The Boast of Heraldry,
The Pomp of Power

Meeting chaired by Don Lovell

Roland Symons
City of Bath Heraldry

9 June 2005

Although heraldry originated in the 12th century, when the adoption of the closed helm necessitated a means of identification on the battlefield, and seals allowed an illiterate nobility to mark their agreement to contracts of one form or another, the designs displayed on shields and wax really had everything to do with ‘showing off’. Your coat of arms was meant to be seen and recognised, so, if you thought you were as strong as or as brave as a lion, then, adopt the loin for the emblem on your shield, surcoat and crest. This is what the first two armigerous Kings of England did, not only on their arms but for their nicknames as well – Richard Coeur de Lion of England and William the Lion of Scotland.
Given the opportunity, we would all wish to show off our achievements to future generations. A coat of arms, which can be handed down through the family, gives such an opportunity. The emblems selected give ladies and gentlemen the chance to show off what they have done, what they think of themselves, their family history and, as a result, possibly impress their fellows. But beware of too much boasting. William Beckford showed 30 quarterings on his coat of arms as he tried to prove his connection with several famous families, but when his family came to register these arms at the College of Arms in 1879, only 20 of those quarterings were allowed. So only boast with justification! However, no one perhaps would want to go into battle with a shield featuring 710 quarterings, as the 2nd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos could have done. This is boasting of one’s family’s lineage on a grand scale. Better to sum up your family’s achievements with just one or two emblems. So go to the other extreme and demonstrate how old your family is by having a shield simply divided down the centre with red on one side and silver on the other, like the Waldegraves [1].

1 The simple arms of the Waldegrave family.

Only a very ancient family can enjoy so simple a coat of arms especially when no two people can use the same coat of arms. Coats of Arms have to be ‘read’ in order to be understood. Why has that gentleman or lady a set of lozenges on their coat of arms? Well, their name is ‘Montagu’ and the lozenges represent mons acute [2].

2 The arms of the Montagu family.

This is called punning heraldry and is extremely popular. Some of the best local examples of punning arms can be seem in Bath Abbey. William Birde has three eagles on his arms. On the Waller tomb you can see the family arms bearing three walnut leaves. But there are even better examples: the spear of William Shakespeare, the bows and lion of the late Queen Mother, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon.
Coats of arms can also be used to show your allegiance or relationship to famous families. This is particularly true in Scotland where the Clan affiliations are demonstrated by making a small difference between your arms and those of the Chief of the Clan.
Sometimes you could demonstrate the job you did by including tools of the trade. The Butlers served wine to Kings from the butts of wine stored in the cellar. Nearly all those with the name Butler use wine cups on their arms.
But there are coats of arms, which boast something brave or exceptional that a member of the family has achieved. Examples of this can be seen in the coat of arms of Sir Winston Churchill [3].

3 The arms of Sir Winston Churchill with two ‘Augment-ations of Honour’.

This shows the family arms and two additions called ‘Augmentations of Honour’. These have been placed on the coat of arms to commemorate particular service. The first is St George’s Crosson a canon. This is in recog-nition of a forebear’s service as Captain of Horse to Charles I during the Civil War. But over the whole shield is another smaller one bearing the St George’s Cross, together with an even smaller shield showing the three fleurs-de-lys of France. This signifies the four great victories the Duke of Marlborough won over Louis XIV. Lord Nelson’s arms consist almost completely of augmentations awarded for his famous victories. The family arm of a black cross flory on a gold shield with a red bend overall, get lost behind bombs, Egyptian forts and the word ‘Trafalgar!’ [4].

4 The arms of Admiral Lord Nelson.

Nearly all Nelson’s captains feature such additions to their arms.
For some folk, even illegitimacy is worth boasting of, especially if it implies Royal connections. Several of our present Dukes bear arms, which ‘boast’ of their relationship, on the wrong side of the blanket, to the Royal Family. The Duke of Beaufort surrounds the Plantagenet Royal arms with a compony border [5],

5 The arms of the Duke of Beaufort.

while the arms of the Duke of Grafton and St Albans feature batons sinister over the Stuart Arms. In Bath Abbey you will see the arm of the Duke of Cleveland with a similar addition. Both border and baton are symbols of bastardry.
Impersonal arms can be easier to ‘read’ and understand. Cities, companies, learned Societies and Places of Learning, are all like to boast of their aims or origins or prime features. Such is the case with the coat of arms used by the City of Bath. [6].

6 The arms of the City of Bath.

The wavy silver and blue stripes represent the River Avon and the springs. The sword stands for the Roman origin of the City, while the red wall indicates that Bath was once surrounded by a wall. The crest shows the hands of St Dunstan holding the crown with which he crowned King Edgar in 973. No motto is given instead the Latin name for the City is used. There are oak leaves and branches referring to the acorns fed to Bladud’s pigs, while the lion and bear are formidable supporters of the City’s arms. Although Bath used these arms from Tudor times, when the Heralds visited Bath in 1623, they recorded arms with the wall in chief and the wavy lines in base. It was not until 1973 that the City officially was granted the arms we see today. Perhaps all this will help to explain why heraldry is sometimes known as ‘the shorthand of history’. Several other Bath organisations have official arms, such as the Min, Bath University and several of its schools.
But while heraldry gives the opportunity to boast, remember the full verse of Thomas Gray’s Elegy:

The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power,
And all that beauty, all that wealth e’re gave,
Awaits alike th’ inevitable hour;
The Paths of glory lead but to the grave.

Roland Symons