Attributed arms are Western Europeancoats of arms given retrospectively to persons real or fictitious who died before the start of the age ofheraldry in the latter half of the 12th century. Once coats of arms were the established fashion of the ruling class, society expected a king to bearmigerous.[1] Arms were assigned to theknights of the Round Table, and then to biblical figures, to Roman and Greek heroes, and to kings and popes who had not historically borne arms.[2] Individual authors often attributed different arms for the same person, although the arms for major figures eventually became fixed.
Notable arms attributed to biblical figures include the arms ofJesus based on theinstruments of the Passion, and theshield of the Trinity. Medieval literature attributed coats of arms to theNine Worthies, includingAlexander the Great,Julius Caesar, andKing Arthur. Arms were given to many kings predating heraldry, includingEdward the Confessor andWilliam I of England. These attributed arms were sometimes used in practice asquarterings in the arms of their descendants.
Attributed or imaginary arms appeared in literature in the middle of the 12th century, particularly inArthurian legends. During the generation followingChrétien de Troyes, about 40 of Arthur's knights had attributed coats of arms.[3] A second stage of development occurred during the 14th and 15th centuries when Arthurian arms expanded to include as many as 200 attributed coats of arms.
During the same centuries,rolls of arms included invented arms for kings of foreign lands.[4] Around 1310,Jacques de Longuyon wrote theVoeux du Paon ("Vows of the Peacock"), which included a list of nine famous leaders. This list, divided into three groups of three, became known in art and literature as theNine Worthies.[5] Each of the Nine Worthies were given a coat of arms.King David, for instance, was assigned a gold harp as a device.[6]
Once coats of arms were the established fashion of the ruling class, society expected a king to bearmigerous.[1] In such an era, it was "natural enough to consider that suitable armorial devices and compositions should be assigned to men of mark in earlier ages".[7] Each author could attribute different arms for the same person, although regional styles developed, and the arms for major figures soon became fixed.[8]
Some attributed arms were incorporated into thequarterings of their descendants' arms. The quarterings for the family of Lloyd of Stockton, for instance, include numerous arms originally attributed to Welsh chieftains from the 9th century or earlier.[9] In a similar vein, arms were attributed toPope Leo IX based on the later arms of his family's descendants.[8]
In the 16th and 17th centuries, additional arms were attributed to a large number of saints, kings and popes, especially those from the 11th and 12th centuries.Pope Innocent IV (1243–1254) is the first pope whosepersonal coat of arms is known with certainty.[10] By the end of the 17th century, the use of attributed arms became more restrained[11]
The tinctures and charges attributed to an individual in the past provide insight into the history of symbolism.[12]
In theArthurian legends, eachknight of the Round Table is often accompanied by aheraldic description of acoat of arms. Although these arms could be arbitrary, some characters were traditionally associated with one coat or a few different coats. Early British sources such as theHistoria Brittonum assign thePendragon a white banner with a gold dragon which later becomes theRed Dragon of Wales.
King Arthur was assigned many different arms, but from the 13th century, he was most commonly given three gold crowns on anazure field (Loomis 1938, 38). In a 1394 manuscript depicting the Nine Worthies, Arthur is shown holding a flag with three gold crowns.[6] The reason for the triple-crown symbol is unknown, but it was associated with other pre-Norman kings, with the seal of KingMagnus Eriksson, with the relics of theThree Wise Men in Cologne (which led to the three crowns in the seal of theUniversity of Cologne), and with the grants ofEdward I of England to towns which were symbolized by three crowns in the towns' arms. The number of crowns increased to eleven, thirteen and even thirty at times.[13]
Other arms were associated with Arthur. In a manuscript from the later 13th century, Arthur's shield has three gold leopards, a likely heraldic flattery of Edward I of England.Geoffrey of Monmouth assigned Arthur a dragon on his helmet andstandard, which is possiblycanting arms on Arthur's father's name,Uther Pendragon. Geoffrey also assigned Arthur a shield with an image of theVirgin Mary.[14] An illustration of the latter by D. Endean Ivall, based on the battle flag described byNennius (a cross and the Virgin Mary) and including the motto "King Arthur is not dead" in Cornish, can be found on the cover of W. H. Pascoe's 1979A Cornish Armory.
Other characters in the Arthurian legends are described with coats of arms.Lancelot starts with plain white arms but later receives a shield with threebends gules signifying the strength of three men.[15]Tristan was attributed a variety of arms. His earliest arms, a gold lion rampant on red field, are shown in a set of 13th-century tiles found inChertsey Abbey.[16]Thomas of Britain in the 12th century attributed these arms in what is believed to be heraldic flattery of his patron, eitherRichard I orHenry II, whose coats of arms contained some form of lion.[17] In other versions the field is not red, but green.Gottfried von Strassburg attributed to Tristan a silver shield with a black boar rampant[18] In Italy, however, he was attributed geometric patterns (argent a bendgules).[19]
The Arthurian legends contain numerous instances ofred knights,black knights orgreen knights challenging the knights of the Round Table. In most cases, the color was chosen at random and has no symbolic significance.[20] Such arms of onetincture create an atmosphere.[clarification needed] Plain arms were rare in the 12th century, and were used in literature to suggest a primitive heraldry of a time long past.Geoffrey of Monmouth noted with favor that in the Arthurian age, worthy knights used arms of one color, suggesting 12th century heraldic ornamentation was partly pretence.[20]
Plain arms may also function as a disguise for major characters. In theChrétien de Troyes'Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart, Lancelot bears plain red arms as a disguise. The hero ofCligès competes in a jousting tournament with plain black, green, and red arms on three successive days.[21]
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Arms were attributed to important pre-heraldic kings. Among the best known are those assigned to theKing of the Franks, who was given three toads. The threefleurs-de-lis of France supposedly derive from these.[22]
William the Conqueror, the first Norman king of England, had a coat of arms with two lions.Richard the Lionheart used such a coat of arms with two lions on a red field,[23] from which the three lions of thecoat of arms of England derive. However, there is no proof that William's arms were not attributed to William after his death.[7]
King Stephen of England is sometimes given arms featuring asagittary, either because he succeeded to the throne underSagittarius, or because he gained an important battle usingarchers, or because his hometown ofBlois used it as a symbol; some sources say he wore a seven-pointed badge with golden sagittary on a red field. However, there is no evidence that he ever used a sagittary as a symbol; it does not appear on any of hisseals or other documents, or in contemporary records; it is first recorded byNicholas Upton, writing three centuries later.[24][25]
The earlierSaxon Kings were assigned a gold cross on a blue shield, but this did not exist until the 13th century. The arms of SaintEdward the Confessor, a blue shield charged with a gold cross and five gold birds, appears to have been suggested by heralds in the time ofHenry III of England[7] based on a coin minted in Edward's reign.[4] These arms were later used byRichard II of England out of devotion to the saint.[26]
Arms were attributed to the kingdoms of theAnglo-Saxonheptarchy. TheKingdom of Essex, for instance, was assigned a red shield with three notched swords (or "seaxes"). This coat was used by thecounties ofEssex andMiddlesex until 1910, when theMiddlesex County Council applied for a formal grant from theCollege of Arms (The Times, 1910). Middlesex was granted a red shield with three notched swords and a "Saxon Crown". The Essex County Council was granted the arms without the crown in 1932.
Even the kings of Rome were assigned arms, withRomulus, the firstKing of Rome, signified by the she-wolf.[27]
Flags were also attributed. While the King of Morocco was attributed threerooks as arms, which are thereforecanting arms,[11] the whole chessboard was shown in some sources, resulting in the 14th-century checkered version of theflag of Morocco.[28]
Heralds could have attributed toJesus the harp for arms inherited as a descendant of David. Nevertheless, the cross was regarded as Christ's emblem, and it was so used by theCrusaders. Sometimes the arms of Christ feature a Paschal lamb as the principal charge. By the 13th century, however, numerousindulgences had brought increasedveneration for theinstruments of the Passion. These instruments were described in heraldic terms and treated as personal to Christ much as a coat of arms.[29] An early example in a seal fromc. 1240 includes theCross,nails,lance,crown of thorns,sponge andwhips.
The instruments of the Passion were sometimes split between a shield and crest in the form of an achievement of arms.[30] TheHyghalmen Roll (c. 1447–1455) shows Christ holding anazure shield charged withVeronica's Veilproper. The heraldry continues with the 15th centuryjousting helmet, which is covered by theseamless robe as a form ofmantling, and the Cross, scepter (of mockery) and flagellum (whip) ascrest. The banner's long redschwenkel is a mark of eminence in German heraldry, but it was omitted when this image was copied intoRandle Holme's Book (c. 1464–1480). The image on the opposing page (shown above) includes a shieldquartered with thefive Wounds of Christ, three jars of ointment, two rods, and the head ofJudas Iscariot with a bag of money.[31]
While Christ was associated with the images of the Passion,Mary was associated with images from the prophecy ofSimeon the Righteous (Luke 2:34–35); the resulting attributed arms include a winged heart pierced with a sword and placed on a blue field.[32] Mary is also attributed a group of whitelily flowers. An example can be found on the lower part of the coat of arms of theCollege of Our Lady of Eton beside Windsor.[33]
Out of a desire to make the abstract visible, arms were also attributed to the unseen spirits.[34] Because anthropomorphic representations of theTrinity were discouraged by the Church during the Middle Ages,[35] theShield of the Trinity quickly became popular. It was often used in decorating not only churches, but theological manuscripts and rolls of arms. An early example fromWilliam Peraldus'Summa Vitiorum (c. 1260) shows a knight battling theseven deadly sins with this shield. A variation included with the shields of arms inMatthew Paris'Chronica Majora (c. 1250–1259) adds a cross between the center and bottom circles, accompanied by the words "v'bu caro f'm est" (verbum caro factum est, "the word was made flesh";John 1:14).[36]
Saint Michael the Archangel appears often in heraldic settings. In one case, the device from the shield of the Trinity is placed on a blue field and attributed to St. Michael.[35] More usually, he is shown in armour with a red cross on a white shield, slaying the devil depicted as a dragon. These attributed arms were later transferred toSaint George.[37]
Heraldry is also attributed toSatan, as the commanding general of thefallen angels, to identify him in the heat of battle. TheDouce Apocalypse portrays him carrying a red shield with a goldfess, and three frogs (based onRevelation 16:13).[38]
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