Symbolism
The Company's patron is the Virgin Mary. It has been suggested that the arms demonstrate that from Mary, through the Holy Spirit, comes the divine Son of God: thus the sunbeams represent the brilliance and light of the Virgin Mary, and the cloud which is a frequent symbol for the Holy Spirit. Mary was deemed to be an empress; the symbol for an emperor/empress is the triple crown, still used by the Vatican City.
The triple repetition is dictated by the general principle of three charges to a shield apparent in medieval heraldry.
Read more about this topic: Coat Of Arms Of The Drapers Company
Famous quotes containing the word symbolism:
“...I remembered the rose bush that had reached a thorny branch out through the ragged fence, and caught my dress, detaining me when I would have passed on. And again the symbolism of it all came over me. These memories and visions of the poor—they were the clutch of the thorns. Social workers have all felt it. It holds them to their work, because the thorns curve backward, and one cannot pull away.”
—Albion Fellows Bacon (1865–1933)