royal Heraldry Society of Canada.

Here are two photographs of its first public "unveiling", as it were. The first picture is of the obverse side with my coat of arms:

And the second is the reverse, with my crest:

Note that on the crest, one of the apples has fallen from the tree and has landed on the torse.

Steve asked me before drawing it up if I would have any objection to him drawing it that way, and I told him that I thought it would add a nice little touch of whimsy, so he did.

And it warms my heart and makes me laugh a little every time I see it.

And, really, if you can't have a little fun with heraldry, what's the point of it?

As J.P. Brooke-Little said so well in his introduction to his book, An Heraldic Alphabet: "[H]erein lies the fun and if heraldry ever ceases to be fun - chuck it."

Armorial Memorial to a Man, His Wife, and Their Son

Once again, because of the dearth of information found on-line or in the usual suspects (Papworth, Burke's, etc.), with the exception of an entry in the Dictionary of National Biography for Sir William Morton, some of the information for these entries was found in the Register of Burials at the Temple Church, 1628-1853, by H. G. Woods, D.D., Master of the Temple, Henry Sotheran and Co., London, 1905

Heic subtus jacet corpus Willielmi Morton, Militis, unius Justiciariorum ad Placita coram ipso Rege tenenda, &c. Collonellus equorum atque pedum Caroli beatæ memoriæ primi, &c. 1672 (Here under lies the body of William Morton, Soldier, one of the Justiciary to hold Pleas before the King himself, &c. Colonel of the Horse and Foot of Charles the First of blessed memory, &c. 1672).

The Roll-call of Temple Worthies buried within the precincts includes a large number of Masters of the Bench of the two Honourable Societies [Inner Temple and Middle Temple in London]. The following were Judges: … Sir William Morton, who fought on the royalist side (1672), ….

So here we have the armorial memorial to the Hon. Judge Sir William Morton, Kt. (died 1672), his wife, Lady Anne Morton, née Smith (died 1668), wife of Sir William Morton, and their son, John Morton (died 1668).

The Register of Burials gives us the following for these last two individuals:

Mistress Anne Morton, wife of the Hon. Judge Morton of the Inner Temple, was buried in the south aisle upon the 7th of January, 1668-9.

John Morton of the Inner Temple, esq., was buried in the south isle the 26th day of November, 1668.

John Morton, Esq; eldest Son of Sir William Morton Kt. and Anne his Wife, of the Inner Temple. And Captain of a Regiment of Foot in Ireland, and Governor of Kilkenny, 1668.

The arms are blazoned: Quarterly gules and ermine, in the first and fourth quarters a goat's head erased argent armed or. The crest is A goat's head as in the arms.

We have seen this coat of arms before in connection with another individual. The Archbishop of Canterbury John Morton (d. 1500) also bore these arms, and we have seen them at Canterbury Cathedral and at the Church of St. Mary at Lambeth in London.

Two Armorial Memorials in Temple Church

It is sometimes difficult to find good information about an individual, or the coat of arms, on a memorial in a church. Either I cannot find much, if any, biographical information on-line, and/or the usual armorial sources (e.g., Burke's General Armory, Papworth's Ordinary of British Armorials, etc.) aren't specific to the individual memorialized.

Still, I try to do what I can. Some of the information for the entries today, as sparce as it was, was found in the Register of Burials at the Temple Church, 1628-1853, by H. G. Woods, D.D., Master of the Temple, Henry Sotheran and Co., London, 1905

Today we see the memorial to Sir John Williams, of Minster, in the County of Kent, Kt. 1668.

The Register of Burials informs us that Sir John Williams of Minster Court in the Isle of Tenett, a member of the Inner Temple, was buried in the church under near the saints bell the 26 of March, 1669.

Burke’s General Armory only cites Williams (Minster, in the Isle of Thanet, co. Kent). Vert three eagles displayed in fess or. Crest: An eagle displayed or.

Here, of course, the Williams arms are quartering Gules three lions passant in pale argent, which are probably the arms of Giffard or Gifford.

However, I have been unable to find a Sir John Williams whose wife was a Giffard or Gifford, so I have no other information about this individual.

Next we have the memorial to George Wilde:

Here again, the Register of Burials informs us that George Wilde of the Inner Temple, Esq., was buried in the round on Friday the first of August, 1679.

The arms would be blazoned Quarterly: 1 and 4, Argent on a chief sable three martlets argent (Wild/Wylde); 2, Argent on a cross sable a crescent or [too many possibilities to positively identify]; 3, Or a chevron checky azure and gules between three cinquefoils azure [Cooke]; overall a crescent gules for difference. Crest: A lion passant gules resting its dexter forepaw on an escutcheon argent, the lion charged on the shoulder with a crescent or.

Here, too, I have been unable to find additional information about Mr. Wilde, not even in the Dictionary of National Biography.

Still, though, these are some very nicely done coats of arms.