Heraldry Trivia

1. Perhaps the most famous coat of arms with keys has the crossed keys of heaven, or the keys of Saint Peter. On which tiny country's coat of arms do these keys appear?

From Quiz The Key on Coats of Arms

Answer: Vatican City

In Matthew 16:19, Jesus tells Peter, "I will entrust to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven." The seal of Pope Pius II in the middle of the 15th century established the use of gold for one key and silver for the other. San Marino's coat of arms shows three white towers, while Luxembourg's shows a red rampant lion, and Liechtenstein's has four quadrants with different designs plus a shield in the center.

From Quiz The Queen's Beasts

Answer: Queen Elizabeth II's coronation

The Queen's Beasts are human-sized replicas of ten animals (some real, some mythic) that were important to the various Houses of UK royalty and nobility. These statues were placed at the entrance of Westminster Abbey for the coronation ceremony of Elizabeth II. You can see the Heraldic Beasts in all their glory at Kew Gardens today.

From Quiz British Heraldry

Answer: To distinguish warriors during battle

Around the beginning of the 12th century, full-face helmets made it difficult to identify men in battle, so knights began adding unique decorations to their shields and other equipment.

From Quiz The Key on Coats of Arms

Answer: Cuba

On the Cuban coat of arms, a shield is divided into three parts. A gold key is on the top third in blue water with land on its left and right, symbolizing Cuba as the key to the Americas. Havana's coat of arms shows a gold key below three white towers, which represent three castles that defended Havana. The shield, or escutcheon, on the Jamaican coat of arms shows a red cross on a white field. On each arm of the cross and in its center are five pineapples. Cyprus, in the Mediterranean, and the Seychelles, in the Indian Ocean, are not in the Western Hemisphere.

From Quiz British Heraldry

Answer: Heralds

I hope you got this one right! Eventually heralds were organized into a College of Heralds, under a King-At-Arms, and were required to maintain records of all arms, and to document the right to their use.

From Quiz British Heraldry

Answer: French

Norman-French was the language most commonly used by the upper classes in England when heraldry began.

From Quiz British Heraldry

Answer: An achievement of arms

A coat-of-arms refers to the embroidered surcoat a knight wore over his armor to keep off the sun; a crest is a device worn on top of a knight's helmet. Although "coat-of-arms" is almost universally used in America, the correct term is "achievement of arms."

From Quiz The Key on Coats of Arms

Answer: Surrey

In 1965 Surrey County adopted a coat of arms featuring two golden keys of Saint Peter, lying diagonally across a shield divided into a blue half on the right and a black on the left. The keys represent the Abbey of St. Peter at Chertsey, which once held a large amount of land in Surrey. Below the keys on the blue half is a woolpack, representing the wool trade of medieval Surrey, and above the keys on the black field is a sprig of oak, a symbol from the former Earls of Surrey.

From Quiz Royal Heraldry

Answer: Harp

The Royal Arms of Ireland are "Azure, a harp or, stringed argent." That is, a gold harp with silver strings on a blue shield. Heraldry did not come into Ireland until the Normans invaded the country in 1169. The earliest reference to these arms dates to 1280, but it was not until the reign of Henry VIII, in 1541, that these arms became official.

From Quiz Cock and Bull Story

Answer: Cat: Courage, vigilance, and loyalty

The true meaning behind the heraldic cat is 'liberty, vigilance, forecast, and courage'. The definition given in the question, 'courage, vigilance, and loyalty', belongs to the heraldic dog. It is interesting that 'vigilance' can be found in both, but one hardly ever puts 'loyalty' and 'cat' in the same sentence. An example can be found in the coat of arms of the city of Coventry in England. The crest atop the coat of arms has a cat, and it is standing as if at guard, symbolizing 'vigilance'.

From Quiz The Queen's Beasts

Answer: a bull sable

Sable is the correct heraldic term for black, and the name of the color comes after the animal's name. The Clarences used the black bull as one of the "supporters" of their coat of arms; that is, one of the two animals on either side. A description of such a supporter might read: "On the dexter side a bull sable ducally gorged Or". This translates as "On the right side is a black bull with a gold duke's coronet around its neck".

From Quiz British Heraldry

Answer: Gold and silver

Gold (or) and silver (argent) are the only metals used in heraldry.

From Quiz Rules of Heraldry

Answer: a label

The second son gets a crescent, the third a mullet, the fourth a martlet, the fifth an annulet, the sixth gets the fleur-de-lys, the seventh a rose, the eighth a cross moline and finally a ninth son gets a double quatrefoil. No system has been broadly incorporated for the eventuality of a tenth son.

From Quiz Royal Heraldry

Answer: Roman empire

The eagle was a symbol of the Roman empire, and Roman legions carried standards topped with an eagle into battle. The Byzantine empire and the Holy Roman Empire also used an eagle as a symbol of imperial authority, so it was natural that many countries such as Prussia, Poland and Russia would incorporate the eagle into their arms.

From Quiz British Heraldry

Answer: A tincture

There are five colors commonly used is British heraldry: black (sable), blue (azure), red (gules), green (vert), and purple (purpure). There are other colors, but they are almost never found in British arms. Even purple is not seen very often.

From Quiz The Queen's Beasts

Answer: Greyhound

From the time of Edward III (the first known use of heraldic royal supporters) until James I introduced the Lion and the Unicorn (which have been in use ever since), many different animals supported the royal arms, including ravens and swans. Henry VII was the son of Edmund Tudor, earl of Richmond, and the greyhound was a symbol of that family. (See? No corgis.)

From Quiz British Heraldry

Answer: Blazon

For example, a blue shield with a horizontal silver stripe would be emblazoned "Azure, a fess argent." The rules of the blazon are very detailed and precise; a good heraldic artist can reproduce a depiction of even very complex arms if they are emblazoned properly, even if he or she has never seen them.

From Quiz British Heraldry

Answer: Escutcheon

Hence the expression, "a blot on the escutcheon."

From Quiz Royal Heraldry

Answer: Leon

The actual blazon of the Royal Arms of Leon is "Argent, a lion rampant purpure crowned Or, langued and armed gules." A purple lion wearing a gold crown, with a red tongue and claws, on a silver shield. Since Leon means lion in Spanish, the arms are quite appropriate. Arms that make a visual pun on a country's or a person's name are called "canting arms." The arms of Castile are also canting arms; they consist of a golden castle on a red shield.

From Quiz British Heraldry

Answer: Fur

The most common furs are ermine and vair (squirrel).

From Quiz British Heraldry

Answer: Charge

There are hundreds of different charges; probably the most common is the cross, of which there are dozens of variations. Very common geometric charges are called "ordinaries."

From Quiz British Heraldry

Answer: The chief

The chief refers to the top of the shield; it may also be a charge, a horizontal band at the top of the shield.

From Quiz British Heraldry

Answer: 1483

The College of Heralds was founded by Richard III in 1483, and the first visitations were made that year.

From Quiz British Heraldry

Answer: Nothing, there is no such thing

In heraldry, "sinister" means left, "dexter" means right. A "bar" is a horizontal band, thinner than a "fess." It inclines neither to left nor right, hence there cannot be such a thing as a "bar sinister." A diagonal stripe running from the upper right (from the bearer's point of view) to lower left is called a "bend," a thinner stripe a "bendlet," and a bendlet cut off before it reaches the edges of the shield a "baton." A "bend sinister," "bendlet sinister," or "baton sinister," i.e., one running from upper left to lower right, has sometimes been used to denote illegitimacy, but the practice is not common.

From Quiz British Heraldry

Answer: A five-pointed star shape

One of the many terms one must become familiar with when studying heraldry. A "mullet" is intended to represent the rowel of a spur. A "star" in heraldry is not the same as a "mullet." Stars always have six or more points.

From Quiz British Heraldry

Answer: A lozenge

Unmarried women display their arms on a diamond shape called a "lozenge." An exception is made for the Queen, who displays her arms on a shield.

From Quiz British Heraldry

Answer: Supporters

Supporters are usually found in civic and corporate arms; when found in arms belonging to an individual, they most frequently, but not always, indicate nobility. They are usually, but not always, found in pairs, one on each side of the shield. "Usually, but not always" is a phrase that crops up quite often when discussing heraldry!

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