Seminar 2 «British and American studies»
6. The uk Coat-of-arms. The Royal Coat-of-arms (their history and description)
There are two variants of the coat. The first is called «The Official Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland». The second is called «The Royal Coat of Arms» (of the House of Vindsor). Since the King Charles III is Head of Justice, the courtrooms also display it with the judges acting as representatives of the Crown. Although coins used in Britain also bear a form of the Royal Coat of Arms, it is only the one pound coin which bears the entire Royal Coat of Arms. The national symbol of the United Kingdom is also permitted to carry the Royal Coat of Arms. It is, therefore, displayed on several official government documents such as passports, but displayed without the ‘helm’. The ‘Royal Standard’, a banner bearing the Royal Coat of Arms, flies over the royal palaces at the time when the King is in residence.
A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield - щиток), surcoat (накидка), or tabard. The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement which in its whole consists of: shield, supporters, crest, and motto. The term «coat of arms» itself in origin refers to the surcoat with heraldic designs worn by combatants, especially in the knightly tournament, in Old French «cote a armer». The sense is transferred to the heraldic design itself in Middle English, in the mid-14th century. In England the granting of arms is and has been controlled by the College of Arms.[https://uk-history.co.uk/coats-of-arms].
History:
The Royal Coat of Arms bears an extensive history which is nine centuries long (since the XII century).
King Richard I popularly known as ‘Richard the Lionheart’, decided to use a shield with three Lions in 1198. They represented ‘England, Aquitaine and Normandy’ and were chosen to mark the King’s association with each area, his great, great grandfather being the Duke of Normandy and his mother being Eleanor of Aquitaine. This shield grew into a symbol of the monarch as it was used to identify the King in the battlefield. In 1340, King Edward III included the French Royal Coat of Arms to that of Britain’s, to mark his claim to the French throne. However, this addition was abandoned in 1801. When King Henry VIII ascended to the throne in 1534 and declared himself the ‘Supreme Head of the Church of England’, to mark the Church’s association with the British Sovereign, the Royal Coat of Arms appeared in the churches around Britain. It was, however, in 1603 that the Royal Coat of Arms came to acquire its present-day representation. When King James VI of Scotland became the King of England, the Royal Coats of Arms of England, Scotland and Ireland became unified. The first significant change to the Royal Coat of Arms occurred in 1688, during the reign of ‘William and Mary’, where King William’s Arms was added to the Royal Arms. Following the 1707 Union, the Scottish Arms was placed beside the English Arms, along with the French fleurs-de-lis and the Irish harp. King George I made further alterations in 1714, adding to it the symbols of Hanover: three lions; two gold and one blue, and a white horse. The 1801 Act of Union with Ireland resulted in more changes. The French arms were dropped, but the English, Scottish and Irish Coats of Arms remained. A crown was placed upon the Hanoverian horse in 1816. The final alteration to the Royal Coat of Arms took place in 1837, during the reign of Queen Victoria. She made changes to the initials of the monarch and abandoned the Hanoverian Arms which she could not acquire as a female Head of State [The History of the British Royal Coat of Arms - https://tv-english.club/articles-en/discover-great-britain-en/the-history-of-the-british-royal-coat-of-arms/?ysclid=mfdmhek0pt520486545].
DESCRIPTION OF THE ROYAL COAT-OF-ARMS
The Royal Coat of Arms features a shield divided into four quarters. The quarters represent the symbols of Ireland, England, and Scotland. Wales does not play a role in the Royal Coat of Arms as when the Act of Union came about the Kingdom of Wales was already integral to England (1707). The upper left and lower right quarters of the shield feature the three guardian lions of England. In the top right is the lion rampant, Scotland’s royal symbol. In the lower left is a harp which represents Ireland. Surrounding the shield is the Garter circlet. The Order of the Garter is a chivalric order first started by Edward III, an English monarch. The circlet is inscribed with the order of the motto: “Honi soit qui mal y pense” («Evil to him who evil thinks»). Above the shield is the royal crown which is topped with a golden crowned lion. A lion, representing England, stands on the “Dexter” (right-hand) side. A unicorn, representing Scotland, stands on the “Sinister” (left-hand) side. According to ancient legends, a free unicorn was a dangerous beast. This is why the heraldic unicorn is chained. The lion and unicorn stand upon a small frame, commonly referred to as a compartment. It features a thistle, Tudor rose and Shamrock. They respectively represent Scotland, England and Ireland. Also along the compartment is the motto of English monarchs: “Dieu et mon Droit” (God and my Right). This motto has been carried to the present royal family. The United Kingdom Coat of Arms is made up of the Arms of Scotland and England. Wales is not represented in the Royal Arms as by the time of the Act of Union in 1707 Wales was already integral to England.
Дополнение по описанию составляющих герба: 1) the dexter is the right hand or primary supporter of a crest – is represented by a lion, the emblem of heraldry for England dating back to Richard I (Richard the Lionheart; reigned from 1189 to 1199). The lion represents valor (), bravery, strength and royalty as the lion is considered the traditional king of beasts. 2) The shield is quartered, the first and third quarters bearing the three passant guardant lions of England. The shield was first quartered by Edward III (reigned from 1327 to 1377) when he claimed the throne of France. 3) The third quarter represents Ireland, depicting a Celtic harp which was associated with the Gaelic ruling class. 4) The crown signifies the St. Edward’s crown, one of the oldest British crown jewels and a principal piece of royal regalia. The crown is worn during the coronation of all British monarchs. The current version of the crown dates to the coronation of King Charles II in 1651. 5) The sinister is the left hand or secondary supporter – is represented by a unicorn, a Scottish heraldic symbol since the 12th century. In Celtic mythology the Unicorn of Scotland symbolized innocence, purity, masculinity and power. 6) The second quarter of the shield represents the Lion of Scotland and originates from the Union of the Crown in 1603 («Союз корон», Queen Elizabeth I chose King James VI of Scotland as her successor, it led to the unification of the kingdoms of England and Scotland.). 7) The garter surrounding the crest symbolizes the Order of the Garter, an ancient order of knighthood of which the King is sovereign. It bears the motto «Honi Soit Que Mal y Pense» (Middle French). 8) The plant badges on which the crest rests represents the rose, thistle, shamrock – the plant badges of England, Scotland, Ireland. 9) The scroll refers to the sovereign motto, referring to the divine right of the monarch to govern. First used by Richard I as a battle cry, it was adopted as the royal motto of England by King Henry V in the 15th century.
! The shield is topped with a royal helm crowned with a royal crown; the lining is golden and lined with ermine (горностай). There is a crowned leopard on the Royal crown.
The most famous legend tells that the Order of the Garter was named after a piece of women's clothing that the Countess of Salisbury dropped during a dance with the king Edward III. When the people around them laughed, the king picked up the garter and tied it around his own leg, saying, "Honi soit qui mal y pense" (the most accurate translation is "Let him who thinks ill of it be ashamed"). These words became the motto of the order. This could have been either Catherine Grandison, the wife of William Montagu, 1st Earl of Salisbury, or her sister-in-law, Joanna of Kent. However, it appears that this story, the earliest written version of which dates back to the 1460s, was a retrospective attempt to explain the origin of the emblem; at the time of the Order's founding, the garter was primarily a male accessory. It has also been suggested that the idea may have originated with Henry of Grosmont, Duke of Lancaster, who wore garters, and the king himself used them in his younger years. The official founding date of the Order is August 6, 1348.