Some Military and Civic Heraldry

There is a section of York Minster that displays some English military and foreign civic heraldry in a combined display and memorial.

The military heraldry is that of The 14th West Yorkshire Regiment, The Prince of Wales’s Own:

And this part of the Minster memorializes the Regiment's service during World War I in France and Flanders:

The other shields, each within a wreath and supported by two angels, are the civic heraldry in the title of this post, the coats of arms of the cities where they were stationed at various times during the Great War.

In this overview shot, we see the arms, from left to right, of Ypres, Belgium, and of Cambrai and Fère-En-Tardenois (between Paris and Reims), France. We'll look more closely at each of these further below:

The arms of Armentieres (the city of the oft-sung Mademoiselle), France:

The arms of Neuve Chapelle (WSW of Lille), France.

And close-ups of the first three: Ypres, Belgium;

Cambrai, France;

and, again, Fère-En-Tardenois:

You will probably have noticed that most of these places have the date(s) when the Regiment was stationed there.

So there you have it: the Who (the 14th West Yorkshire Regiment, The Prince of Wales’s Own); the Where (various cities in France and Belgium); the When (the dates they were posted to most of these places); and should already pretty much be aware of the Why (World War I).

What an impressive memorial!

The Great Stone Shields of York Minster, the Final Part

See, I told you we'd come to an end of these shields flanking the many archways inside York Minster! And here we are, down to the last of them. (Or at least, the last of the ones that I photographed while I was there. As I said before, I'm not certain that I saw and photogrraphed all of them.)

In any event, these are the final five sets:

On the left, we have the arms of Henry le Scrope, 1st Baron Scrope of Masham (1312-1392), Azure a bend or overall a label argent (whose arms we have seen earlier in this series); and on the right, the arms of Henry Percy, 3rd Earl of Northumberland, (1421-1461) or his father, Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland (1393-1455), Quarterly: 1 and 4, Or a lion rampant azure (Percy); 2 and 3, Gules three lucies haurient in fess argent (Lucy).

And in this photo, on the left we have the arms of John de Mowbray, 2nd Baron Mowbray (1286-1322), Gules a lion rampant argent; and on the right, another coat we have seen earlier, the attributed arms of Ulf, Vert six lions rampant or.

In this picture, on the left we have the well-known arms of Mortimer (there are several Mortimers who could be meant here: Edmund, 2nd Baron Mortimer (1251-1304); Roger, 1st Earl of March (1287-1330); Roger’s son Edmund (1302-1331); or a few others, Barry of six or and azure, on a chief or two pallets between two gyrons azure overall an inescutcheon argent; and on the right, another coat we have seen elsewhere in the cathedral, the attributed arms of Edwin, King of Northumbria, who converted to Christianity in 627, Gules three crowns or.

Over this arch, we have two attributed coats of arms: on the left, those of St. Edward the Confessor, Azure a cross flory between five martlets or (St. Edward was considered their special patron saint by several kings of England, most notably King Richard II); and on the right, the well-known arms of St. George, Argent a cross gules. St. George is, of course, the patron saint of England.

And finally, two coats of arms we have seen earlier in this series: the arms of Hugh FitzHenry (d. 1305) or his son, Henry FitzHugh, Azure three chevronels braced and a chief or (the chevronels may be an error for Azure fretty a chief or, as found in Burke’s General Armory and in Aspilogia III, The Rolls of Arms of Edward I); and and on the right, Henry le Scrope, 1st Baron Scrope of Masham (1312-1392), Azure a bend or overall a label argent.

Thank you for your patience as we have gone through this set of wonderfully carved and painted shields flanking the arches inside York Minster. I hope that they haven't bored you; they have certainly piqued my interest to wish to know more about them and the individuals they represent here in the cathedral!

The Great Stone Shields of York Minster, Part 7

Continuing our look at the stone shields flanking the (many!) archways inside York Minster (we're coming near the last of them, I promise!), today we see the following:

On the left, the attributed arms of St. Paul, Gules two swords in saltire points downward proper; and on the right, the attributed arms of St. Peter, Gules two keys in saltire wards to chief argent.

Here, looking through the archway, on the left we have Hugh FitzHenry (d. 1305) or his son, Henry FitzHugh, Azure three chevronels braced and a chief or. (The chevronels may be an error for Azure fretty a chief or as cited in Burke's General Armory and in Aspilogia III); and on the right, Henry le Scrope, 1st Baron Scrope of Masham (1312-1392), Azure a bend or overall a label argent).

And on the near side of the arch, in the center we see the attributed arms of Jesus Christ, Sable a Latin cross or with other symbols of the cruxifiction; and on the right the arms of William FitzRalph or Ralph FitzWilliam de Greystoke, Barruly argent and azure, three chaplets of roses gules.

And in this view from a slightly different angle as the previous photograph, the arms of Henry le Scrope, 1st Baron Scrope of Masham again, and on this side of the arch, from left to right, the attributed arms of St. Wilfrid, Azure three suns or; the attributed arms of Jesus; and the arms of William FitzRalph or Ralph FitzWilliam de Greystoke.

And from the same location, but looking further down the aisle, from left to right, we see the attributed arms of Jesus; the arms of William FitzRalph or Ralph FitzWilliam de Greystoke, Barruly argent and azure, three chaplets of roses gules; the arms of William le Latimer, senior (d. 1304), Gules a cross patonce or; and the arms of Robert de Clifford, Checky or and azure a fess gules.

And in our final archway for today, on the left we see the arms of Archbishop Richard le Scrope (1350-1405), third son of Henry, 1st Baron Scrope of Masham, Archbishop of York 1398-1405, who was executed in 1405 for his participation in the Northern Rising against King Henry IV, Azure a bend or and a label argent all within a bordure gules charged with mitres or; and on the right, the arms of Walter Skirlaw, canon of York and Bishop of Durham 1388-1406, Argent a cross triple-parted and fretted sable, or Argent a cross of six osiers intertwined sable.

As you can see, this last shield is proof once again that there may be more than one way to correctly blazon a coat of arms; either of the given blazons will accurately reproduce the shield here. Proof once again that heraldry is as much an art as it is a science.

The Great Stone Shields of York Minster, Part 6

I know, I know! Here we are at Part 6 of looking at these shields in York Minster, and we're not done yet!

What makes it worse (at least to me) is that I'm not entirely sure that I managed to photograph all of them.

Nonetheless, here are today's shields and identifications:

Above we have the arms of England (in the person of King Edward I, Gules three lions passant guardant in pale or; and Edmund, Earl of Lancaster, brother of King Edward I (1245-1296), Gules three lions passant guardant in pale or a label of five tags azure each tag charged with three fleurs-de-lis.

And here we have, on the left, the arms of England in the person of King Henry IV, Quarterly France modern and England; and on the right, the arrtibuted arms of St. Edward the Confessor, Azure a cross flory between five martlets or. St. Edward the Confessor is regarded as their special patron by several kings of England, most notably King Richard II.

Here, on the left, William le Vavasour (d. 1311), Lord of Hazelwood, Or a dance sable; and on the right, Ranulph de Neville (d. 1331) or Robert de Neville, Ranulph’s son, Gules a saltire argent.

Over this archway, on the left, the arms of Archibald Alexander Neville, Gules on a saltire argent a crescent sable for difference; and on the right, Hugh FitzHenry (d. 1305) or his son, Henry FitzHugh, Azure three chevronels braced and a chief or. The braced chevronels here may be an error for Azure fretty a chief or, as these arms are blazoned in Burke's General Armory and in Aspilogia III.

And for our last entries for today, on the left, Henry Scrope, Azure on a bend or a lion rampant sable; and on the right, St. William of York, Or seven mascles conjoined three three and one gules. Saint William was Archbishop of York not once, but twice: from 1141 to 1147 and then again from 1153 to 1154.

Today's shields have a lot of nice, simple heraldry on them, and even a couple of arms differenced by cadency. So how cool is that?

The Great Stone Shields of York Minster, Part 5

To continue our look at the stone shields flanking the arches inside York Minster, we come to the following:

First, we have the arms of John de Warenne, 1st Earl Sussex (1231-1304), Checky or and azure; and the arms of John de Warenne, 2nd Earl Sussex (1286-1347) Checky or and azure.

Then we see the arms of Sir John Wake, Or a fess and in chief three roundels gules; and the arms of Sir John Wake or Baldwin Wake, Or two bars and in chief three roundels gules.

Next are the arms of Piers de Mauley, junior* (1249-1308), Or a bend sable; and those of Stephen Mauley (1289-1317), Archdeacon of Cleveland, Or on a bend sable three crosses flory or.

Then the arms of William le Vavasour (d. 1311), Lord of Hazelwood, Or a dance sable; and Piers de Mauley, junior (1249-1308), Or a bend sable.

And finally, the arms of Anthony de Bek, bishop of Durham, Gules a cross moline ermine; and those of either Gilbert de Clare, senior, Earl of Gloucester and Hertford (d. 1295), or Gilbert de Clare, junior, Earl of Gloucester and Hertford (d. 1314), Or three chevrons gules. (We have seen the arms of Clare before, as part of the arms of Clare College, Cambridge.)

* Piers de Mauley, senior, seems to have born the arms Vair a maunch gules, which we will see in a later post. 

The Great Stone Shields of York Minster, Part Four

Continuing today our look at the great stone shields inside York Minster, today we find:

On the left, the arms of John de Bulmer (d. 1299) or Ralph de Bulmer (d. 1356): Gules billety a lion rampant or; and on the right, William FitzRalph or Ralph FitzWilliam de Greystoke: Barruly argent and azure, three chaplets of roses gules.

And here, flanking two different arches, the arms of Robert de Ros, senior (d. 1285): Gules three water bougets argent, and those of William de Ros (d. 1316): also, Gules three water bougets argent.

Another arch with identical arms on each side; there those of William le Vavasour (d. 1311), Lord of Hazelwood: Or a dance sable, and of Walter le Vavasour: also Or a dance sable.

Another archway with matching coats of arms. Here, Henry de Percy, 7th Baron of Topcliffe (d. 1272) Azure five fusils conjoined in fess or; or Azure a fess fusilly or; or Azure a fess indented or) (Percy ancient); and possibly Henry de Percy, 1st Baron Percy of Alnwick and 8th Baron of Topcliffe (1273-1314). It was this Henry who changed his coat of arms from Percy ancient to Percy modern (seen in the next photo).

On the left, the arms of Henry de Percy, 1st Baron Percy of Alnwick (1273-1314): Or a lion rampant azure (Percy modern). It was this Henry de Percy who changed his coat of arms from Percy ancient seen in the previous photo, to Percy modern. And on the right, we find the arms of John de Mowbray, 2nd Baron Mowbray (1286-1322): Gules a lion rampant argent.

The Great Stone Shields of York Minster, Part Three

Continuing our look at the stone shields flanking the many arches in York Minster, we come to the following, in no particular order beyond the order in which I took these photographs as I walked through the Minster:

Above, on the left we have the arms of England (King Edward I), Gules three lions passant guardant in pale or, and on the right, the attributed arms of Ulf (a Danish thegn, or thane): Vert six lions rampant or. Tradition says that shortly before 1066, Ulf made a gift of his lands to the Minster, to stop his sons from quarrelling over them.

And here we have Ulf again: Vert six lions rampant or on the left, and on the right, Margaret of France, second wife of King Edward I: France ancient: Azure semy-de-lys or.

The arms taken from two slightly different angles of: on the left, Aymer de Valence (1270-1324) or William de Valence (d. 1296), Earl of Pembroke: Barry argent and azure an orle of martlets gules; and on the right, Henry de Bolton, Lord Mayor of York 1335-1337): Or on a chevron gules three lions passant guardant or.

And here we have, on the left, William de Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick: Gules a fess between six crosses crosslet or; and on the right, Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford and Essex: Azure, a bend argent cotised between six lions rampant or.

And to finish out our post for today, we have here on the left, the arms of William le Latimer (senior): Gules a cross patonce or; and on the right, the well-known arms of de Vere in the person of Robert de Vere, senior (1220-1296), or Robert de Vere, junior (1257-1331), Earl of Oxford: Quarterly gules and or in the first quarter a mullet argent.

The Great Stone Shields of York Minster, Part Two

By way of introduction to these impressive shields in York Minster, here's a shot that includes a number of them which will give you an idea of what an impact they make in the cathedral.

Please feel free to click on the image above to see a larger, and thus more detailed photograph of these shields that will give you a better "feel" for them than you can get from just the picture here.

These coats of arm are,* from left to right:

William de Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick: Gules a fess between six crosses crosslet or;

Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford and Essex: Azure, a bend argent cotised or between six lions rampant or;

Aymer de Valence (1270-1324) or William de Valence (d. 1296), Earl of Pembroke: Barry argent and azure an orle of martlets gules;

Henry de Bolton, Lord Mayor of York 1335-1337): Or on a chevron gules three lions passant guardant or;

Ulf (a Danish thegn, or thane): attributed arms, Vert six lions rampant or); and 

Margaret of France, the second wife of King Edward I: France ancient (Azure semy-de-lis or).

* Most of the sources that I have to help identify these shields give only the surname. I have tried to be more specific in the identifications in this (and following) posts, using primarily Aspilogia III: The Rolls of Arms of Edward I by Gerard J. Brault. Even then, though, in several cases, the arms could represent more than one individual; a father or his son, or one of two (or more) brothers. I have tried in these instances to make my best guess, or to include the individuals who are the likeliest candidates.

The Great Stone Shields of York Minster, Part the First

The interior arches of York Minster are flanked with pairs of large shields carved and colorfully painted. One source says that “The crests [sic] above the aisle arches represent the coats of arms of the nobles who assisted Edward I in his Scottish incursions” (https://www.fmschmitt.com/travels/England/york/YorkMinster/target15.html); another says that "The shields that line the walls are those of the nobles who accompanied Edward I and II on their campaigns against the Scots" (https://www.timetravel-britain.com/articles/churches/minster.shtml); while another says that they "commemorate patrons, donors and benefactors of the Minster." (A Guide to the Heraldry in York Minster)

Any of those descriptions may be true for the majority of these coats of arms, but the two you see first when entering the Minster are neither of nobles who took part in Longshanks Scots campaigns nor "patrons, donors and benefactors" of the cathedral.

These two shields are, in fact, the arms of the See of York (ancient),* Azure an episcopal staff palewise or surmounted by a pall argent edged and fringed or charged with four crosses patty sable; and the attributed arms of St. Wilfrid, Bishop of York 664-678, Azure three suns or, which we have seen before in our perambulations around the old city of York and, indeed, carved on the exterior of the Minster itself.

Please feel free to click on either (or both!) of the images above to go to larger photographs which will let you see these arms in their carved and painted glory in greater detail.

Next time, we'll begin looking at the great stone shields of nobles, patrons, donors, and benefactors gracing the archways inside York Minster.

* We have already seen, and will see again, the arms of the See of York (modern), Gules two keys in saltire wards to chief argent in chief a Royal crown or.