English heraldry
Coat of arms of England
English heraldry is the form of coats of
arms and other heraldic bearings and in-
signia used in England. It lies within the
Gallo-British tradition. Coats of arms in Eng-
land are regulated and granted to individuals
by the College of Arms. They are subject to a
system of cadency to distinguish between
sons of the original holder of the coat of
arms. The English heraldic style is exempli-
fied in the arms of British royalty, and is re-
flected in the arms civic arms of cities and
towns, as well as the noble arms of individu-
als in England. Royal orders in England, such
as the Order of the Garter, also maintain not-
able heraldic bearings.
Characteristics
Like many countries’ heraldry, there is a clas-
sical influence within English heraldry, such
as designs originally on Greek and Roman
pottery. Many coats of arms feature charges
related to the bearer’s name or profession
(eg. Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, pictured at right),
a practice known as "canting arms". Some
canting arms make references to foreign lan-
guages, particularly French, such as the otter
Canting arms of Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
(loutre in French) in the arms of the Luttrel
family.[1]
Representations in person of Saints or oth-
er figure are very rare, although there are
however a few uses, mostly originating from
seals, where there have never been such lim-
itations.[2] Although many places have
dropped such iconography, the Metropolitan
Borough of St Marylebone, London, includes
a rendering of the Virgin Mary, although this
is never stated.[3] This is also the case in
many other examples, particularly those de-
picting Christ, to remove religious complica-
tions. Unlike in mainland Europe where fam-
ily crests make a large use of their eponym-
ous Saints, these are few and far between in
England.
The lions, although they are sometimes
deemed léopards in French (this is merely an
observation based on the position that the
lions were drawn in), is the most common
charge, particularly
in Royal heraldry.[4]
They are