Ecclesiastical Heraldry - History

History

Heraldry developed in medieval Europe from the late 11th century, originally as a system of personal badges of the warrior classes, which served, among other purposes, as identification on the battlefield. The same insignia were used on seals to identify documents. The earliest seals bore a likeness of the owner of the seal, with the shield and heraldic insignia included. Over time, the seals were reduced to just the shield.

The Church likewise identified the origin and ownership of documents and buildings with seals, which were typically a pointed oval called a vesica to distinguish from round seals in non-religious use. Edward I of England decreed in 1307 that all legal documents required a seal. These seals initially depicted a person, but as secular seals began to depict only a shield, clergy likewise used seals with heraldic insignia. Personal seals of bishops and abbots continued to be used after their deaths, gradually becoming an impersonal seal. Clergy tended to replace military devices with clerical devices. The shield was retained, but ecclesiastical hats often replaced helmets and coronets. In some religious arms a skull replaces the helmet.

The structure of Church heraldry developed significantly in the 17th century when a system for ecclesiastical hats attributed to Pierre Palliot came into use. The full system of emblems around the shield was regulated in the Catholic Church by the letter of Pope Pius X Inter multiplices curas of February 21, 1905, while the composition of the shield itself was regulated through the Heraldry Commission of the Roman Curia until this office was abolished by Pope John XXIII in 1960. The Annuario Pontificio ceased publishing the arms of Cardinals and previous Popes after 1969. International custom and national law govern limited aspects of Church heraldry, but shield composition is now largely guided by expert advice. Archbishop Bruno Heim, a noted ecclesiastical armorist (designer of arms), said

"Ecclesiastical heraldry is not determined by heraldic considerations alone, but also by doctrinal, liturgical and canonical factors. It not only produces arms denoting members of the ecclesiastical state but shows the rank of the bearer.... In the eyes of the Church it is sufficient to determine who has a right to bear an ecclesiastical coat of arms and under what conditions the different insignia are acquired or lost... The design of prelatial arms is often a disastrous defiance of the rules of heraldry, if only as a breach of good taste."

A similar system for the Church of England was approved in 1976. The traditions of Eastern Christian heraldry have less developed regulation. Eastern secular coats of arms often display a shield before a mantle topped with a crown. Eastern clergy often display coats of arms according to this style, replacing the crown with an appropriate hat drawn from liturgical use.

Marking documents is the most common use of arms in the Church today. A Roman Catholic bishop's coat of arms was formerly painted on miniature wine barrels and presented during the ordination ceremony. Cardinals may place their coat of arms outside the church of their title in Rome. Impersonal arms are often used as the banner of a school or religious community.