Composition of the Coat of Arms Part 5

The Motto is a saying associated with the family that can be part of the coat of arms. Not every coat of arms has a motto, and the rules governing the status of the motto varies from country to country. In England for example the motto is never mentioned or alluded to in the terms of a patent in a grant of arms and mottoes are not hereditary. However in Scotland the motto is included within the terms of the patent and is consequently made the subject of the grant. This makes it an unchangeable part of the coat of arms, and it Scotland, the position of the motto is also specified, usually above the crest. In Ireland the custom is different again, sometimes the motto is expressed in the grant of arms and other times it is not and there is no hard and fast rule. 

The motto is the subject of much confusion among modern commentators on heraldry. There are countless references to family mottoes in romance and we are usually told that the motto originated at some remote period of the family history, and had a definite allusion to the family fortunes or to family character, or in some way meant a great deal. It is true that some mottoes must have originated in this way, and some even as war cries, like the “Crom a boo”of the Fitzgeralds( Meaning “Crom forever”, Crom being the castle of the Fitzgeralds ). Mottoes are in most cases of late adoption, are quite unsuitable for war cries, and have no more historic allusion than any other respectable matter within a particular family.

 

 

Castle of the Week, Rundāle Palace, Latvia

Rundāle  Palace is one of the most outstanding monuments of Baroque and Rococo art in Europe, it is situated at Pilsrundāle, 12 km west of Bauska, in Latvia. Located about 80 KM from the capital Riga, Rundāle  Palace is an architechtural pearl created by Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli designer of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg. Built as the summer residence of the Duke of Courland Ernst Johann Biron the opulent palace was completed in two stages from 1736 to 1740 and 1763 to 1768.

Rastrelli was invited to design the palace by Biron, a favourite of Russian Empress Czarina Anna Ivanovna. The sudden death of the Empress in 1740 resulted in Biron falling out of favor and being banished to Siberia for 23 years. Biron was eventually pardoned and returned to finish his project, the Palace finally reaching completion in 1768. The resulting masterpiece is a magnificent example of Baroque style incorporating elements of classicism.

After Latvia was absorbed by the Russian Empire in 1795 Catherine the Great gave Rundāle  Palace to her lover Count Zubov as a gift. His young Widow, Thekla Walentinowicz remarried Count Shuvalov, bringing the Palace into the stewardship of the Shuvalov family. Rundāle  Palace remained in the Shuvalov family until 1920 when it was taken over by the Republic of Latvia  as a part of agrarian reform. The palace was in a rundown state but a lengthy restoration process that is still going on today has returned much of Rundāle Palace to its former grandeur. Visitors are able to tour the museum that was opened at the site in 1972 and several of the grand rooms are open to the public including many in the eastern block including the Room of Roses and the Duke’s Bedroom. In 2004, banqueting rooms and chambers in the western wing were opened. The palace is ringed by a canal, gardens and a hunting park.

Composition of The Coat of Arms Part 4

The next item in the composition of the Coat of Arms is the lambrequin or mantling at the sides of the shield. This is the flowing drapery arrangement which can be seen in most drawings of Coats of Arms, issuing from the helmet and flowing around the whols arms. The origin of the mantling is again, like many things in Heraldry, very practical. In the burning heat of the Middle East when the Crusades were fought the helmet became very hot and tiring and the mantling began like the old covering for the back of the neck. It was extended to cover a large part of the armor and it was found to be useful not only in protecting from the heat but in catching the sword points of opponents. The colors of the mantling are in general the primary color and primary metal of the shield.

Supporters are perhaps among the most familiar heraldic objects. Supporters are the figures on either side of the coat of arms which hold the shield and appear to support it. They are usually human or animal figures, both real and imaginary, supporters are rarely inanimate abjects. It is thought that they originated from the desire of artists and engravers to show the shield actually upheld by something, and to fill in the spaces surrounding the drawing of the coat of arms. In Britain the use of supporters is strictly controlled under the laws of arms and their use is confined to peers, Knights of the Garter, Knights of the Thistle, Knights of St. Patrick, Knights Grand Cross, Knights Grand Commander and certain Knights of the British Empire. In Scotland the use of supporters is much more widespread, not only peers but also private gentleman of ancient lineage amy often be entitled to supporters on the grounds of ancient usage.

Castle of The Week, Château de Gruyères, Switzerland

Gruyères is 810 m above sea level, 4.5 km south-south-east of the district capital Bulle. The historical town is placed on top of an isolated hill north of the alps, in the foothills of mount Molèson . It is also the location where the Saane river (French name: Sarine) leaves the Fribourg alps. Long famous for it’s cheese it is also home to a  notable castle with wonderful  Baroque style interiors.

The Castle of Gruyères located in the Medieval town of Gruyères, Fribourg, is one of the most famous in Switzerland. The castle, constructed in the 13th century, was home to a long succession of Gruyères counts. The end of the 15th century stands out as the golden age in the history of the counts. In 1476, count Louis takes part in the Burgundy war by the Confederates’ side. Following this deed of valour, modernization works were undertaken. The adjustment of the esplanade with its chapel, the spiral staircase in the courtyard and the transformation of the main building go back to that time. Thus, the castle loses its fortress appearance to become a stately residence. The baroque interiors remind one of the time when the bailiffs sent by Fribourg lived there.

The Castle was decimated by a fire in 1493 which destroyed virtually everything but the dungeons. Michel, the last count, ran up huge debts reconstructing the living quarters in Savoyard style and then fled, leaving his creditors – the governments of Fribourg and Bern – to divide up his lands between them.

 A rich Geneva dynasty, the Bovy and Balland families, bought the castle in 1848 and supported a number of artists in residence, including the French landscape painter Corot, before the cantonal government of Fribourg assumed control in 1938. The Castle was made into a museum and opened to the public. Since 1993, a foundation ensures the conservation as well as the highlighting of the building and the art collection.

The composition of the Coat of arms Part 3

In the 16th and 17th Centuries it became the fashion in Britain for the heralds in their Visitations (recording of arms) to grant crests to families which bore arms but which previously had no such addition to the arms. Prior to this time crests were limited to those wealthier families that took part in Knights Tournaments. In many cases arms are allowed in one Visitation and the crest in another some 50 years later. Most probably the crest had been assumed by the family in the meantime, following the well-known principle of keeping up with the Jones’s. There are very few families today who posses arms without a crest in Britain and most of Europe. A notable exception is the Iberian peninsula and Italy where the majority of grants of arms are recorder without a crest in Spain, Portugal and Italy.

In Britain the adoption of the crest illustrates the spread of Heraldry among classes such as the richer merchants of the Tudor period, as among the upper middle classes in the late 18th century and 19th century, of ideas which had formerly been the exclusive concern of the landed gentry or knightly families. As to the form of the crests themselves, the original crests when used in battle were obviously very light. In the tournament the crest was often made of leather and could become heavy, but as it was worn only for a short period in the day it’s weight was not a large factor. In battle when the wearer spent the whole day in heavy armor the crest was lighter and made of a thin plate of metal.. In fact the crest may have developed from a comb-like arrangement on the back of the helmet. This appears in many examples in Germany. In manuscript scenes from the early middle ages, plumes are often portrayed on top of the helmet, a custom known in many ages, but not a crest, simply decoration. Thus in real warfare the crest tended to be simple, for example a dragon for the Earl of Lancaster and a lion for the Earl of Nottingham.

The Composition of the Coat of Arms Part 2

 

The wreath is the means of fastening the crest to the helmet. The crest is placed above the helmet. When an artist depicts a shield with the crest above it on the wreath but the latter not attached to the helmet, he is guilty of an heraldic no-no. The crest cannot be airborne as though independent of the rest of the coat of arms. The wreath was of silk with a cord twisted round it and the crest was fastened upon it. The modern practice is to show the wreath in the alternate colors of the shield, usually the primary metal and primary color. 

The crest itself is perhaps the most well known of all the parts of a coat of arms. Crests were very rudimentary things at one time, probably made of leather or light wood. The wonderful crests of modern times would have been out of place in medieval warfare. One Burmese knight has a Chinese pagoda as his crest. In other cases there are sailing ships in full sail as crests and all sorts of strange and unusual bearings. The origin of the crest is not easy to determine, but there is something to be said for the idea that it came from the sport of the jousting tournament. Tournament jousting was an expensive business and only the wealthier families could afford to partake. The loser had to give up his armor and horse to the victor. In one case, that of Prince Edward, later King Edward I, he was only able to participate in a tornament after his mother pawned some of her Jewelry to pay for his equipment. In Germany there was a ceremony known as the Helm Schau ( Crest Show) when the squires of the knights participating in the tournament carried their masters helmets on display so that all could see the crests.

Castle of the Week, Olavinlinna, Finland

Olavinlinna (The Castle of St. Olaf) was founded in 1475. It originally had five towers, but three of them remains at present. The castle stands on a small rocky island in lake Saimaa which is the biggest lake in Finland.

In the beginning of the 14th century a peace treaty was signed between Sweden and Novgorod (Russia), according to which the eastern border of Sweden passed through the Savonlinna region. At this time Finland was  part of Sweden. However, the border constantly changed and caused continuing disturbances between these two nations. In the 15th century Grand Duchy of Moscow became more powerful and used this strength to flex it’s political muscle in this region.

There was only one castle, situated in Wyborg  further down to the south-east, to protect the eastern border of Sweden-Finland. The Swedish government at the time chose the site of Olavinlinna Castle to improve safety on the eastern border and to control an important waterway. Olavinlinna Castle was founded by Erik Axelsson Tott. The building work began in 1475. The castle was built under duress as the Russians believed it was being constructed on their side of the border and they did their best to disrupt the construction. Tott founded the fortress in 1475 under the name Sankt Olofsburg, it was an effort to profit from the political turmoil following Ivan III’s conquest of the Novograd Republic,

One of Tott’s letters from 1477 includes a passing mention of foreign builders invited to Olofsborg, probably from Reval,where the city fortifications were being extended. It was the first Swedish castle provided with a set of thickset circular towers that could withstand cannon fire. It is not by accident that a network of lakes and waterways forms the setting for the castle, for these would seriously impede a prospective Russian offensive.

Erik Axelsson was a Danish knight (in the 15th century Sweden-Finland was still united with Denmark and Norway). He named Olavinlinna Castle, or St. Olof’s Castle, after the patron saint of all knights, St. Olof. St. Olof lived in the 11th century and he was a famous Norwegian crusader.

Olavinlinna castle was built on a rocky island in Lake Saimaa area. The castle was easy to defend all year round, water floats around the castle so fast that it hardly ever freezes. The medieval castle consisted of three towers and the connecting walls between them. Two of these towers still exist, the Bell Tower and the Church Tower. The third, St.Eric’s Tower, tumbled down or was pulled down in the beginning of the 18th century. Later a bailey, two more towers and apartments were added.

Olavinlinna castle served as a Swedish border castle until the beginning of the 18th century. The Great Northern War broke out in 1700. In 1714 Olavinlinna Castle had to surrender to Russian soldiers, there was no food and munition left in the castle after a long siege. The first Russian period was short and was over in 1721. In a peace treaty the border line was moved again and Swedes got their castle back. In 1743 Olavinlinna Castle became a Russian garrison again after a peace treaty of Turku. At that time Russians stayed in the castle for nearly 100 years.

Olavinlinna Castle lost its’ military purpose in 1809 when Finland became an autonomous part of Russia. However, Russian soldiers stayed in the castle until 1847. Finland became independent in 1917. In the 1850’s castle served as a prison for a few years. In the 1860’s two fires caused extensive damage to the castle. First restorations were made already in the 19th century, but the castle was restored thoroughly between 1961-1975.

Olavinlinna Castle is nowadays run and owned by the Finnish state. It is one of the best preserved medieval castles in the Nordic Nations.

The Composition of the Coat of Arms Part 1

The shield is the central and essential component of the Coat of Arms. Without the shield there cannot be a coat of arms. The shape of the shield may vary just as the design of the arms as a whole may vary and in fact does. It would be possible to have half a dozen examples of the same coat of arms yet to the uninitiated it would appear that they are different coats. The reason for this is that the artists in creating the arms from the original written description have been influenced as all artists are by varying fashions and styles in Heraldry. The shield can be represented in many ways and directions according to the fashion of the time, what goes on the shield however does not change.

From the shield we come to the helmet. This object exemplifies the essential practical side of original Heraldry. In the days when knights were bold and adventurous everyone wore a helmet of some sort in battle, so everyone was entitled to a helmet in their grant of arms. Heraldry has shown a power of adaption which has enabled it to survive when contemporary arts such as Armor making died out. The shape of the helmet, like that of the shield, is varied and numerous. Some helmets are of the tilting variety, others are the barrel type where the weight began to be borne by the shoulders. More important than the shape of the helmet is its position. In Heraldry’s earliest days the position of the helmet in the coat of arms varied as much as the shape of the helmets, but since the 17th Century there have been rules laid down and generally observed for the delineation of helmets. A royal helmet is of gold, placed affrontée, i.e. with the helmet full face on, and the bars of the helmet down but the visor raised. The helmet of a peer is silver, in profile, visor raised and the bars are of gold. The helmet of a baronet or knight is steel, affrontée, visor up and without bars or grills. The helmet of an esquire or gentleman is steel, in profile with visor closed.

Castle of the Week, Château de Castelnaud, Dordogne France

On the southern side of the Dordogne River, between Domme and Beynac, Castelnaud is a magnificent castle, with splendid views across miles of rolling countryside. It is is built on a rocky outcrop and offers a splendid panorama on the Dordogne valley. The Château de Castelnaud is a medieval fortress that was erected to face its rival, the Château de Beynac. The oldest documents mentioning it date to the thirteenth century, when it figured in the Albigensian Crusade; its Cathar castellan was Bernard de Casnac. Simon de Montfort took the castle and installed a garrison; when it was retaken by Bernard, he hanged them all. During the Hundred Years War the castellans of Castelnaud owed their allegiance to the Plantagenets, the sieurs de Beynac across the river, to the king of France. In after times it was abandoned bit by bit, until by the French Revolution it was a ruin.

Today the picturesquely restored château, a private property open to the public, houses a much-visited museum of medieval warfare, featuring reconstructions of siege engines, mangonneaux, and trebuchets. The castle is listed as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture.

The Castle of Castlenaud could have been built in the 12th century, but if mention is made of a certain Raoul de Castelnaud around 1150, nothing suggests the existence of a castle at that time. There is even mention of an old chapel, according to a 19th century account, although there is no proof of such a construction dating from the 12th century. It was in 1152 that Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine, married the Duke of Anjou, Henry Plantagenet, future King of England, thus opening one of the most important periods in history for the region, in which Castelnaud would play a critical role. The first trace of a castle dates back to 1214 when Bernard de Casnac, lieutenant of Aymeric of Castelnaud, a follower of the Count of Toulouse, controlled the domain. Casnac was a fervent believer in the Cathar faith and was renowned for his cruelty towards Christians. For this reason, Simon de Monfort, leader of the crusade against the Albigensians (the name given to the Cathars) and against the Count of Toulouse, seized Castelnaud in 1214 and drove out Bernard de Casnac, having taken the fortresses of Montfort and Domme. De Casnac retaliated by taking Beynac. The following year, in 1215, Casnac took back his castle and hanged the entire garrison left there by Simon de Montfort. This was a short-lived revenge, as later that same year the Archbishop of Bordeaux drove the heretics out for good and burnt Castelnaud to the ground. Not much remains from this period. It is thought that there would have been a keep, surrounded by a wall and a main building.

In 1240, Aymeric de Castelnaud swore allegiance to the king, St Louis, which lasted until the Treaty of Paris in 1259, when the King of England-Duke of Aquitaine, Henry III, became the vassal of the King of France, receiving part of Aquitaine in return. This delicately-balanced situation led to the Hundred Years War, in which Castelnaud was involved, as the castle came into English hands in 1259. Bernard de Cadillac, Seneschal of the duke-king, then became the first English lord of the castle, succeeded by the marshal, Jean de Lalinde. In 1273, the castle returned to the legitimate line of Castelnaud, who paid homage to the King of England. It was at this period in the middle of the 13th century that the castle was rebuilt and reinforced, and from which the square keep, the curtain wall (the wall separating the two towers and topped by a covered way) and, to a lesser extent, the remains of a first barbican (construction protecting the curtain wall and the entrance gate), date. In the 15th century a second barbican was built and it was at this time that the castle took on its present appearance, masking the old 13th century constructions.

The end of the 13th century was a calm and prosperous period in the eventful history of Castlenaud, despite the incessant feuds with the Barons of Beynac castle for control of the region. This mutual animosity had no real consequences and lasted until 1337 when the terrible Hundred Years War broke out. Castelnaud was taken by the English seven times, mostly in the first few years of this war. The first major battle was that of Crécy (Sommes), won by the English archers in 1346. The Black Death increased the number of deaths, claiming a third of the entire population of the Occident. In 1360, the Treaty of Brétigny (Beauce) freed the King of France, Jean the Good, and gave Aquitaine to the English, now controlled by the Black Prince (Edward, Prince of Wales, son of Edward III King of England. He won the Battle of Poitiers and took Jean the Good prisoner in 1356). Castelnaud therefore became English once again, before Magne de Castelnaud, the only heir, married Nompar de Caumont, a Lord from Agen, in 1368. Their descendants were to own the castle right up to the Revolution. The Caumont stayed loyal to the English for a long time, and in 1399, Nompar was appointed as Seneschal of the King of England, Henry IV, for the Agenais region. This sparked off disagreements with the Lords of Beynac, on the French side, once again. Until the 15th century the lords fought for both sides, depending on circumstances, and this is why Archambaud and Bertrand d’Abzac, successive captains of the castle, frequently changed sides to save face, while the Caumont family, the legitimate owners, always fought for the English crown

Castelnaud, therefore, changed sovereignty several times until 1442 when the French King Charles VII, inspired by the victories of Joan of Arc against the English, ordered the siege of Aquitaine, which included Castelnaud. On 7 October 1442, the castle was under siege for three weeks and the English captain Pascal de Theil was driven out of the region. The English were finally beaten at the famous battle of Castillon in 1453, which brought the Hundred Years War to an end. In the same year, Castelnaud was returned to Brandélis de Caumont, who assumed the overlordship and started the reconstruction of the castle around 1463, which lasted until the end of the 15th century. François de Caumont, Brandélis’ son, continued with the renovation and transformation of the old 13th century feudal fortress, and combined the requirements of defence with the new Renaissance style. The castle was extended with a lower courtyard, protected by a wall flanked with two semi-circular towers, interspersed with cannon loopholes. A new drawbridge and barbican were built and the main building, served by a spiral staircase, was modified and embellished to match the adjacent keep. The rib-vaulted kitchen and the large banquet hall with moulded windows were built in the Gothic style at the end of the 14th century.

At the same time, Castlenaud’s artillery tower was built in 1520 to strengthen the fame of François de Caumont. De Caumont had the Château des Milandes built in 1489, the Renaissance comfort and modern style of which were far more to his taste. This comfortable residence, made famous by Josephine Baker in the 20th century, gradually became the main residence of the Caumont family. However, this is not the end of Castelnaud’s history. The castle, whose owners opted for the reformed religion by becoming Calvinists (Huguenots), was affected by the Wars of Religion around 1540. It is in this context that Geoffroy de Vivans, born in Castelnaud in 1543, enters the castle’s history. The Huguenot captain of the castle, he was feared throughout the region, and it was with him that Geoffroy de Caumont took refuge after the Saint-Barthélemy massacre, before being poisoned. Geoffroy de Vivans was still captain in 1580, a troubled period in the life of Anne of Caumont. In 1588 he seized the bastide town of Domme, a Catholic stronghold. As a result of the terror caused by the captain, Castelnaud was spared the Wars of Religion. Castlenaud’s period of glory now came to an end and the castle was gradually abandoned, with the Caumont family leaving the Château des Milandes for the Château de la Force near Bergerac

At the end of the 16th century and at the beginning of the 17th, the northern section of the castle was modified for the last time, in the style of the period. The drawbridge and barbican were replaced by a fixed bridge, the moat was filled in and the interior re-decorated. After the Revolution, the castle was abandoned to nature. In 1832, it was used as a stone quarry to build a slipway for river trade, which was undergoing expansion, and which today has disappeared. In 1966, Castelnaud became a listed building and has gradually been rebuilt by its private owners to its original medieval form. The difference can be noted between the yellowish, eroded original stone and the newer, greyer stone which is in perfect condition. This is now one of the most visited châteaux in France. There is a Middle Ages Siege Warfare museum inside the castle, with weapons and war-machines, a number of videos on life in a fortified castle, as well as the chance to take part in imitation medieval “jousts” for younger visitors. A sound and light show introduces visitors to the history of the château and the charms of the fortress at night.

The Language of Heraldry Part 3

The rules of Heraldry prohibit placing a color on a color, a metal upon a metal or, a fur upon a fur. There is one well known exception to the rule about metals and this is on the well known arms for the kingdom of Jerusalem, where the gold cross and crosses are placed on a silver field. On the basis of these three materials, Color, Metal and fur all coats of arms are created. The items placed on the field are called charges. The original shields were very simple with few charges as there were very few knights and nobleman that had arms. However as Coats of Arms became more widespread the need to differentiate arms led to the addition of more and more charges to the shield.

The earliest charges were such things as bends ( diagonal lines), Chevrons (inverted v’s), chiefs (band across top of shield), piles ( v shape), fesses (horizontal lines) and crosses. These charges would naturally suggest themselves to the early users. For example, Azure a bend argent ( blue background with a silver diagonal line). This was a very easy design for a coat of arms. Generally speaking the simpler a coat of arms is the further back it can be dated. Many writers have asserted that every coat of arms must consist of at least the field and a charge, however there are a number of exceptions to this, The Brittany arms which are simply “Ermine”.

Brittany Arms

 

A plain shield of Ermine was borne by John of Brittany, Earl of Richmond who died in 1399. Additional examples of a single field shield include: A plain shield of Gold was borne by the Italian family of Bandinelli,, of Silver by the French families of Maigret and Bocquet, of Blue by the French family Fizeaux, of Red by the House of Dalbret borne by the kings of Navarre, Spain, and Black by the family of Gornay. A plain Green shield is borne by the French family Barbotte and Purple by the French family Aubert.