THE OLD ROYAL GOAT OF .ARrv1S
AT PLAGENT IA
Archbishop H. F . Ho rley
FOR REFERENCE
NOT TO BE TAKEN FROM THIS ROOM
fld.
F
1036
55H61 .
092546
SECTION
II., 1909.
[28]
RoYAL
Tt-lANS.
R.
s. c.
ARMs AT PLAcENTIA.-FrG. 1.
II.-The Old Royal Coat of Arms at Placentia.
By MosT
REVEREND ARCHBISHOP
.1\f. F. HowLEY.
(Read May 26, 1908.)
Among the historical relics of old Placentia, the ancient F.rench
Capital of Newfoundland, is preserved a painting of the Royal ~rms
of England of the reign of George III. It was formerly kept in the old
Anglican Church there, but is at present in the custody of .John Bradshaw, Esq. The engraving shown aboYe (fig. 1) is from a photograph
by the Right Revd. Monsignor Heardon, the accomplished pa,rish priest
of Placentia.
There is also preserved at the Court House of Placentia an old
bailiff's staff_. bearing the date of 1772, viz.: the 12th of George III.
(Fig. 2.)
BAILIFF's STAFF, PLACENTIA.-Fra.
2.
This staff also bears a coat of Arms, now almost obliterated, showing the same achievement, with a slight difference, which shall be noticed
24
ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA
by-and-by. This coat of Arms is inscribed in an oval_, surrounded, as
usual, by the Garter. (Fig. 3.)
The,re is also on the staff a scroll bearing the word " Placentia,-''
which shows that it was especially made for this place, and, finally, the
date 1772. (Fig. 4.)
Ill
G.&.
ARMS OF BAILIFF's STAFF,
PLACENTIA.-FIG.
3.
ScROLL oN BAILIFF's STAFF,
PLACENTIA.- F I G .
4.
Many people think that the Art of Heraldry is only an antiquated
fancy, not far removed from puerile folly, and that in these prosaic
centuries a study of those absurd med:ireval figures would be a sheer
waste of time. Such, however, is not really the case. Although it must
be admitted that in the XV. and XVI. centuries this art, like many
others, became ve.ry much degenerated, yet it cannot be denied that
Heraldry has played an important part, and exercised a powerful influence in moulding the history of the world. It has also been of incalculable benefit in creating and fostering a taste for the fine arts; the
fantastic forms of armorial bearings and devices lending themselves
admirably to artistic decoration. No one can pretend to any degree of
perfection in Art, Sculpture, Architecture, Archffiology or Literature,
without, at least, an elementary knowledge of the curious conceits and
technical tern'linology of this quaint branch of science. Indeed it is
almost impossible to read with a true understanding and appreciation,
not only the higher class of romance and literature, such, for instance,
as the works of Scott, but even History itself can be but half understood
without the aid of Heraldry. In fact Heraldry may be called "History in
pictures.'" The explanation which I am about to give of these old Arms
at Placentia will show that not only the whole History of England, but
also a very considerable portion of that of Europe is written upon that
small piece of painting.
[HOWLEY)
THE OLD ROYAL COAT OF ARMS AT PLACENTIA
25
Again Heraldry has its utilitarian side~ It serves to distinguish
family alliances and descents., often of great legal importance in settling
questions of he;redity., property, etc.
It is useful in the formation and organization of guilds and corporations: in the invention of trade-marks of business firms: in the
designs of National Banners., and Royal Standards., which become the
recognized symbols of racial loyalty and national fealty, which call forth
in their defence the highest sentiments and noblest feats of patriotism
and heroic bravery.
Although it has become the custom in mode.r n times and in new
countries, like our neighbours in the United States of America, to despise
as unworthy of serious thought, the childish heraldry of medireval
Europe, yet it would seem that a symbolism of some sort is a necessity
of human intercommunication, and those very people who reject with
scorn the ingenious and well-devised designs of ancient heraldry., have
found it necessary to adopt for themselves a spurious and mongrel
imitation of the truly poetic and romantic imagery of the middle ages.
This craving, which seems inherent in the hum.an heart, shows itself
cropping out in such tinsel and tawdry hybrids as u The Knights of
I1abour/' u The Knights of Pythias," ~'The Foresters," etc.
It may probably surprise some of the sons of the great modern
Republic to le~rn that their very national flag-their "Old Glory,"-of
which they are so justly proud, is not, as they may have thought a spick
span new American invention or conception, but a survival and adaptation of old English heraldry. 'l1 he stars and stripes were originally the
arms or heraldic bearings of the family of Washington !
The first quarte;r of the coat of the Royal Arms of Great Britain
of ~he present day (fig. 5) is not, as can be noticed by a comparison with
figures 1, 3, or 18, the same as that on the Placentia coat.
RoYAL ARMS AT PRESENT DAY.-FIG.
5.
The shield on the present Royal Arms is divided, as it is expressed,
''quarterly." The first and fourth quarter contain the Arms of England
only; the second quarter those of Scotland ; and the third those of
26
ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA
lreland. On the painting at Placentia the :first quarter is subdivided
"per pale_," that is to say_, by a line drawn perpendicularly through thtmiddle of it_, and on the dexter side (the left hand as -we look at it)
are inscribed the Arms of England; on the sinister (the right as we
look at it) those of Scotland. See figures 1_, 3 or 18.) The reason for
this change will be explained immediately.
The Arms of England
are blazoned, or described in heraldic language, as follows:Gules, three lions passant guardant Or: in pale. For the benefit
of the uninitiated_, this may be explained thus :-On a red ground there
are three lions in gold or yellow colour passing or walking towards the
left hand, and looking full face at the beholder. These lions are placed
one above the other in the centre line of the shield.
Among the symbols or emblems used in heraldry the lion was a
very popular and much used one_, being the representative of strength
and courage. There is a roll of Arn1s drawn up in the reign of Henry
III., between 1243 and 1246_, containing the blazons of 218 coats of
A.rms_, and no less than forty of them exhibit the lion in one form or
another.
The lions on the English Arms were those of Normandy, and are
supposed to have been brought over by William the Conqueror; but they
were originally only two and they were not lions but leopards_, or, as
the French called them, l-ionceattx. The first reliable mention we find
of them in connection with English History is in a description given by
the Monk of Marmoutiers of the enrollment of Geoffry, Count of Anjou,.
the father of Henry II., Plantagenet, into the order of Chival,ry. His
shield is described as having " leunculos aureos imaginarios "-" imaginary little lions (or leopards) of gold.-'' These animals, like the griffins,
are partly fabulous. They are called leones leopardes. 'They are a cross
between the lion and pard. The pard is a name given indiscriminately
to the tiger_, panther, leopard, jaguar, cat-a-mountain, and such like. It
is alluded to by Shakespeare in the well-known passage :from. "As you
like it."-Act II., Scene 7, describing the ages o£ man. The :fourth
age is:" A Soldier ,,
"Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard."
The third lion was added by Richard Omur de Lion, after his
return from captivity, 1194. . King John before coming to the throne
signed or sealed with two lions, but after he became king he used three,
and so the seal has remained evey since.
(HOWLEY]
THE OLD ROYAL COAT OF ARMS AT PLACENTIA
The Arms of France, three Fleurs de lys, were assumed by King
Edward III. in 1340, and incorporated into the Royal Arms of England.
They were cc .m arshalled " in the following manner, viz. : On the :first
and last quarters were placed the Arms of Prance ; the Arms of England
occupying the second and third quarters. (Fig. 6)
ARMS OF ENGLAND , TEMP., EDWARD
III., 1340.-FIG. 6.
The Royal Arms, thus quartered with France, were retained all
through the .reigns of the Plantagenets, the Lancastrians,. the Yorkists,
the T 'u dors, the Stuarts, and the line of Brunswick, up to the year 1801,
when the Arms of France were finally discarded. Many changes, how·e ver, were made from time to time in the marshalling :-Thus, when
James VI. of ~cotland became King of England as James I. (1603) he
introduced the Arms of Scotland and Ireland into the Royal Escutcheon,
placing the Arms of England and France (quarterly, as hitherto) on the·
:first and fourth quarters, giving the second quarter to the Arms of Scotland, and the third to Ireland. (~.,ig. 7.)
ROYAL
ARMS,
TEMP., .JAS.
I., 1603.-lfiG. 7.
The Arm.s of Scotland.
The heraldic blazon of these Arms is as follows:-" Or, a lion.
rampant, gules, surrounded by a double tressure flory counter flory of thesecond." In plain English,-On a yellow or golden ground, a red lion
standing on his hind legs with his fore paws stretched out as if clawingo.r clutching, surrounded by a double red border flowered on both sides_
28
ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA
The origin of this Arms is not known.
by Scott in Marmion-
It is thus beautifully epitomized
"The ruddy lion ramps in gold
On Scotland's royal battle shield."
This marshalling was followed by Charles I. But when Cromwell
established the Commonwealth (1653)_, being imbued with a more
republican spirit_, he discarded the Lions both of England and Scotland
and the Lilies of France_, and in their stead placed the Cross of St.
George for England_, and that of St. Andrew for Scotland_, retaining the
harp of Ireland_, and placing his own Arms_, a lion rampant (very in-consistently_, it would seem) over all in an escutcheon of "Pretence~"
(Fig. 8.)
RoYAL
ARMS, TEMP. ,
CoMMON"'WEALTH,
1653.-FIG. 8.
With the restoration of Charles II. the Arms were again brought
back to their former style as in the reign of Charles I.
On the abdication of James II. (1688) the Crown of England was
offered to William III., Stadtholder of the United Netherlands and Count
of Nassau. He was the son of the eldest daughter of Charles I. Besides
these titles William held another_, that of Prince of Orange. This title
was derived from a beautiful Province of that name in the South of
France in _the Department of Vaucluse. It came into possession of the
IT ouse of Nassau through Rene_, nephew of Prince Philibert of Orange
in 1530. The sister of Philibert had married the Count of Nassau.
Rene dying childless, his cousin \Villiam I., Stadtholder of the Netherlands, becan~e Prince of Orange, since which time the family has assumed
-the title of Orange-Nassau. In England this short Dynasty is known as
the Orange-Stuarts. By a strange irony of fate this title of Orange, his
only Catholic title (as it may be called) is the one by which he has
become notorious_, and left his indelible ma.rk on the pages of English
\History. That title, accruing from the smiling Province of Southern
France: a country which brings to our minds memories of peace and
harmony only; of the chivalrous days of the troubadours and minstrels
(HOWLEY]
THE OLD ROYAL COAT OF ARMS AT PLACENTIA
29
of Provence! Sad that it should have become the shibboleth of strife
and bloodshed, of hafired and racial antipathy, of internecine war, of
fratricidal feuds, of political and fanatic animosity and sectarian
intolerance, which for so many centuries have afflicted the once peaceful
shores of Ireland! Worse still, these old-world animosities have been
transplanted across the wide Atlantic into the free and pure atmosphere
of the New 'Vorld, and efforts are made to fo.r ce their noxious tendrils
to strike root in the virgin soil of America. But that soil has proved
rather uncongenial to such miasmic growth; its deadly roots have not
been able to thrive. Let us hope that the day is not far distant which
will see the entire extinction of this remnant of ancient feuds, so incompatible with the advancement and prosperity, and asp~rations, of our
noble young Nation.
William III., Prince of Orange, on ascending the throne of England
introduced another change in the Royal Escutcheon. He marshalled the
Arms of Nassau,-Azure, seme of billets, a lion rampant, Or. This
coat was placed en surtout, or on an inescutcheon of Pretence in the
centre of the Royal Arms. (Fig. 9.)
RoYAL ARMs, TEMP., WILL. III., 1688.-FIG. 9.
In the reign of Anne anothe.r change was made. During her reign
occurren, in 1707, the Union of the Parliaments of England and Scotland, under the name of The Parliament of Great Britain. At this time
also the celebrated Duke of Marlborough was carrying on the war in the
Netherlands, and making a sort of triumphal progress. The victories
Blenheim, Ramillies, Oudenarde, Malplaquet, etc., followed hard upon
each other. In honour of these victories Queen Anne made a change in
the Royal Escutcheon. She withdrew the Arms of Scotland from the
second quarter, placing them "in pale" with the British Arms, on the
first quarter, and gave the whole of the second quarter up to the Arme
o,!! France, as we see them on the shield at Placentia. (Figs. 1, 3 or 18.)
She left Ireland in its orio-inal place on the third quarter, repeated on
the fourth quarter the combined Arms of England and Scotland, and
or
30
..,
ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA
·dJscarded the Arms of Nassau. The shield then appeared as in figure 10.
'l'he Royal Arms we.r e thus retained until the accession of George I .
(1714). That monarch removed the charge (England and Scotland)
from the fourth quarter, placing there, instead, the Arms of his foreign
·dominions, Hanover and Brunswick, etc. This reduced the Royal Arma
RoYAL ARMS, TEMP., QuF.EN ANNE, 1707.-FIG. 10.
to exactly the form in which they appear on the Placentia coat (See
.figures 1_, 3_, or 18), and so they remained through the reigns of the
Georges_, until the year 1801, when another change was made, as we !!hall
see later on.
During the reigns of the Stuarts the custom prevailed of marshalling
the Arms (at least for Scotland) in the following manner, viz.: quart·cr ly, 1st and 4th, Scotland; 2nd, France and England, quarterly; 3;rd,
Ireland. (See fig. 11.) 'l'his custom was also continued (for Scottish
RoYAL ARMS FOR ScoTLAND, TEMP., STUARTs.-Fia. 11.
·coins) by William III. He, however, added the Arms of Nassau en
surtout as he had done on the English coins. Even the unfortunate :first
Pretender assumed these arms and had a coin struck in 1716, giving
himself the title of James TIL of England and VIII. of Scotland.
Although this pretension of the Stuarts was vain and merely theoretic,
still England permitted the use of these Arms long after the Union of
the Parliaments of England and Scotland.
When in Edinburgh, in 1902, I copied a very interesting coat of
.L\Tms from a fountain in front of Holy Rood Palace. The mar~halling
A
[ HOWLEY]
Ill
I
1
I
THE OLD ROYAL COAT OF ARMS AT PLACENTIA
31
was novel and striking. 'l'he shield was divided "per pale/' the whole
of the dexter sid2 being charg~d with the Lion of Scotland, while on the
sinister side were the usual quarterings of the Arms of England and
France. (Fig. 12.)
ARMS oN FouNTAIN, HoLY Rooo PALACE.-FIG·
12.
The fountain was erected by the late Prince Consort during his
sojourn in Edinburgh, and is a reproduction of a more ancient one at
Linlithgow Palace, erected by King James V.
The French Arms.
. Although the Fleur de Lys was from time immemorial used in
c""'r namentation of crowns and scepte.r 8, it seems to have been first formally
adopted as the Arms of Royalty in France by Louis VII, called Lejeune,
in 1147. He adopted this cognizance when about to proceed to the
Crusade. His shield was " Sem·e " or " sown '' with these lilies, that
is to say, there were several of them scattered over the field as seeds are
sown broadcast. They were of gold on an azure o.r blue ground. In an
ordinance concerning the coronation of his son Philip Augustus, it is
declared that the mantle, the chaussures, and the oriflamme are to be
-sown with fleurs de lis, as described by the poet Rigord:
"Vexillum floribus liliorum distinctum."
The number of Lilies was reduced to three by Cha.rles V. (1376)
in honour of the Most Holy r_rrinity-" Pour symboliser la Sainte
Trinite," and continued so till the destruction of the monarchy. This
modification of the number of the lilies was not accepted in England
until the reign of Henry IV., 1399. The three are placed in the
form of a triangle, the base being upwards, the apex below, thus ~. · They
are said to be placed '' two and one." This is always understood in
IIeraldry to be the disposition of the "charges" on an escutcheon when
they are simply mentioned as three without any qualification. If placed
otherwise it is always mentioned, as "per fess," "per pale," "per bend,"
€tc. If the three charges are placed with the apex upwards, thus . ·.. it
l'1
If
I
32
'
I.
ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA
is bad heraldry, and they are said to be "mal ordonnes." :I find that
while on the old coat of .Arms in the church at Placentia the lilies are
placed properly ' (See fig. 1), yet on the bailiff's staff they are wrongly
placed or '' mal ordonnes." (See fig. 3.) This is owing to the :form of
the shield, oval, which would not allow of their being placed prope,rly.
This form of marshalling is, however, sometimes permitted, where the
shape of the escutcheon demands it, as in the present instance. It is
then blazoned as " In Chevron." Originally they were actually placed
on a chevron.
The claim of England to the Crown of France originated with
Edward III., who claimed it in right of his mother Isabella, siste.r of
the French King, who could not succeed to the throne owing to the
Salic law. .After the Battle of Sluys in which he completely annihilated
the French fleet (1340) he placed the :B,rench .Arms on the English
escutcheon, and assumed the title of King of France, which was retained
by the English Sovereign ever after, with a slight respite during the
ARMS OF l\t!ARY QuEEN OF SCOTS,
1558.-FIG. 13.
Commonwealth, until 1801, when, on the Parliamentary Union of G:reat
Britain and Ireland, it was finally abandoned, and the lilies were stricken
out from the British escutcheon. This empty claim to a title, which was
purely fictitious_, and had no real or actual dominion attached to it, at
least ever since the loss of Calais, 1556, the last French town held by
England, seems almost puerile in these modern prosaic days, but in the
ages of chivalry a good deal of store was laid by it, and it played no small
part in the moulding of British history.
Mary, Queen of Scots, had married Francis, the Dauphin of France,.
in 1558. She assumed the .Arms of the Dauphin (quarterly, 1st and
41-h, the .Arms of France; 2nd and 3rd, Or,-a dolphin embowed, azure).
These .Arms she plac~d on the shield in conjunction with the .Arms of
Scotland; sometimes by quartering them thus, 1st and 4th, the Dauphin;
2nd and 3.r d, Scotland.
(Fig. 13.)
Sometimes they were marshalled
(HOWLEY]
THE OLD ROYAL COAT OF ARMS AT PLACENTIA
33
in a different manner, viz.: per pale_, sinister_, Scotland; dexter_, per fess:
- I n chief_, the Dauphin: in base_, Scotland repeated. (Fig. 14.)
ARMs oF ~lARY QUEEN oF ScoTs, 1558.-FIG. 14
After the death of Henry_, Mary's husband became King of France,
1559. She then dropped the Arms of the Dauphin and assumed those
of France_, impaling them with ·Scotland. (Fig. 15.)
ARMS
OF MARY QuEEN OF ScoTs, 1559.-FIG. 15.
Before this_, however_, when Elizabeth was negotiating a peace with
France_, the French King_, being annoyed because she retained the Style
and Title of Queen of France_, induced his daughter-in-law_, Mary Stuart,
to assume the Arms of England. This she did_, and had he.r self proclaimed in Paris as "Queen of England_, Scotland_, and Ireland.-'-' This
assumption not only irritated Eaizabeth extremely and wounded her
pride_, but it seriously alarmed her; for it cast a doubt upon her legitimacy and her right to the Crown. Consequently it embittered the feelings
between those two cousin queens_, so as to lead to the captivity and final
execution of ~lary Stua,r t. In tact all through her reign Elizabeth was
haunted by this bugbear of Mary Stuart assuming the Title_, Style and
Arms of England. Although Mary declared that she never intended to
put this claim into actual effect_, still it was always a subject of jealousy,
the abandonment of which entered into every negotiation for peace with
France_, and tinged the whole attitude of Elizabeth towards Scotland
and her beautiful but unfortunate Queen.
Sec. It., 1909.
3.
24
ROYAL SOCIETY OF CA.l\;ADA
We next come to consider
'l'HE ARMS OF IRELAND_,
which occupy the third quarter of the shield. The heraldic blazon of
this coat is "Azure, a harp or: stringed argent." That is to say, on a
blue ground, a golden harp with silver strings. The first thing that
attracts our attention concerning this achievement is the colour of the
field or ground, which is blue. At the present day it is well known that
the green has been adopted by the people of I;reland as the
NATIONAL
CoLouR;
but antiquaries and experts in heraldic art tell us that this selection is
of comparatively modern date. By some it i s said to have its origin
from the blending of the colours of the two opposing factions-the
orange and blue-by the United Irishmen at the close of the 18th
century ( 1791), under the celebrated Theobald Wolfe Tone. But on the
other hand good authorities say that the green was used as the colou,r of
THE1:ARMS OF lRELAND.-FIG.
16.
the National Standard of Ireland as far back at least as the 16th century.
Sir Bernard J. Burke., formerly "Ulster King of Arms," says that
~' Previous to the Anglo-l\J orman invasion there was no colour or standard for Ireland at large.'' Brian Boru's banner at Clontarf was red.
The favorite colours in thos~ days we,r e crimson, sa:ffon, and blue. Green
was not in favour. . . . . Since the introduction of English Rule the
national colour, established by, and derived from, the Royal Arms has
been invariably blue. But this colour has not taken in modern Ireland,
and Sir Bernard himself when called upon to compose the Arms for the
Royal University of I ,r eland (1881), blazons the Arms of Leinster as
vert '(i.e. green), an Irish harp, Or. The adoption of green by Sir B.
Burke instead of blue, as heretofore, was either in deference to modern
national sentiment, or perhaps for sake of distinction, as he gave azure
for Munster, and the :field of the Connaught Arms is also argent and
azure. As all the four Provinces are quartered on the shield (see fig.
16), there would have been three azures~ which would not have a good
effect. May we not hope that when Ireland gains u Home Rule," which
(HOWLEY)
THE OLD ROYAL COAT OF ARlVIS AT PLACENTIA
35
now seems to be not far distant, the concession to her national aspirations
may be made of changing her quarter of the Royal Standard from
blue to green I
With regard to the
cc GOLDEN
HARP ,
of Erin., a few words may be of interest. At what time the harp was
selected as the E1nblem of Ireland is unknown. It is probably in remembrance of the Harp of Brian Boru., and distinguishes Ireland as a
n1usic-loving country.
Moore's beautiful lines on the Origin of the
Harp are of the highest order of poetry, but of course all pure romance.
It is certain that the Harp ~vas ·acknowledged as the Emblem of Ireland
in the XVI. Century. We have already stated that King James I.., who
ascended the throne in 1603, placed the harp on the Royal Escutcheon
as the achievement of Ireland. In an Edition of Keating's History of
Ireland, published in 1725, there is given a representation of Brian Boru.
We have already mentioned that the colour of his banner was red, and
strange to say, on his escutcheon in this engraving the Arm_s are given
exactly as those of England., namely, three lions rampant, guardant
cc in pale."
This is +he Arms of the O'Brien family at present. The
harp, however, is represented on this picture as embroidered on a cloth
which rests on a table beside hin1..
Henry ·viii. in 1526 issued coins for Ireland: a groat bearing the
harp. This is, I believe, the oldest representation we have of the harp
as Ireland's Emblem. It was continued in subsequent ,r eigns.
King
James II. issued copper coins for Ireland (farthings) in 1613, bearing
the harp. It was thought that they might not be received by the people
of England, as being only in base metal. Hence the harp was placed on
them as they were thought good enough for Ireland!
BREECHES
MoNEY,
TEMP., CROMWELL,
1652.-FrG. 17.
Cromwell also, in 1649, issued special coins for Ireland. They had
two shields, one bearing the harp, the other the cross of Saint George.
These shields were united at the top, symbolizing the union of the two
kingdoms.
The shields _thus joined bore a fancied resemblance to a
_pair of breeches. Hence this coinage was called " Breeches Money."
(Fig. 17.)
36
ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA
\V e now come to consider the charges on the
FouRTH QuARTER
of the arms at Placentia. It will be seen at a glance that they are quite
d1fferent from those which occupy the fourth place on the Royal Arms
of the present day_, which are simply a repetition of the first quarter,
viz.: the three lions of England. As the Arms at Placentia_, both on the
painting and on the bailiff's staff, are very much blurred and faded by
time and almost obliterated by use_, I give here (:fig. 18.) a photograph
CoiN-REIGN oF G Eo . II., 1729.-FIG. 18 .
of a coin of the reign of George II. (1729) _, u somewhat earlier period_,
but bearing the same achievement of , Arn1s. I have had it enlarged so
that the figures may appear more distinctly_, and the reader may be able
to follow without difficulty what I am about to say.
The heraldic blazon of this qnarter 1s as follows :-Tierced
per pairle inversed_, (!or per ·chevron) 1st_,. 'in chief_, gules_, two lior..s
passant gardant, Or, for Brunswick: 2nd (in chief) Or, seme of hearts
[HOWLEY]
THE OLD ROYAL COAT OF ARMS AT PLACENTIA
37
gules, a lion rampant, azure; for Lunenberg, 3rd, (in point) gules, a
horse courant, argent, for vVestphaha, or Saxony.
The White Horse is properly the Arn1.s of '-'Testphalia, but is popularly known as the "White Horse of Hanover," inasmuch as it was the
most prominent charge upon the Arms of Hanover, incorporated into
the Royal Arms of England by the House of Brunswick, on the accession
of George I., 1714. 1..,he white horse, ho"\vever, is of very ancient origin
as the Arms of Saxony. It is said that the "white horse" can still be
eeen carved in the chalk cliffs of Dover by the early Saxons who came
over in the Fifth Century under Hengist.
It was also a cherished syn1bol in the day " of Alfred the Great.
There is a very graphic description of the "Vale of the White Horse..
in the Royal County of Berks," in " rrom Brown's School-Days.'' The
author tells how "King Alfred, with his brother Etheldred, having conquered the Danes in a glorious battle at Ashdown, or Aston, (2Escendum
or Ecsesdunum in the Chronicles) 'when Baeseg, one of the two kings
of the heathen, and five of his earls fell down and died, and many thousands of the heathen side-by-side in the same place, after which crowning
mercy the pious king_, that there might never be wanting a sign and
memorial to the country-side, carved out on the Northern side of the
chalk hill, under the camp, where it is almost precipitous, the
( GREAT SAXON \\~RITE HORSE,'
which he who will may see fron1 the railway, and which gives its name
to the vale over which it has looked theo::e thou and years and n1.ore." 1
These Arms were borne on the English escutcheon until the 1st
of January, 1801, when, on the Parliamentary Union of Great Britain
and Ireland, the Arms of France were discarded. The title of King
of France, hitherto retained by the English Sovereigns, was also
abandoned at this time, and it was ordered that the title of the King
should henceforth be "Georgius Tertius, Dei Gratia, Brittaniarum Rex
Fidei Defensor." The King's Gern1an titles (which shall be alluded to
immediately) were also no longer used.
The Arms of Scotland were taken from their rather cramped
place on the first quarter and restored to the second quarter,
replacing the discarded Arms of li.,rance. The English lions received
full possession of the 1st quarter, the place of honour, and, Inore than
that, they were repeated in full in the 4th quarter, as on the Royal
1
The same author, 'l'homa!': Hughes, in his story of "The Scouring of the
\\"bite Horse," goes more minutely into the hi tory of this monument of Saxon
times.
38
ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA
Standard of today. The only difference being that the Arms of Hanover,
removed from the 4th quarter, were placed in an inescutcheon of
pretence over all (en surtout) in the centre of the shield (fig. 19) . This
inescutcheon was at first ensigned or surmounted by the Electoral Bonnet,
until the yea,r 1815, when, after the treaty of Vienna, Hanover was made
a kingdom. The Electoral Bonnet was then supplanted by a Crown.
They were thus borne until they were finally abandoned on the accession
of Queen Victoria, 1837.
RoYAL
ARMS, 1801.-FIG. 19.
In the centre of the 4th quarter, containing the arms of Hanover,
there is what is called a " Shield of Pretence," which bears,
"THE
CROWN OF CHARLEMAGNE.'"
George Lewis Guelf, Elector of Hanover, son of Ernest Augustus,
Elector of Hanover, etc., etc., and Sophia, daughter of Elizabeth Stuart,
Queen of Bohemia, sister of Charles I. of England, succeeded or rather
acceded., to the Crown on the death of Queen An~e, August 1st, 1714,
CRowN
oF
CHARLEMAGNE.-FIG.
20.
under the title of George I. He brought with him a confusing number
of German and foreign titles, among others he was Lay Bishop of
Osnabruck; Duke of Calenberg and Zell, both forming the Duchy of
Hanover ; Duke of Brunswick, and Elector of Lunenberg, etc., etc., and
(HOWLEY]
THE OLD ROYAL COAT OF ARMS AT PLACENTIA
39
ARcH-TREASURER OF THE HoLY RoJ\IAN EMPIRE.
It was in view o£ this last fictitious title that he marshalled on his
the (also fictitious) " Crown of Charlemagne." This title was
doubly or quadruply fictitious. In the first place the Empire itself wa~
fictitious; his claim to the Treasurership was fictitious; the treasu,rership
itself was fictitious_, and the emblem_, the so-called Crown of Charlemagne_,
IS fictitious.
A few words here concerning the
~L\..rms
l-lOLY ROMAN EMPIRE .
may not be considered out of place. The old Roman Empire, founded
by .Julius ancl Augustus Cresar_, was divided at the close of the 4th
century (~ . D. 395) between rArcadius and Honorius_, sons of 'Theodosius the Great, into the Eastern and Western Empires. The capital
of the Eastern was Constantinople_, of the Western_, Rome. In the year
476 the Western Empire was overthrown by Odoacer. In the following
(6th) century .Justinian became Emperor of the whole Empire, and
though retaining Rome_, he still kept his Court at Constantinople. This
state of things lasted until the year 800_, when Cha,rlemagne, King of
the Franks_, was crowned at Rome by Pope Leo III. as Emperor of the
N e1-v Roman Empire, called the Holy Roman Empire. The imperial
title had fallen very low under succeeding Emperors till the time
of Otto the Great (962) who revived some of its glory. From his
time down the German Emperors kept the title_, until the year 1806,
when Francis II._, Archduke of Austria, King of Bohemia and Hungary_,
etc., resigned the imperial title and assumed the title of Emperor of
Austria: with him the " Holy Roman Empire " ended. 1
George's claim to the office of Archtreasurer_, etc._, was based upon an
intricate chain of consanguinial descent_, from the House of Guelf, son
of Isembert_, Count of Aldtdorf_, and Irmintrude_, sister of Charlemagne.
The Crown which he marshalled on his arms, and which is erroneously
called "the Crown of Charlemagne;" is in reality a Southern Italian
piece of workmanship of the 11th century. Until the year 1796 it V\~as
preserved in the Church of the Holy Ghost at Nuremberg; at the present
time it is in the Treasure Chamber at Vienna. The letters S. R. I. A.
T. on the Coin (Fig. 18) apply to this rather nebulous claim of the Electors of Hanover. The full reading is Sancti Romani Imperii Archi1 It is on this account that the prayer formerly said in the Liturgy of the
Catholic Church on Good Friday, "Pro Christianissimo Imperatore Nost-r·o," has
been suppressed; not, as has been stated by some, because the Church of Rome
refuses to pay due honor to temporal Sovereigns.
40
ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA
Thesaurarius. In English it reads-Archtreasurer of the Holy Roman
Empire. The other cabalistic letters refer to the various other German
and foreign offices which were held by the Elector of Hanover, and which
were insiuuated into the "style and title" of the first English monarch
of the House of Brunswick. Though not immediately relevant to our
present subject, a few words in explanation of them may not be without
interest. This Coin, as will be seen by the date ( 1729), belongs to the
reign of George II. We can see of course only one side in this engraving.
It is called the reverse side. The obverse side (which we do not here see)
bears a bust of the King, with the inscription Georgius II., Dei Gratia
(George II. by the Grace of God). On the reverse side we have the
following letters :-M. B. F. ET. H. REX. F. D. B. ET. L. D. S. R. I.
A. T. ET·. E., 1729. The reading in full is as follows: Magnre Britannire,
FTancire, Et Hibernire, Rex: Fidei Defensor, Brunsvicensis E t Lunenbergensis Dux, Sancti Romani Imperii Archi-Thesaurarius et Elector."
In English-" King of Great Britain, France and Ireland, Defender of
the Faith, Duke of Brunswick and Lunenberg, Arch-Treasurer of the
Holy Roman Empire, and Elector."
The other numerous titles mentioned above are not shown. Probably
he did not think them worth recording, or, perhaps, there was no room
for them.
The first part of th1s Inscription relating to the claim of the King
of England to the Crown of France and Ireland has already been fully
explained; also that relating to the Holy Roman Empire.
The title of " ],idei Defensor," Defender of the Faith, adopted by
the Sovereigns of Great Britain, was originally conferred on Henry
\TIII. by Pope Leo X. in the year 1521. It was granted to Henry for
his celebrated work, a treatise on " The Seven Sacraments,'" written by
the King (or, at least, accredited to him) in reply to Luther's "Babylonish Captivity of the Church." A copy of this work bound in cloth
of gold, and bearing the King's autograph, was presented to the Pope,
who read it with delight and eagerness, and published a Bull conferring
the above mentioned title on the Royal Author. In this work Henry
defended the doctrine of Transubstantiation, the Mass, Seven Sacraments, etc., doctrines which were afterwards repudiated, and which up
to the present day the Sovereign of England is obliged, on his accession
to the throne, to declare that he believes to be idolatrous and blasphemous,
whilo, by a strange inconsistency, he retains the title conferred by the
Pope. Whether it was owing to a sense of this incongruity or not, I
cannot say, but in the year 1849 (12th Victoria) a Florin was struck
on which these letters (F. D. ) as well as the others (D. G.) did not
appear. The inscription being simply Victor·i a Regina. The omission
[HOWLEY)
THE OLD ROYAL COAT OF ARl\18 AT PLACENTIA
41
of these letters offended the sense of the nation. The coins were designated cc Godless'' or "Graceless" money. 'rhe issue was immediately
withdrawn and a new issue struck restoring the letters F. D. 1
The throne of Hanover, which had been an appanage of the English Sovereign since the time of George I., became vacant on the accession of Queen Victoria, as, according to the Salic law, women were excluded from the succession. The Crown of this little kingdom was there:f'ore conferred upon her uncle, the Duke of Cumberland.
There is no date upon this coat of Arms at Placentia, but it bears
the initials G. III. R. The old Staff, however, at the Court House, bears
the date of 1772, and it is probable that they are both of the same date.
This date is prior to the erection either of the old Court House or the
old Anglican Church.
According to Judge Prowse ( Chron0logical Table, p. 653) the former vvas built in 1774, two years later than
the date of the Staff. Hence it could not have been presented to the
Court House. But Prowse tells lis (p. 314) that Court was held in
Placentia as far back at least as 1749 "in a dingy room in Thoma~
Kennedy's house." On July 20th, 1786, . H. R. H. William, Duke of
Clarence, (afterwards William IV.) presided at the Court House in
Placentia in his capacity of Surrogate or Magistrate.
Prowse also
tells us (p. 366) that the building of the Chu,rch was ordered by the
Prince in 1787. " He contributed handsomely to its erection," continues
Judge Prowse, ''and furnished the massive Communion Service long in
the custody of Dr. Bradshaw's family at Placentia."
1 This incident ~·eminds us forcibly of 'vhat has recently occurred in America
1n the suppression of the word s " In God we trust'' from the coins of the realm,
and the consequent indi~nation of the people demanding their restoration.
1