Coat of arms of England: Difference between revisions

Royal Arms of England
Royal Arms of England
Versions
	The Royal Banner of England
	Royal Coat of Arms of England (1399-1603)
Armiger	Monarchs of England
Adopted	High Middle Ages; (with various modifications)
Shield	Gules three lions passant guardant in pale Or armed and langued Azure.
Motto	Honi soit qui mal y pense
Earlier version(s)
Use	National symbol of England

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In heraldry, the Royal Arms of England^[1] is a coat of arms symbolising England and the English monarchs.^[2] Designed in the High Middle Ages, the Royal Arms was subject to significant alteration as the territory, politics and rule of the Kingdom of England shifted throughout the Middle Ages. However, the enduring blazon, or technical description, is "Gules three lions passant guardant in pale Or armed and langued Azure",^[3]^[4] meaning three horizontally positioned identical gold lions facing the observer, with blue tongues and claws, on a deep red background. When the Royal Arms is in the format of a heraldic flag, it is variously known as the Royal Banner of England,^[5] the Banner of the Royal Arms,^[6] the Banner of the King of England,^[7]^[8] or the Royal Standard of England.^{[note 1]}^[6] This Royal Banner differs from England's national flag, St George's Cross, in that it does not represent any particular area or land, but rather symbolises the sovereignty vested in the rulers thereof.^[3]

Although royal emblems depicting lions were used by the Norman dynasty,^[9] a formal and consistent English heraldry system emerged during the 12th century. The escutcheon, or shield, featuring three lions is traced to King Richard I of England's Great Seal of the Realm, which initially used a single lion rampant, or else two lions, but in 1198, was altered indefinately to depict three lions passant.^[4]^[9] In 1340, Edward III of England laid claim to the throne of France and quartered the Royal Arms of England with that of the Kingdom of France.^[9] This quartering was adjusted, abandoned and restored intermittently throughout the Middle Ages as the relationship between England and France changed. Since the Union of the Crowns in 1603, when England and the Kingdom of Scotland entered a personal union, the Royal Arms of England has been blended with Scottish heraldry and incorporated into the personal arms of the British monarch—what is now the Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom.^[10] It appears in a simillar capacity to represent England in the Arms of Canada and the Queen's Personal Canadian Flag.^[11] Although officially subsumed into the heraldry of the British Royal Family in 1707, the historic Royal Arms featuring three lions continues to represent England on several coins of the pound sterling, forms the basis of several emblems of English national sports teams (such as the England national football team),^[12]^[13] and endures as one of the most recognisable national symbols of England.^[2]

Blazon

The blazon of the Royal Arms and Royal Banner of England is:^[3]^[4]

Gules three lions passant guardant in pale Or armed and langued Azure

History

Origins

Richard the Lionheart's second Great Seal was the first Royal emblem of England to feature three lions

Lions were used by the Norman dynasty as royal emblems, but are not ordinarily considered as coats of arms because they pre-date the systematization of hereditary English heraldry that occured in the second half of the 12th century.^[9] The throne of England passed to Henry II of the House of Plantagenet, who used the Armorial of Plantagenet, featuring a lion rampant, as his personal arms.^[9]^[4] Henry II, Richard I of England, continued to use the Armorial of Plantagenet, but used either the single lion rampant like his father, or else updated the design as two lions affrontes.^[4] In 1198, Richard I used three lions passant in his Great Seal of England, and thus established the enduring and conventional design of the Royal Arms of England.^[4] Although King John had a seal in 1177 with two lions passant guardant, the three golden lions passant on a red sheild were used as the Royal Arms (or King's Arms) by John, Henry III, Edward I, and Edward II.^[4]

Development

In 1340, following the death of King Charles IV of France, Edward III asserted English claims to the French throne through his mother Isabella of France.^[4] In addition to initiating the Hundred Years' War, Edward III expressed his claim to the Kingdom of France heraldically by quartering the Arms of England with the Arms of France.^[4] From 1340 to 1801, with intervals in 1360-1369 and 1420-1422, the kings and queens of England (and later Great Britain) included the French fleur-de-lis in the Royal Arms of England as a means of symbolising their claim to the French throne.

Following the death of Queen Elizabeth I of England in 1603, the throne of England was inherited by the Scottish House of Stuart, which resulted in the Union of the Crowns; the Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Scotland were united in a personal union under King James I of England and VI of Scotland.^[14] As a consequence, the Royal Arms of England was blended with elements from Scottish heraldry and incorporated into a new personal arms of King James I of England. Nevertheless, although referencing the personal union with Scotland and Ireland, the Royal Arms of England remained a seperate coat of arms from the Royal Arms of Scotland, until the two realms were joined in a political union in 1707, leading to a unified Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom.^[10]

Escutcheon	Period	Description
	1154-1189	King Henry II, the first English king from the House of Plantagenet, used a lion rampant in his personal arms.^[4]
	1189-1198	Two possible interpretations of the arms shown on Richard I's first Great Seal of England. The tinctures and the number of charges are speculative.^[4]
	1198-1340 1360-1369	The arms on the second Great Seal of King Richard I, used by his successors until 1340: three golden lions passant gardant, on a red field.^[9]^[4]
	1340-1360 1369-1395 1399-1406	King Edward III quartered the Royal Arms of England with the Royal Arms of France—the fleurs-de-lis on a blue field, to signal English claims to the French throne.^[9]
	1395-1399	King Richard II impaled the Royal Arms of England with the attributed arms of King Edward the Confessor.^[9]
	1406-1422	King Henry IV updated the Royal Arms of England with the modern version of the Royal Arms of France—three fleurs-de-lis on a blue field.^[9]
	1422-1461 1470-1471	King Henry VI impaled the French and English arms, using the same arms after his "readeption".[1]
	1461-1470 1471-1554	King Edward IV restored the arms of King Henry IV.
	1554-1558	Queen Mary I impaled her arms with those of her husband, King Philip.^[9] Although Queen Mary I's father, King Henry VIII, assumed the title of King of Ireland and this was further conferred upon King Philip, the arms were not altered to feature the Kingdom of Ireland.
	1558-1603	Queen Elizabeth I restored the arms of King Henry IV.^[9]
	1603-1707	James VI, King of Scots inherited the English and Irish thrones in 1603 in the Union of the Crowns, and quartered the Royal Arms of England with those of Scotland. The Royal Arms of Ireland was added to represent the Kingdom of Ireland. Last used by Queen Anne, this was the final version of the Royal Arms of England before being subsumed into the Royal Arms of Great Britain.^[9]

On 1 May 1707, the Royal Arms of England was subsumed into the personal arms of the British Royal Family. However, the claim to the French throne continued, albeit passively, under the British monarchy, but was mooted by the French Revolution and the formation of the French First Republic in 1792.^[4] During the peace negotiations at the Conference of Lille, from July to November 1797, the French delegates demanded that the King of Great Britain abandon the title of King of France as a condition of peace.^[15] The Act of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Under King George III of the United Kingdom, a proclamation of 1 January 1801 set the royal style and titles and modified the Royal Arms, removing the fleur-de-lis of France and leaving England represented in the arms by the three lions passant.^[4]

Contemporary

English heraldry flourished as a working art up to around the 17th century, when it assumed a mainly ceremonial role.^[4] The Royal Arms of England continued to embody information relating to English history.^[4] Although the Acts of Union 1707 placed England within the Kingdom of Great Britain, prompting new, British Royal Arms,^[15] the Royal Arms of England has continued to endure as one of the national symbols of England,^[2] and has a variety of contemporary uses. For instance, the coat of arms of both The Football Association^[16]^[12] and the England and Wales Cricket Board^[17] have a design featuring three lions passant, based on the historic Royal Arms of England. In 1997 (and again in 2002), the Royal Mint issued a British one pound (£1) coin featuring three lions passant to represent England.^[18] To celebrate St George's Day, in 2001, Royal Mail issued first– and second-class postage stamps with the Royal Crest of England (a crowned lion), and the Royal Arms of England (three lions passant) respectively.^[19]

The Royal Arms of England as depicted on the Kings Arms pub in Blakeney, Norfolk
A British one pound (£1) coin, issued in 1997, featuring three lions passant, representing England.[18]

A British one pound (£1) coin, issued in 1997, featuring three lions passant, representing England.^[18]
The coat of arms of the Football Association (granted by the College of Arms in 1949), worn by the England national football team, are based on the Royal Arms of England.[12][13]

The coat of arms of the Football Association (granted by the College of Arms in 1949), worn by the England national football team, are based on the Royal Arms of England.^[12]^[13]

As a Royal Banner

The Royal Banner of England is the English banner of arms and so has always borne the Royal Arms of England—the personal arms of England's reigning monarch. When diplayed in war or battle, this banner signalled that the sovereign was present in person.^[20] Because the Royal Banner depicted the Royal Arms of England, so its design and composition changed throughout the Middle Ages.^[20] It is variously known as the Royal Banner of England the Banner of the Royal Arms,^[6] the Banner of the King of England, or by the misnomer of the Royal Standard of England; Arthur Charles Fox-Davies explains that it is "a misnomer to term the banner of the Royal Arms the Royal Standard" because, "the term standard properly refers to the long tapering flag used in battle, by which an overlord mustered his retainers in battle".^[6] The archaeologist and antiquarian Charles Boutell also makes this distinction.^[20] This Royal Banner differs from England's national flag, St George's Cross, in that it does not represent any particular area or land, but rather symbolises the sovereignty vested in the rulers thereof.^[3]

In other banners

The banner of the Duchy of Lancaster viz the Royal Banner of England defaced with a blue label of three points, each point containing three Fleur-de-lis.
The Royal Standard of the United Kingdom featuring the Royal Banner of England in the first and fourth quarters.
The Queen's Personal Canadian Flag, featuring the Royal Banner of England in the First quarter of the first two divisions.

Notes

^ On page 474 of his 1909 book A Complete Guide to Heraldry, Arthur Charles Fox-Davies explains:
It is a misnomer to term the banner of the Royal Arms the Royal Standard. The term standard properly refers to the long tapering flag used in battle, by which an overlord mustered his retainers in battle.

References

^ Jamieson 1998, pp. 14–15.
^ ^a ^b ^c Boutell 1859, p. 373.
The three golden lions upon a ground of red have certainly continued to be the royal and national arms of England.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Fox-Davies 2008, p. 607.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p The First Foot Guards. "Coat of Arms of King George III". footguards.tripod.com. Retrieved 4-February-2010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
^ Thompson 2001, p. 91.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Fox-Davis 1909, p. 474.
^ Keightley 1834, p. 310.
^ James 2009, p. 247.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l Brooke-Little 1950, pp. 205–222.
^ ^a ^b The Royal Household. "Union Jack". royal.gov.uk. Retrieved 2009-08-28.
^ The Public Register of Arms, Flags and Badges of Canada. "The Flag of Her Majesty the Queen for personal use in Canada". gg.ca. Retrieved 2009-08-28.
^ ^a ^b ^c Briggs 1971, pp. 166–167.
^ ^a ^b Ingle, Sean (2002-07-18). "Why do England have three lions on their shirts?". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 2010-09-15.
^ Ross 2002, p. 56.
^ ^a ^b Velde, François (2007-09-04). "The Royal Arms of Great Britain". heraldica.org. Retrieved 2010-09-15.
^ "England Football Online - The Three Lions". englandfootballonline.com. Retrieved 2010-09-15.
^ England Wales Cricket Board
^ ^a ^b Royal Mint (2010). "The United Kingdom £1 Coin". royalmint.com. Retrieved 2010-09-15.
^ "Three lions replace The Queen on stamps". telegraph.co.uk. 2001-03-06. Retrieved 2010-09-15.
^ ^a ^b ^c Boutell 1859, pp. 373–377.

Bibliography

Boutell, Charles (1859). "The Art Journal London". 5. Virtue: 373–376. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
Briggs, Geoffrey (1971). Civic and Corporate Heraldry: A Dictionary of Impersonal Arms of England, Wales and N. Ireland. London: Heraldry Today. ISBN 0900455217.
Brooke-Little, J.P., FSA (1978) [1950]. Boutell's Heraldry (Revised Edition ed.). London: Frederick Warne LTD. ISBN 0-7232-2096-4. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Fox-Davies, Arthur Charles (2008) [1909]. A Complete Guide to Heraldry. READ.
James, George Payne Rainsford (2009). The History of Chivalry. Books LLC.
Jamieson, Andrew Stewart (1998). Coats of Arms. Pitkin. ISBN 9-780853-728702.
Keightley, Thomas (1834). The crusaders; or, Scenes, events, and characters, from the times of the crusades. Vol. 2 (3 ed.). J. W. Parker.
Ross, David (2002). Chronology of Scottish History. Geddes & Grosset. ISBN 1855343800.
Thomson, D. Croal (2001). Fifty Years of Art, 1849-1899: Being Articles and Illustrations Selected from 'The Art Journal'. Adegi Graphics LLC.

[9] On page 474 of his 1909 book A Complete Guide to Heraldry, Arthur Charles Fox-Davies explains:
It is a misnomer to term the banner of the Royal Arms the Royal Standard. The term standard properly refers to the long tapering flag used in battle, by which an overlord mustered his retainers in battle.

[1] Jamieson 1998, pp. 14–15.

[boutell373-2] Boutell 1859, p. 373.
The three golden lions upon a ground of red have certainly continued to be the royal and national arms of England.

[fd607-3] Fox-Davies 2008, p. 607.

[Blazon01-4] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p The First Foot Guards. "Coat of Arms of King George III". footguards.tripod.com. Retrieved 4-February-2010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)

[5] Thompson 2001, p. 91.

[fd474-6] Fox-Davis 1909, p. 474.

[7] Keightley 1834, p. 310.

[8] James 2009, p. 247.

[Boutell-10] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l Brooke-Little 1950, pp. 205–222.

[britmon-11] The Royal Household. "Union Jack". royal.gov.uk. Retrieved 2009-08-28.

[12] The Public Register of Arms, Flags and Badges of Canada. "The Flag of Her Majesty the Queen for personal use in Canada". gg.ca. Retrieved 2009-08-28.

[briggs-13] Briggs 1971, pp. 166–167.

[why-14] Ingle, Sean (2002-07-18). "Why do England have three lions on their shirts?". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 2010-09-15.

[15] Ross 2002, p. 56.

[britarms-16] Velde, François (2007-09-04). "The Royal Arms of Great Britain". heraldica.org. Retrieved 2010-09-15.

[17] "England Football Online - The Three Lions". englandfootballonline.com. Retrieved 2010-09-15.

[18] England Wales Cricket Board

[quid-19] Royal Mint (2010). "The United Kingdom £1 Coin". royalmint.com. Retrieved 2010-09-15.

[20] "Three lions replace The Queen on stamps". telegraph.co.uk. 2001-03-06. Retrieved 2010-09-15.

[journal-21] Boutell 1859, pp. 373–377.

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v t e Coats of arms of the United Kingdom and dependencies
Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom
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