The Lesser Arms of Munich, Germany

Having seen the Greater Arms of the city of Munich, Germany, last time, which incorporate "the monk from the lesser coat of arms", today we're going to see what that "lesser coat of arms" looks like.

And in the process, we're going to see some international heraldry!

This plaque, found in the New Town Hall (Neues Rathaus) in Munich, shows the lesser arms of Munich surrounded by her sister cities around the world.

The “small arms” of Munich, seen in the center panel here, are blazoned: In Silber ein stehender Mönch mit golden bordierter schwarzer Kutte und Kapuze und roten Schuhen, der ein rotes Buch in der Linken hält; die Rechte segnend erhoben. (Argent a monk statant habited Sable trimmed Or with shoes Gules [arms outstretched] the right hand in benediction the left holding a book Gules.) This is the monk who appears within the gateway of the town gate of the greater arms.

Of Munich and her sister cities from around the world, we have the arms (or logo or seal, when no coat of arms exists for that city. I'm looking at you, Cincinnati!) of: from left to right, and top to bottom: 

Kyiv, Ukraine; Harare, Zimibabwe; Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.A.; 

Sapporo, Japan; Munich, Germany; Bordeaux, France; 

Edinburgh, Scotland, U.K.; Be’er Sheva, Israel; and Verona, Italy.

Not flashy, not all that showy, but what a great display of international heraldry!

The Greater Arms of Munich, Germany

Continuing our virtual tagging along on my friend Katie's river cruise to Europe, and all of the pictures of heraldry she took for me while she was there, we come to Munich, Germany.

Where we find two examples of the "greater arms" of the city over different doorways. (As always, you should click on the image(s) below to see the full-size photograph(s), where you can zoom in and see these arms in greater detail.

The German blazon for this coat of arms is: In Silber ein offenes rotes Stadttor zwischen zwei roten Zinnentürmen mit von Schwarz und Gold mehrfach zickzackartig gebänderten Dächern; oben ein wachsender, golden gekrönter und bewehrter goldener Löwe; im Tor der Mönch des kleinen Wappens. 

In English blazon, we have: Argent, an open red town gate between two red crenellated towers with roofs banded horizontally in a zigzag pattern of sable and or; above, a lion issuant crowned and armed or; within the gateway, the monk from the lesser coat of arms.

The monk (mönch) in both the greater and the lesser arms is, of course, a cant (an heraldic term for a pictorial pun)* on the German name of the city: München. 

The use of the greater arms of Munich was abolished by law from December 17, 1957 and only the small arms have been used since. Though, obviously, you can still see the greater arms depicted here and there about the city.

Next time, we will see the Lesser Coat of Arms of Munich, along with some international heraldry!

* This definition leads to yet another pun, in English, anyway: "Heralds don't pun; they cant".

The heraldic term "cant" being a homophone of "can't", a shortened form of "cannot".