In heraldry, the Royal Arms of England is a coat of arms symbolising England and all its monarchs. Its blazon is Gules, with three lions passant guardant in pale or armed and langued azure, meaning three identical gold lions with blue tongues and claws, walking and facing the observer, arranged in a column on a red background. This coat, designed in the High Middle Ages, has been variously combined with those of France, Scotland, Ireland, Nassau and Hanover, according to dynastic and other political changes affecting England, but has not itself been altered since the reign of Richard I.
Royal emblems depicting lions were first used by the Norman dynasty, later a formal and consistent English heraldry system emerged during the 12th century. The escutcheon, or shield featuring three lions is traced to King Richard I of England's Great Seal of the Realm, which initially used a single lion rampant, or else two lions, but in 1198, was permanently altered to depict three lions passant. In 1340, King Edward III laid claim to the throne of France and signified his pretence by quartering the Royal Arms of England with the Royal Arms of France. This quartering was adjusted, abandoned and restored intermittently throughout the Middle Ages as the relationship between England and France changed. After the Union of the Crowns in 1603, when England and the Kingdom of Scotland entered a personal union, the arms of England and Scotland were combined in what has now become the Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom. It appears in a similar capacity to represent England in the Arms of Canada and the Queen's Personal Canadian Flag. The coat of three lions continues to represent England on several coins of the pound sterling, forms the basis of several emblems of English national sports teams, and endures as one of the most recognisable national symbols of England.
When the Royal Arms is in the format of a heraldic flag, it is variously known as the Royal Banner of England, the Banner of the Royal Arms, the Banner of the King of England, or by the misnomer of the Royal Standard of England. This Royal Banner differs from England's national flag, St George's Cross, in that it does not represent any particular area or land, but rather symbolises the sovereignty vested in the rulers thereof.
Read more about Royal Arms Of England: Crest, Supporters and Other Parts of The Achievement, As A Banner, Other Roles and Manifestations
Famous quotes containing the words royal, arms and/or england:
“This royal throne of kings, this sceptred isle,
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-paradise,
This fortress built by nature for herself
Against infection and the hand of war,
This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall,
Or as a moat defensive to a house
Against the envy of less happier lands;
This blessèd plot, this earth, this realm, this England.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“Raphael paints wisdom; Handel sings it, Phidias carves it, Shakespeare writes it, Wren builds it, Columbus sails it, Luther preaches it, Washington arms it, Watt mechanizes it.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Tried by a New England eye, or the more practical wisdom of modern times, they are the oracles of a race already in its dotage; but held up to the sky, which is the only impartial and incorruptible ordeal, they are of a piece with its depth and serenity, and I am assured that they will have a place and significance as long as there is a sky to test them by.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)