Coats of Arms

[lumukanda]

i thought i'd start a thread on coats of arms, all kinds, family crests, countries coats of arms, cities coats of arms.

By the time of the rise of nations it was a general custom to adopt some symbol by which they could be distinguished from another. This custom reached its fullest development by the Middle Ages. The carrying of personal armorial insignia on shields and banners began widespread in feudal times. A knight had his face covered with the visor from his helmet and as such, had to be recognized at a distance. During the Crusades these marks and colors were worn outside their coat of mail on their surcoat and hence the expression "coat of arms."

Insignia were not hereditary at first and knights were free to choose their own symbols, as were wealthy individuals, families, towns, lordships, abbeys and other groups who had gained the favor of the reigning monarch. As confusion and duplication grew so did the complexity of these symbols. What had started out as a simple form of identification and pride had risen to a complex system of inherited social status. The problem became so widespread that in 1484 the Herald's College was established in Britain to oversee all claims of subjects to armorial rights. No arms were considered legal unless recorded in the College.
http://www.historicalnames.com/origins.htm

[lumukanda]

http://www.allstates-flag.com/fotw/images/z/za).jpg

south africa's new coat of arms, adopted in 2000.
interesting to note are the 'secretary bird' (looks like a phoenix to me with the sun rising above it.)
the motto !ke e:/xarra//ke, is taken from the extinct bushmen language /Xam, and means, diverse people unite.
and of course the even managed to slip a pyramid in there too.

[lumukanda]

http://www.ngw.nl/int/zaf/images/zaf3.jpg

the old south african coat of arms, the british influence is obvious.
ex unitate vires = unity is strength, quite ironic for a country that had seperation by race as law for almost fifty years, and social norm for almost 350.

[lottie]

This is the Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom

http://img113.imageshack.us/img113/1210/250pxukroyalcoatofarmszk6.png

The shield is quartered, depicting in the first and fourth quarters the three lions passant guardant of England; in the second, the rampant lion and double tressure fleury-counter-fleury of Scotland; and in the third, a harp for Ireland.

The crest is a lion statant guardant wearing the imperial crown, itself on another representation of that crown.

The dexter supporter is a likewise crowned lion, symbolizing England; the sinister, a unicorn, symbolising Scotland. According to legend a free unicorn was considered a very dangerous beast; therefore the heraldic unicorn is chained, as were both supporting unicorns in the Royal coat of arms of Scotland.

The coat features both the motto of English monarchs Dieu et mon droit (God and my right) and the motto of the Order of the Garter, Honi soit qui mal y pense (Shamed be he who thinks ill of it) on a representation of the Garter behind the shield.

[lumukanda]

http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/1152/vdwaltsik8.gif

my family crest, fleur de lis and an eagle, not sure if it's the german eagle or the russion double headed eagle though.

[lottie]

i just thought i'd see if 'we' as in the Isle of Wight have a coat of arms and low and behold we have...i never knew that- here it is....

http://img130.imageshack.us/img130/9748/iwarmsjk2.png


Motto & coat of arms: The Island's motto is All this beauty is of God the arms or crest depicts a horse and seahorse symbolising agriculture and the maritime which have supported and conditioned Island life in so many ways. Royal associations are represented by a castle on a shield, and the insular nature of the Island is suggested by waves of the sea lapping the base of the arms.

[jimijams]

Here is the Australian Coat of Arms.. Apparently we are the only country that eat their Coat of Arms..:o

http://img107.imageshack.us/img107/1905/australiancoatofarms191xx2.png (http://imageshack.us)

[jimijams]

My family crest.. Cave Adsum(Beware I am present)

http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/9140/c129jz6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[lumukanda]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f4/Western_Cape_coa.png

the coat of arms of the Western Cape Province in south africa.
zebra like animal is a quagga, a now extinct animal that used to be prevelant in the area. the other animal is a springbok (thompson's gazelle), it used be south africa's national animal. the grapes represent the wine industry in the region (bacchus) and the anchor comes from the cape town crest, denoting the historical importance of the area.
the crown is interesting, and the flowers on the crown are proteas, our national flower.
Spes Bona = Good hope, after cape town's other title, the cape of good hope (it's other title is the cape of storms).

[lottie]

and of course who could forget america....??

http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/7059/sealsur7.jpg

interesting explanation regarding the symbolism of 13...


The Viking explorers of America, like Bjarni Herjulfon, Eric the Red and his son Leif Ericsson who landed in America long before Christopher Columbus, were Danes (Dan-ish), descended from their Israelite father Dan (Genesis 30:6). The American founding Pilgrim-fathers and the Anglo-Saxon American people are descended from Jacob/Israel's favourite son Joseph, of the Coat of many "Colours" fame; the Irish-Americans are also, like the Vikings, descended from Joseph's older brother Dan and are known in Irish history as the Tuatha de Danaan.

The Eagle on the American Coat-of-Arms; which is very different from the heraldic-eagles (which are often two-headed) used by other nations; is the Emblem of Dan, from whom the Danes and Irish are descended and who have intermingled in America with their Anglo-Saxon brothers from the tribe of Joseph/Manasseh, whose Olive-branch and Arrows the Eagle holds firmly and safely in its claws.

The Israelite tribe of Joseph of the Coat of many Colours/Coats-of-Arms* is, in fact, divided into two:- Ephraim and Manasseh. Joseph had two sons called Ephraim and Manasseh who, today, are the English and Anglo-Saxon Americans respectively.

Abraham, Joseph's great grandad, was told by God that, "in Isaac shall your seed be called" (Genesis 21 v 12). Isaac's sons - Saac's sons - Saxons. The English and the Anglo-Americans are Engel-o'-Saxons. God's Word is ever TRUE.

Joseph/Manasseh (the U.S.A.) split off from their brothers Ephraim/the English and they lost a colony (Isaiah 49 v 20 - in 1776) and Ephraim's descendants then went East; North and South, in exactly the order Prophesied by God in Genesis 28:14.

Joseph/Manasseh (the U.S.A.) like Joseph/Ephraim also spread forth taking the Bible around the world and became a great people (Genesis 49 v 19) whilst Joseph/Ephraim (the English) became a multitude/Commonwealth of Nations and God made their name GREAT (Genesis 12 v 2) - Great Britain.

The Olive from which the "oil" (of Understanding) comes was Jacob/Israel's Emblem (see Paul's letter to the Romans 11 v 24-25) which he gave, along with his name Israel, to Joseph's two sons - Ephraim and Manasseh [not to Judah/Jew-dah - the Jews or any of Joseph's ten other Hebrew brothers] (Genesis 48 v 16).

Joseph and the white horseman of the Apocalypse/Revelation were both to have a BOW. The bowmen of England are the most famous in the history of the world and with God's help were not defeated (Genesis 49 v 24). Note well also, in the Authorized Version of the Bible, where "the Shepherd" will come from - Joseph NOT Judah. NOT from the Jews, as has been wrongly believed for 2,000 years.

The Coat-of-Arms of Joseph's Sheaf-field (Sheffield - Genesis 37:7); in Engel-land (the Engel is the Wild-ox or Unicorn shown on the British Coat-of-Arms); has on it ARROWS. The Unicorn-Emblem belongs equally to, and is the primary-emblem of, Manasseh (the Engel-o'-Saxon Americans) as much as it does to their brothers the Engel-ish; their secondary-emblems being the Olive and the Arrows.

Now look at the American Eagle on the Official Emblem of the United States of America and you will see that in its left-claws it holds ARROWS, 13 of them. Britannia, in the full picture, sits under an OLIVE tree and in the normal picture of her she holds an OLIVE-branch in her hand. The American Eagle has in its right-claws an OLIVE branch, with 13 olives and 13 leaves on it. Israel, in Scripture, is referred to (metaphorically) as God's Wife and therefore, accordingly, Britannia is a WOMAN not a man, as one would expect a soldier-emblem to be.

Joseph/Manasseh; which was one half-tribe of Joseph; was known as the 13th tribe of Israel. If we look at American Symbols we will see 13 over and over again. There are 13 stripes on the shield and on the national flag - "the Stars and Stripes". There were 13 founding states of America, and for those people who are tempted to say this is merely a coincidence; a man once said, wisely, that coincidence is only God (in Whom we trust) working anonymously.

On the American Presidential Seal above the Eagle's head there are 13 stars (Genesis 15:5; 22:17; 26:4 and 50 on the flag) and above them 13 spheres of cloud.

As the Danites have intermingled with Joseph/Manasseh (E PLURIBUS UNUM - "out of many: one") and the Danites were the judges in ancient Israel, who are no longer to be needed in the New Age because Christ is to be the only Judge in His Kingdom on Earth; soon; that is one of the reasons why there is no reference to the Israelite tribe of Dan in the Book of Revelation/Apocalypse in chapter 7, which lists the tribes that enter the New Jerusalem - the City that comes down out of the sky in chapter 21:2, 10. - JAH.

[jimijams]

It is also interesting to note the thirteen stars on the US coat of arms above the eagle make the star of David.

[lottie]

indeed- i noticed this too...:)

[lumukanda]

http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/g/gb)londn.jpg

the city of london, what a seriously creepy coat of arms!

[lumukanda]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/Coat_of_Arms_of_Moscow.png/505px-Coat_of_Arms_of_Moscow.png

good old st george, the moscow coat of arms.

[lumukanda]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f2/Blason_paris.png/541px-Blason_paris.png

the parisian coat of arms

[lottie]

isnt it funny how most of the coats of arms- especially ones related to the UK show apparently 'mythical' animals such as dragons... you'd think something of such importance would be based on animals/symbols which are so called 'real'- i mean we may as well put mickey mouse on our coat of arms if this is the case...!!! :rolleyes:

[lumukanda]

thats what is to me the most compelling thing about the reppies, if they're not real, why the hell are they everywhere?

[lottie]

thats what is to me the most compelling thing about the reppies, if they're not real, why the hell are they everywhere?

EXACTLY!!! and London or should i say Babylondon is full of statues of dragons and gargoyles etc etc especially around the banking/financial areas!!

[tinmenace]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/Coat_of_Arms_of_Moscow.png/505px-Coat_of_Arms_of_Moscow.png

good old st george, the moscow coat of arms.

http://www.globalfailure.com/images/1998fivepoundgoldproofrev240.jpg

I thought that looked like a dragon! (http://www.davidicke.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4352) I didn't know who was on the horse, but it's like the song goes, "...dude looks like a lady..." Now I know! Excellent thread.

[jimijams]

http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/g/gb)londn.jpg

the city of london, what a seriously creepy coat of arms!
I googled the motto as a matter of interest.. Domine Dirige Nos ["Lord Direct Us"]

[jimijams]

The Vatican Coat of arms..

http://img238.imageshack.us/img238/1511/3coatarmqh6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

It's interesting the symbolism of the keys, if you look at the Vatican from above it does look like a key..

http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/1834/lala4190182823256871lo1th4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[lumukanda]

thanks tin, i thought it was high time, the symbolism in coats of arms is quite telling.
oh and now i've got that song stuck in my head...

[lumukanda]

The Vatican Coat of arms..

http://img238.imageshack.us/img238/1511/3coatarmqh6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

It's interesting the symbolism of the keys, if you look at the Vatican from above it does look like a key..

http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/1834/lala4190182823256871lo1th4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

i never noticed that before, also those two 'ribbons'(?) look like cobras poised to strike.

[lumukanda]

http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en-commons/a/a2/Coat_of_arms_of_Mozambique.png

the coat of arms of mozambique, notable for being the only one in the world with a gun on it, an AK-47.

[lumukanda]

http://www.manxscenes.com/aaa/Peters_iom_crest.jpg

the coat of arms of the isle of man, this has always fascinated me.
the three legs symbolise 'the sun, the seat of power and life'.
the motto translates : whichever way you throw me, i will stand.

[lumukanda]

http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/misc/it)sicil.gif

the sicilian coat of arms, not the similarity to the manx one, also note the medusa head in the middle.

[lumukanda]

http://images.vector-images.com/114/morocco_coa_n6387.gif

the moroccan coat of arms.

[lumukanda]

http://perso.orange.fr/pierre.gay/FranGouv/EmblemRF.JPG

french badge, note the fasce, the eagle and the lion.

[lumukanda]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/COA_of_Malta_1964.jpg

the old maltese coat of arms (1964 - 1975)

http://www.my-world-guide.com/upload/stema/malta_coa.gif

contempary maltese coat of arms

[lumukanda]

http://badexample.mu.nu/archives/iran%20coat%20of%20arms.jpg

this one is quite interesting, the iranian coat of arms, is it just me or does it look like an dragon with it's wings spread?

[lottie]

no- it does look like a dragon- but i think more so it looks like a very fat owl!!!

[lumukanda]

hahaha, you're right, it does look like an owl.

[tinmenace]

Is this strictly for coat of arms or can we post emblems of countries, states and cities also?

[lumukanda]

Is this strictly for coat of arms or can we post emblems of countries, states and cities also?

by all means, anything you feel you'd like to add, go for it.

[limelady]

http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/1107/nzcoatofarmsqm4.jpg

[lumukanda]

wow, that's quite an interesting one.
a while ago a friend of mine got hold of her granddad's masonry gear. this is one pic of one of the symbols :

http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/9651/picture128pj7.jpg

looks a lot like the symbol in the lower right, with the blue background.

[lottie]

certainly does lumu!!

i was interested to find the Canadian coat of arms as they share the UK's queen...

http://img520.imageshack.us/img520/159/canadiancoakf8.png

The motto of Canada is a mari usque ad mare ("from sea to sea"), a part of Psalm 72:8.[3] This phrase was first suggested by Samuel Leonard Tilley, a Father of Confederation. The motto appears at the base of the arms. The motto was originally used in 1906 on the head of the mace of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan. It was included in the Arms of Canada in 1921.[4]

[lumukanda]

doesn't canada also have the queen on their currency?

http://www.solarnavigator.net/geography/geography_images/south_africa_cape_town_coat_of_arms.jpg
this is the coat of arms for cape town.

[lottie]

yes i have a friend in canada and she says the bitch is on their currency too!!! :rolleyes:

[tinmenace]

http://www.globalfailure.com/images/virginiaseal.jpg

The obverse of the seal features the Roman goddess Virtus standing over a defeated opponent. Virtus is dressed in Amazonian garb, and holds a spear and a sheathed sword. She represents the virtues of heroism, righteousness, freedom, and valor. She stands in a classical victor's pose over a fallen tyrannical foe, whose crown lies on the ground. The state's motto "Sic Semper Tyrannis" ("Thus Always to Tyrants") appears at the lower edge.

Source (http://www.netstate.com/states/symb/seals/va_seal.htm)

[tinmenace]

http://www.globalfailure.com/images/arkansasseal.jpg

...the Goddess of Liberty at the top, holding a wreath in her right hand, a pole in the left hand, surmounted by a liberty cap, and surrounded by a circle of stars outside of which is a circle of rays; the figure of an angel on the left, inscribed "Mercy"...
Source (http://www.netstate.com/states/symb/seals/ar_seal.htm)



http://www.globalfailure.com/images/californiaseal.jpg

Under the gaze of Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom, a miner works near the Sacramento River...The state motto, Eureka, sits over the mountains. A Greek word that means "I have found it,"...

Source (http://www.netstate.com/states/symb/seals/ca_seal.htm)



http://www.globalfailure.com/images/coloradostate.gif

At the top is the eye of God within a trangle, from which golden rays radiate on two sides. Below the eye is a scroll, the Roman fasces...

Source (http://www.netstate.com/states/symb/seals/co_seal.htm)



State Motto: "Nil Sine Numine" - "Nothing Without the Deity"

Source (http://www.colorado.gov/dpa/doit/archives/history/symbemb.htm)

[tinmenace]

http://www.globalfailure.com/images/newjerseyseal.png

On the left is Liberty, holding a staff topped with a liberty cap. On the right is Ceres, Roman goddess of grain and abundance.

Source (http://www.netstate.com/states/symb/seals/nj_seal.htm)



http://www.globalfailure.com/images/newyorkseal.jpg

The female figures of Liberty and Justice stand upon a scroll that proclaims "Excelsior", or "Ever Upward".

Source (http://www.netstate.com/states/symb/seals/ny_seal.htm)



http://www.globalfailure.com/images/North_Carolina_state_seal.png

...and its design shall be a representation of the figures of Liberty and Plenty, looking toward each other...
Source (http://www.netstate.com/states/symb/seals/nc_seal.htm)



http://www.globalfailure.com/images/wyomingseal.jpg

The most prominent feature of Wyoming's seal is the central figure of a woman standing before a banner which reads "Equal Rights"

Source (http://www.netstate.com/states/symb/seals/wy_seal.htm)


Not just any woman. This is a goddess, whose name I don't know at this minute...but I'll find out.

[lumukanda]

whats really interesting to me is the 'liberty cap', i know it as the phrygian cap of mystery, often associated with mithras.

here we see it on the french declaration of the rights of man (in the middle between the two pages), on the end of a spear :
http://www.entheomedia.org/Aztec%20art/freemasonry_1.jpg

The Romanized Greek Plutarch says that in 67 BC a large band of pirates in Cilicia — on the southeast coast of Anatolia — were practicing "secret rites" of Mithras. It has been suggested that much of the myth and symbolism of Mithraism was influential on the early Christian Church.[1]

The name Mithras is the Greek nominative form of Mithra, the Zoroastrian yazata that serves as mediator between Ahura Mazda and the earth, the guarantor of human contracts, although in Mithraism much was added to the original elements of Mitra. However, some of the attributes of Roman Mithras may have been taken from other Eastern cults: for example, the Mithraist emphasis on astrology strongly suggests syncretism with star-oriented Mesopotamian or Anatolian religions. At least some of this synthesis of beliefs may have already been underway by the time the cult was adopted in the West. When Mithraism was introduced by Roman legions at Dura-Europos after 168 AD, the god assumed his familiar Hellenistic iconic formula (illustration above right). Compare the very similar Enkidu seal.

The mythology surrounding Mithras is not easily reassembled from the enigmatic and complicated iconography. Indeed the dedicatory inscription on a 2nd-3rd century tauroctony discovered in a Mithraeum at Ostia in the 1790s refers to the "incomprehensible deity": INDEPREHENSIVILIS DEI [1]. Apparently the cult of Mithras did not depend, as Christianity did, on the interpretation of revealed texts considered to be divinely inspired, and the textual references are those of Christians, who mention Mithras to deplore him, and neo-Platonists who interpreted Mithraic symbols within their own world-schemes.[2]

However, we do have a number of dedications from followers of Mithras (mainly addressed to invictus, unconquerable, Mithras), mainly from Roman Britain, the Rhine and Danube area and Italy. These suggest that a large number of his worshippers were low-ranking soldiers (there are very few examples of offerings from higher-ranking soldiers and those may have just been to encourage their men) and slaves, perhaps because a religion with a strict but straight-forward hierarchy allowed them the power they lacked in their everyday lives. Later in the third century Mithraism filtered through to the upper classes and it was even used as a mid-ground argument against Christianity.
Mithraic mysteries - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[tinmenace]

Yes, it's quite a prevalent symbol. I love this thread!

[tinmenace]

HERALDRY SYMBOLISM

ACORN: Denotes antiquity and strength. Acorns hold high significance as a Scandinavian and a Celtic symbol for life, fertility, and immortality.

ARM (bare): Signifies a labourious and industrious person.

BUTTERFLY: The Greek emblem of Psyche or the Soul. The Soul, considered collectively, has the care of all that which is soulless, and it traverses the whole heaven, appearing sometimes in one form and sometimes in another. Butterflies represent frivolity, the soul's ascent to immortality, and freedom.

Crescent: A bearing resembling the half moon with the points turned up. When used as a mark of cadency it denotes the second son.

CONE, PINE: The emblem of life amongst the ancient Semitic races, much like the Crux Ansata or key-cross among the Egyptians. See Pine.

ESTOILE: Celestial goodness, a man of noble personage. See Star.

EYE: It is generally a symbol of the watchful and protective power of the Supreme Being; also providence in government.


FULL LIST HERE: (http://www.heraldryclipart.com/symbolism/a.html)




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[limelady]

Some of these seals are absolutely fascinating to study in detail.
That 'Goddess'.... she's everywhere!
I'm loving this thread also, thanks for all your work guys! :D

[tinmenace]

Coat of Arms
of His Holiness Benedict XVI

http://www.globalfailure.com/images/logo_ratzinger.jpg

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, elected Pope and taking the name Benedict XVI, has chosen a coat of arms rich in symbolism and meaning that transmits to history his personality and Pontificate.

The shield chosen by Pope Benedict XVI is very simple: it is in the shape of a chalice, the most commonly used form in ecclesiastical heraldry.

In each of the upper corners there is a "chape" in gold. The "chape" [cape] is a symbol of religion. It indicates an idealism inspired by monastic or, more specifically, Benedictine spirituality.

The principal field of the coat of arms is the central one which is red. At the point of honour of the shield is a large gold shell that has a triple symbolism.

Its first meaning is theological. It is intended to recall a legend attributed to St Augustine. Meeting a child on the beach who was trying to scoop up the sea into a hole in the sand, Augustine asked him what he was doing. The child explained his vain attempt and Augustine took it to refer to his own futile endeavour to encompass the infinity of God within the confines of the limited human mind.

The legend has an obvious spiritual symbolism; it is an invitation to know God, yet with the humility of inadequate human understanding, drawing from the inexhaustible source of theology.

The scallop shell, moreover, has been used for centuries to distinguish pilgrims. Benedict XVI wanted to keep this symbolism alive, treading in the footsteps of John Paul II, a great pilgrim to every corner of the world. The design of large shells that decorated the chasuble he wore at the solemn liturgy for the beginning of his Pontificate, Sunday, 24 April, was most evident.

The scallop is also an emblem that features in the coat of arms of the ancient Monastery of Schotten near Regensburg (Ratisbon) in Bavaria, to which Joseph Ratzinger feels spiritually closely bound.

In the dexter corner (to the left of the person looking at it) is a Moor's head in natural colour [caput Aethiopum] (brown) with red lips, crown and collar. This is the ancient emblem of the Diocese of Freising.

The Moor's head is not rare in European heraldry. It still appears today in the arms of Sardinia and Corsica, as well as in the blazons of various noble families. Italian heraldry, however, usually depicts the Moor wearing a white band around his head instead of a crown, indicating a slave who has been freed; whereas in German heraldry the Moor is shown wearing a crown. The Moor's head is common in the Bavarian tradition and is known as the caput Ethiopicum or the Moor of Freising.

A brown bear, in natural colour, is portrayed in the sinister (left) corner of the shield, with a pack-saddle on its back. An ancient tradition tells that the first Bishop of Freising, St Corbinian (born c. 680 in Châtres, France; died 8 September 730), set out for Rome on horseback. While riding through a forest he was attacked by a bear that tore his horse to pieces. Corbinian not only managed to tame the animal but also to make it carry his baggage to Rome. This explains why the bear is shown carrying a pack. An easy interpretation: the bear tamed by God's grace is the Bishop of Freising himself; the pack saddle is the burden of his Episcopate.

The shield of the Papal coat of arms can therefore be described ("blazoned") in heraldic terms as follows: "Gules, chape in or, with the scallop shell of the second; the dexter chape with a moor's head in natural colour, crowned and collared of the first, the sinister chape a bear trippant in natural colour, carrying a pack gules belted sable".

The shield carries the symbols connected to the person who displays it, to his ideals, traditions, programmes of life and the principles that inspire and guide him. The various symbols of rank, dignity and jurisdiction of the individual appear instead around the shield.

It has been a venerable tradition for the Supreme Pontiff to surround his armorial shield with crossed keys, one gold and the other silver, in the form of a St Andrew's cross: these have been variously interpreted as symbols of spiritual and temporal power. They appear behind the shield or above it, and are quite prominent.

Matthew's Gospel recounts that Christ said to Peter: "I will entrust to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you declare bound on earth shall be bound in heaven; whatever you declare loosed on earth shall be loosed in heaven" (Mt 16: 19). The keys are therefore the typical symbol of the power that Christ gave to St Peter and his Successors. Thus, it is only right that they appear in every Papal coat of arms.

On the other hand, there is also a completely new symbol in the arms of Pope Benedict XVI: the "pallium". It is not part of the tradition, at least in recent years, for the Supreme Pontiffs to include it in their arms.

Yet the pallium is the typical liturgical insignia of the Supreme Pontiff and frequently appears in ancient portrayals of Popes. It stands for the Pope's responsibility as Pastor of the flock entrusted to him by Christ.

In early centuries the Popes used a real lambskin draped over their shoulders. This was later replaced by a stole of white wool woven with the pure wool of lambs reared specially for the purpose. It was decorated with several crosses that were generally black in the early centuries, or occasionally red. Already by the fourth century the pallium had become a liturgical symbol proper to and characteristic of the Pope.

In Full (http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/elezione/stemma-benedict-xvi_en.html)

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[tinmenace]

Coat of Arms
of the Holy See and
of the State of Vatican City

http://www.globalfailure.com/images/vatican.gif

Crossed keys surmounted by the tiara over a red field (gules, two keys in saltire or and argent, interlaced in the rings or, beneath a tiara argent, crowned or)

[Cf. Fundamental law of the State of Vatican City dated 26.11.2000 (Acta Apostolicae Sedis, Supplement, 01.02.2001, Attachment B).]

The symbolism is drawn from the Gospel and is represented by the keys given to the Apostle Peter by Christ.

The insignia is red with the two keys crossed as the Cross of St. Andrew, one gold and one silver, with the cotter pointed upwards and towards the sides of the shield. Two cords hang from the grips of the keys, usually red or blue.

The shield is surmounted by the tiara or triregnum.

The Triregnum (the Papal Tiara formed by three crowns symbolizing the triple power of the Pope: father of kings, governor of the world and Vicar of Christ)

Source (http://www.vatican.va/news_services/press/documentazione/documents/sp_ss_scv/insigne/triregno_en.html)

Two ribbons hang from the tiara, each with a patent cross.

Ordinarily the keys have the mechanical part placed up, facing to the right and the left and usually in the form of a cross, not for the mechanisms of a lock, but as a religious symbol. The grips vary according to artistic taste, from the Gothic to the Baroque.

Since the XIV Century, the two crossed keys have been the official insignia of the Holy See. The gold one, on the right, alludes to the power in the kingdom of the heavens, the silver one, on the left, indicates the spiritual authority of the papacy on earth. The mechanisms are turned up towards the heaven and the grips turned down, in other words into the hands of the Vicar of Christ. The cord with the bows that unites the grips alludes to the bond between the two powers.

Source: (http://www.vatican.va/news_services/press/documentazione/documents/sp_ss_scv/insigne/sp_ss_scv_stemma-bandiera-sigillo_en.html#Stemma%20di%20Sua%20Santit%E0%20Gi ovanni%20Paolo%20II)

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[shosholoza]

Can anybody notice anything suspicious with my family coat of arms?



http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/de/thumb/2/2c/Brandenstein-Wappen.png/430px-Brandenstein-Wappen.png

[queensalizard]

Can anybody notice anything suspicious with my family coat of arms?



http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/de/thumb/2/2c/Brandenstein-Wappen.png/430px-Brandenstein-Wappen.png

Are you related to Sir Fox Goosecull II? ::D

[tinyint]

Can anybody notice anything suspicious with my family coat of arms?



http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/de/thumb/2/2c/Brandenstein-Wappen.png/430px-Brandenstein-Wappen.png

German coat of arms. von Brandenstein.

Note the black cross. have you had (imperial) knights down in your family tree? ;)

The colors of the coat of arms are also important. They follow certain rules, at least the old ones.

Edit: The wiki family coat of arms are usually the simplified modern ones, and don't necessarily represent what is written in the family/nobility records.

[tinyint]

http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/1152/vdwaltsik8.gif

my family crest, fleur de lis and an eagle, not sure if it's the german eagle or the russion double headed eagle though.

Habsburg monarchy have a double headed eagle as well.

So my take is, its habsburg related, not russian.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Wappen_Kaisertum_%C3%96sterreich_1867_(Mittel).png

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a7/Wappen_%C3%96sterreich-Ungarn_1916_(Klein).png/440px-Wappen_%C3%96sterreich-Ungarn_1916_(Klein).png

http://peter-diem.at/History_2/his2.htm

German Reichsadler.

http://rpmedia.ask.com/ts?u=/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/87/Wappen_Deutsches_Reich_-_Reichsadler_2.png/106px-Wappen_Deutsches_Reich_-_Reichsadler_2.png

http://lutz-moeller-jagd.de/Bilder/Deutsches-Reich-Reichsadler-1889.png