Heraldry Seen on Memorial Day

Well, it was almost heraldry.

Memorial Day here in the United States is a holiday held on the last Monday in May dedicated to the memory of those who have died while serving in this country's armed forces.  It began as Decoration Day just a few years after the end of the American Civil War, and at that time memorialized those who had died in that bloody conflict.

The Fort Worth, Texas camp of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, of which I am a member, holds an annual Memorial Day ceremony at the Grand Army of the Republic* monument in Oakwood Cemetery in Fort Worth.  It is a relatively brief but moving ceremony, including a three-howitzer salute by a related unit, and draws a number of visitors and onlookers.

On an only marginally related note, I enjoy participating in it because it gives me the opportunity to visit the cemetery and to see some of the old, and new, headstones, etc.  This time, as we were driving in, my wife spotted an above-ground mausoleum which what looked like a coat of arms over the entrance.  So we made sure to go by it on our way out so we could get a photograph of the arms.

As you can see, as heraldry it is an "almost."  That is to say, it's almost heraldry, but falls a bit short.  A bit of a disappointment, admittedly; one could wish that the Moore family would use a real coat of arms there.  But still, it's nice to find even "almost" heraldry on a late spring morning in Texas.


*  The GAR was made up of those who fought for the Union in that war, whether soldier, sailor, or marine.  As the GAR's numbers dwindled as those men aged and died off (in much the same way as our World War II veterans are doing now), the SUVCW, made up of their children, grand-children, and so on, became the successor organization to the GAR, and carries on its legacy, including keeping alive the memory of their lost comrades in arms.

More Found Heraldry

Further to our day out together, my wife and I drove over to the west side of Fort Worth to visit the Texas Civil War Museum.  (That would be the American Civil War of 1861-1865.  They've got some really neat stuff there, including a uniform worn by General J.E.B. Stuart, General Robert E. Lee's cavalry commander, as well as the frock coat worn by General U.S. Grant when accepting Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House. But I digress.)

Next door to the TCWM, we saw the following:

Why is it that so many, especially Christian, schools want to use a coat of arms – either real or, more often, made up – for their logo?  Does it have something to do with the “shield of faith” (Eph. 6:16) where Paul is talking about putting on “the full armor of God” and specifically references “the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish the fiery darts of the evil one”?  (Though how a shield would extinguish flaming arrows is something that I am uncertain about.)  Or is there some other rationale for it?

I don’t have an answer to that question, but I do know that many Christian schools and academies use a coat of arms or shield-shape for their logo.

In any case, it's an interesting heraldic logo (yes, it has its faults: the border and chief are color on color; the stars on the border and across the chief are too small for good identification; the word "Crown" - with a crown inside the O - ought to be unnecessary, for example), and proof once again of something I say so often:  "You can find heraldry everywhere!"  Even, or maybe even especially, when you're not really looking for it.

Finding Heraldry

I keep on saying it, and it keeps on being true:  You can find heraldry everywhere!

I this specific instance, my wife and I were taking a day to ourselves and just spending some time with each other away from the house and all the work that needs doing there.  As part of that day, we went over to a large antique mall that we visit occasionally, because (1) it's the kind of thing we like to do, and (2) there's so much cool stuff to see.  The downside of doing this, though, is that we sometimes spend money there and bring some of that cool stuff home, where we have to find a place for it.

And, wouldn't you know it, some of the cool stuff we saw, and bought, and brought home, had heraldry on it.

I have a modest collection of Wedgwood armorial plates, ashtrays, and pin trays.  Most of them are what Wedgwood calls Jasperware, which has a rough-feeling textured finish to it.  One of the themed collections I have that I'm particularly proud of is what I think of as the "London" collection.  I have four plates with the achievement of arms of London on them: one plate in "Wedgwood blue," one terra cotta (with the arms done in black), one black, and one olive green.  I also have a blue one with the arms of London and a scroll commemorating the term of "Sir Edward Howard, BT" as "Lord Mayor 1971-2".  And to round the set out, a Lloyds of London plate done in Lloyds of London green with the firm's arms on it.

 Now, to add to that collection, I found - and purchased - a pin or sweets tray with the achievement of arms of London on it.

A nice addition to the collection, don't you think?

Then Jo Ann found an armorial brooch that caught her eye, with the arms of Sinclair (well, sort of.  They lack the black engrailed cross overall that normally appears there.

And comparing the arms on the brooch to the Sinclair arms in the Sinclair Earls of Caithness in the Dublin Armorial and Lord Crawford's Armorial, the second and third quarters, which on the brooch are painted in gold, should be white.

Still and all, though, it was a nice couple of heraldic finds to be found on a pleasant fall Saturday, and I'm glad that we ran across them.

It's Not a Coat of Arms, It's a "Shield"

I ran across a television ad (no, let’s be real; it was a whole lot of ads) for Trinity Valley School in Fort Worth, Texas. TVS is a private Kindergarten through twelfth grade coeducational college preparatory school, which is not affiliated with any specific religious denomination, unlike many of the private K-12 schools in the area, though they do affirm a belief in God.

What struck me immediately in their advertisements was the prominent use of the “TVS Shield” (they do not call it a coat of arms or even a crest, but do treat it like a logo). A quick search on their website at http://www.trinityvalleyschool.org/ gave the following meanings for the various parts of the shield:

The arch represents the protective umbrella of the school.

The student in the Trojan helmet represents a classical education.

The figures represent the four educational objectives of the Trinity Valley School philosophy.*

The waves represent the sea, the endless quest for knowledge and the meaning of life while fulfilling the motto.**

* “Fine scholarship with its fulfillment at college; the development of wide constructive interests; intelligent citizenship; and spiritual and moral development which promotes lasting values.”

** Per aspera ad astra, “to the stars through difficulties”.