Mary's Month: House of God, Gate of Heaven

The Walsingham Throne supporting the coat of arms of the College of Guardians
Created and rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

The month of May is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and time to tackle a project that's been marinating in my head for some time.  I have always wanted to see if I could render the statue of Our Lady of Walsingham to serve as the signature image for the blog.  Well, inspiration finally came today and the winds took me in a different (and better) direction up north to Canada.

The Canadian Heraldic Authority (CHA) does a rather cool thing when granting arms to Anglican cathedrals within its jurisdiction.  The very word cathedral means cathedra, or seat of the bishop, from which derives all episcopal authority, and when it comes to expressing this concept abstractly through heraldry, the CHA developed a concept which creates immediate identification.

A cathedral's coat of arms are placed upon a throne, or cathedra, which is used as the supporter for the arms.  Rather clever!  I'm guessing that each supporter is modeled on the actual throne in each cathedral.  The throne supporter visually sends a message that these arms are different.   

The coat of arms and supporter of St. Paul's Cathedral
in Regina, Saskatchewan
Granted by the Canadian Heraldic Authority 1996

The image above illustrates CHA's concept.  The coat of arms of St. Paul's Cathedral in Regina, Saskatchewan, rest upon the throne with a motto placed below on a ribbon.  Above the arms of the cathedral on the tympanum are those of the Diocese of Qu'Appelle.  By placing the arms of the corporate sole at the top, an abstract relationship between the two coats of arms can be discerned--the arms of the diocese seem to visually claim this cathedra for the ordinary of the diocese.

In my creation, I followed the same framework.  Seated upon Mary's throne rests the coat of arms of the Guardians of the Holy House of Walsingham (Anglican Shrine) between seven gold rings for the seven sacraments.  

In the absence of arms of a corporate sole for the Anglican shrine (at least to my knowledge), I used the undifferenced arms of the Priory of Walsingham along with a celestial crown to top things off.  The motto below was granted to the Guardians along with their arms from the heralds' college in 1945.  The Guardian's motto in Latin, Domus Dei Porta Caeli, translates as "House of God, Gate of Heaven."    

I love Canadian heraldry and a proud member of the Royal Heraldry Society of Canada.  Some of the most original and creative charges, lines of division, and overall designs continue to spring from the heralds there.

Our Lady of Walsingham, pray for us.

The Arms of St. Norbert's Abbey at 100

The coat of arms of St. Norbert's Abbey in De Pere, WI
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

When my research on Pierre de Chaignon la Rose (1872-1941) led me to St. Norbert's Abbey in De Pere, Wisconsin, I began learning about the first religious house established by the Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré in the US.  I am most appreciative of the Norbertines' assistance in finding documents in the archives related to la Rose's work designing the abbey's coat of arms.

By shear coincidence, the Norbertine community in De Pere was preparing for its centennial celebration, marking 100 years since its elevation to an abbey in 1925.  As a result of my inquiry, I was invited to write a brief article on the coat of arms for Abbey Magazine which circulates to approximately 14,000 friends and supporters of the De Pere community.  Scroll to the bottom of the post to read the article.

Given the space constraints for the article, I'm expanding here so as to complete the story of these Norbertine arms.  

The Abbey

The arms of St. Norbert's Abbey and its college
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

The new elevation from priory to abbey would cause new heraldic ensigns to be created, as I don't believe the priory used arms.  For this commission, la Rose created three coats of arms for the new abbot's consideration: 1) the personal and impaled arms of the abbot, the new arms for the abbey, and a proposed coat of arms for the college.  

In March 1925, la Rose wrote to Abbot Bernard H. Pennings, O.Praem. (1862-1955) in response to the abbot's submission of a few designs rendered by members of his community.  La Rose held nothing back.

"I do not find any of the designs which you have been good enough to send me acceptable heraldry, for reasons which I will try to explain... 

"The modern notion, which dates from the rapid decline of the art in the 17th century and later: that a coat-of-arms should be in more or less symbolic terms, a moral portrait of its owner, or in the case of an ecclesiastical coat, should even declare its owner's religious programme, etc, etc, is wholly erroneous.  

"The arms of your own venerable Order are a case in point: they declare in themselves or express absolutely nothing. They are simply the personal arms of Saint Louis, which he himself permitted as a special royal favor to the Order, to bear, differentiating the coat from his own by the addition of two croziers diagonally crossed" (La Rose letter to the Right Reverend Father Abbot Pennings, March 21, 1925). 

The coat of arms of the Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (modern)
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025 

In a sense, la Rose's argument regarding the order's arms is legitimate, as the arms lack any bespoke identification reflecting the Norbertines.  There is another version of these arms whereby the fleurs-de-lis are arranged in semme with the crossed croziers overall.    

The blazon for the arms of the Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (modern):  Azure, two croziers in saltire with crooks outwards between four fleurs-de-lis all Or. 

The shear used as a charge
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

Since la Rose believed the arms of the order to be insufficient for his design, he turned to St. Norbert himself for inspiration, appropriating the heraldic shear as one means of identification.  More detail about la Rose's rationale for the abbey's arms is covered in the article below.

The coat of arms of St. Norbert's Abbey in De Pere, Wisconsin
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

The blazon for the arms of St. Norbert's Abbey:  Argent, a cross saltire between as many shears all Gules on a chief Azure a crescent of the field between two fleurs-de-lis Or.

Now at the ripe age of 100 years old, the coat of arms of St. Norbert's Abbey illustrate what la Rose called "carrying power" for those arms illustrating sound heraldry.  In other words, good heraldry will pass the test of time.

Unification & Differencing

Unification and differencing in arms for Roman Catholic
religious communities
CLICK TO ENLARGE
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

In response to the proposed designs sent by the abbot which included mottoes below the shield as well as designs for the college arms, la Rose addressed those points by sharing  the rules for illustrating unification and differencing in arms for Roman Catholic religious communities.  The graphic above summarizes la Rose's points in simple terms.

Proposal for St. Norbert's College

The unadopted arms proposed for St. Norbert's College in De Pere, WI
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

La Rose's third proposal for the abbot's consideration were arms for St. Norbert's College, a foundation of the newly elevated abbey.

La Rose continues in his letter to Abbot Pennings:

"Now for St Norbert's College, these arms again should be sufficiently differentiated from those of the Abbey to prevent the least visual confusion- but should also show a close relationship.  One of the most frequent mediaeval practices was to "difference" two similar shields by a change of color. 

"Therefore, while retaining the distinctive design of St.Norbert's heraldry, I have changed the colors into the green and silver now (I gather from the letters you sent me) used by the College. 

The open book inscribed with Euntes Docete ("Go and Teach") for St. Norbert's College
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

"I have retained the blue chief of the Abbey arms, but changed it now with an open book, the symbol most common traditionally to academic arms, thus indicating St. Norbert's College. 

"And as an open book, even in heraldry, normally bears a short legend on its pages, I have inscribed them with the Euntes Docete, which, although it should not be used as a "motto" on a ribbon beneath the shield, may with perfect heraldic propriety appear in its present position- or it may be replaced by any other brief legend that may seem desirable" (La Rose letter to the Right Reverend Father Abbot Pennings, March 21, 1925).

La Rose moved the proposed motto from the Great Commission found in Matthew 28:19-20,  Euntes Docete ("Go and Teach) from an external ribbon and inscribed an open book to use as the chief for St. Norbert's College.  For one reason or another, la Rose's design for the college would not be adopted.

The blazon for the unadopted arms of St. Norbert's College:  Argent, a cross saltire between as many shears all Vert on a chief Azure an open book bound and edged with two clasps Or thereon EUNTES DOCETE.

St. Norbert's College Today

(L-R): The coat of arms of St. Norbert's College and Berne Abbey in The Netherlands
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

St. Norbert's College bears its own coat of arms as seen above, the inspiration for those arms came from the Norbertine's Berne Abbey located in Holland.  Why?  The founders of St. Norbert's in De Pere, Wisconsin originated from Berne Abbey and showing this historical connection must have been viewed as important to the designer of the college's arms (St. Norbert College, 1989).

"Berne Abbey took its coat of arms from Fulco of Berne who gave his castle to a group of religious.  The Norbertines were the first permanent occupants, and Berne Abbey was the last of the Norbertine abbeys founded by St. Norbert himself.  

"Fulco's coat of arms had alternating stripes, three red and three blue, with eight scepters superimposed. The eight scepters indicated that Fulco was related by eight lines to the Emperor of the Holy Roman empire...the Dartmouth colors of green and white for the alternative stripes, and gold for the scepters were adopted" (St. Norbert's College, 1989).

The rationale for the college's arms comes from a pamphlet found in the college archives and linked below.  I created the following two blazons:

The blazon for the arms of St. Norbert's College:  Argent, three bars Vert overall an escarbuncle of eight points each ending with a fleur-de-lis Or.

The blazon for the arms of Berne Abbey:  Azure, three bars Gules overall an escarbuncle of eight points each ending with a fleur-de-lis Or.

Abbey Magazine

Finally, here's my brief article in Abbey Magazine, Spring/Summer 2025.  It might be necessary to pop out the article into a larger window for the document to reload.

Works Cited

La Rose, Pierre de Chaignon (21 March, 1925).  La Rose letter to the Right Reverend Father Abbot Pennings.  Unpublished.

St. Norbert's College (1989).  The coat of arms of St. Norbert's College.  Archives Publications. 6. 

https://digitalcommons.snc.edu/digitalarchive/6/

Recent Finds Special Edition: The Arms of Christ Church

The coat of arms of Christ Church (Episcopal) in Alto, Tennessee
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

I saw the most unusual post recently via Facebook's Ecclesiastical Heraldry group immediately catching my attention.  While Roman Catholic heraldry usually dominates group discussion, I tend to perk up whenever the focus shifts to Episcopal Church heraldry.  This special posting began as a mystery, but one wrapped as a gift to me from the heraldic gods.

Based on data in my ongoing project collecting both US scholastic and heraldry from the Episcopal Church, I offer a few data-informed insights to help us understand the design rationale and identify the designer of the arms for Christ Church (Episcopal) in Alto, TN.

Abstract Clues

Needlepoint cushion depicting the arms of Christ Church Alto, TN
Image source:  Facebook Ecclesiastical Heraldry Group 

The cleric posting his query is resident in the Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee and was seeking insight regarding a coat of arms for a parish in his diocese which closed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Immediately, wheels began turning and I started thinking critically about this unusual design for a parish coat of arms in the Episcopal Church.  I assert that Dr. J. Waring McCrady (b.1938) from The University of the South designed the arms for Christ Church in Alto during the late 20th century.

Allow me to cite my data. 

Clue #1 - Location

Christ Church located in Alto, Tennessee
Image Source:  Parish Facebook page

I knew somewhere in my past that I was familiar with the parish in question.  I've heard the name many times.

Christ Church located in Alto, Tennessee lies at the base of the Holy Mountain where the Domain of my alma mater Sewanee: The University of the South dominates the landscape.  The University and its School of Theology are but a stone's throw from where Christ Church is located.  Also, both university and parish are situated within the bounds of the Diocese of Tennessee.  When I was a seminarian at Sewanee, I recall many classmates attending Christ Church which frequently was supplied by ordained faculty members from the School of Theology.  

It would not be out of the question for Dr. McCrady to design arms for a nearby parish.  However, I have not seen or discovered any parish arms designed by the French professor and this fact did give me pause when attributing him as the designer.  

Note the bell tower in the photograph above which likely explains the bell in the base of the parish arms.

Yet, we know McCrady designed corporate arms for others outside of the university due to his status as the former chair of the Advisory Committee on Heraldry.  General Convention (1982) notes that the General Convention in 1982 gave the Presiding Bishop authorization to create this new advisory group concerning matters of church heraldry; however Wright (2005) reveals the committee met only once and without minutes or records from the discussion.

One example of McCrady's work outside of Sewanee can be found in the arms of the Episcopal Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast, adopted by the see in 1971.

McCrady's blazon for the arms of the Episcopal Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast: "Barry wavy of seven Or and Azure, an anchor in pale Gules; on a chief of the third a dove descending Proper between two saltires couped of the first" (Diocese of Central Gulf Coast, n.d.). 

Clue #2 - The Pale

Quilted processional banner of arms of Christ Church Alto, TN
Image Source:  Facebook Ecclesiastical Heraldry Group

The Facebook post contained two images of the parish coat of arms--a needlepoint cushion and a quilted processional banner.  When I began comparing the two images, I noticed that the pale on the banner was not entirely in gold which seemed rather odd and out of place.  

Below is my rendering of how the processional banner should appear if my guess regarding a solid gold pale is correct.  I continue to follow Pierre de Chaignon la Rose's (1872-1941) design methods for processional banners, which I call processional banners of arms.  Click here to see more examples of la Rose's design method for processional banners.

Processional banner of arms, Christ Church in Alto, TN
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

Thinking more about what I was seeing on the needlepoint cushion led me to believe that the banner's rendering must have been the result of an artistic error.  The cushion seemed correct in my mind, and immediately raised questions about the third clue staring me in the face.

Clue #3 - Counterchanging 

L-R: Arms of The University of the South, Christ Church Alto, TN, and The School of Theology
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

When tertiary charges, or elements, of the same metal or color are placed over an ordinary, the designer has to make a decision in order to avoid violating the rule of tincture.  In other words, metal cannot be placed upon another metal and the same goes for colors.  

Why?  Simple.  

If you're standing on a 13th century European battlefield as a knight covered in metal armor from head to toe, those abstract designs painted on shields offer the only identification of friend or foe.  Gold and silver might not contrast enough on a shield, for example, and failure to notice the difference could mean life or death.  Therefore, we avoid using color on color and metal on metal even in the 21st century.

In preparation for the University of the South's 125th anniversary celebration, McCrady's designs for new arms identifying the university, its undergraduate college, and the seminary were adopted in 1983.  Click here to read my article on the heraldry of the University of the South.  His design work prominently featured the newly created Sewanee tressure unifying all three coats of arms.  

McCrady (1983) offers the following blazons for the arms of the University of the South and its School of Theology:

"Blazon for the arms of The University of the South:  Purpure, a cross pall Or overall a double tressure long-crossed and counter long-crossed counterchanged (known as the Sewanee tressure).

"Blazon for the arms of The School of Theology, University of the South:  Gules on a cross Or surmounted by a Sewanee tressure counter-changed a crossed fleam Sable" (30).

As seen in the illustration above, when the Sewanee tressure is overlaid upon the ordinary in the arms of the university and the seminary, McCrady counterchanges the colors to avoid violating the rule of tincture.  It is a bit decadent, I believe, and I can only recall McCrady employing this technique within both US scholastic and Episcopal Church heraldry.  I won't lie when I say it took weeks to figure out how to digitally create this counterchanged Sewanee tressure in Adobe Illustrator.  

Thanks be to God for clipping masks...   

The counterchanged chevron and corresponding cross crosslets fitchy hightened my suspicion of a McCrady design for a parish.  I felt as though I was on the verge of actually seeing one and having data supporting my theory.

One final clue helped put matters to rest regarding the parish arms.

Clue #4 - Corporate Unification

The coat of arms of the Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

McCrady's designs for the University of the South continue a proud, albeit small, tradition in American heraldry of illustrating unification in corporate arms.  Two early examples of unification in arms can be found for both Episcopal Church and US scholastic heraldry in the early 20th century.

The first example of this phenomenon used in Episcopal Church heraldry was la Rose's design work for the Episcopal Diocese of Quincy and its cathedral.  Click here to learn more about la Rose and the arms of the Diocese of Quincy and the Cathedral of St. John.

US scholastic heraldry produced its first example to illustrate unification not long after la Rose's work in Quincy, seen on the campus of Kenyon College in Ohio.  Click here to learn about The Rev. Canon Watson's designs for Kenyon College and its seminary.

The idea of abstractly creating a charge or design element that could be used to show unification between the corporate sole and its foundation(s) was important, it seems, to McCrady.  The sprigs of wheat in the arms of Christ Church likely hold dual references--geographical and unification.  Let me explain.

Arms of Christ Church (Episcopal) in Alto, TN
Rendered by Chad Krouse

The best corporate heraldry, in my opinion, follows a carefully constructed framework producing bespoke identification for the organizational bearer of those arms.  Geographical location, topographical features, saintly dedication, and even local history provide important building blocks when designing corporate coats of arms.  

The seal of the State of Tennessee, as well as the arms of the Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee, feature the garb of wheat within their design.  I believe McCrady used these sprigs of wheat in the arms of Christ Church Alto to illustrate 1) the rural/agricultural landscape surrounding the parish, and 2) identify it as a parish church in the State and Diocese of Tennessee.   

Following McCrady's blazon he constructed for the arms of the University of the South, I offer the following:

Blazon for the arms of Christ Church Episcopal in Alto, TN:  Vert, on a pale Or surmounted by a chevron Argent counterchanged Sable and charged with three cross crosslets fitchy counterchanged a bell in base of the field between two sprigs of wheat Or.

What a gift to discover a parish coat of arms by McCrady illustrating parish unification with its diocese.  So far, this new find represents a first to illustrate such unification and clearly got me excited.  Kindly let me know your thoughts.  

Works Cited

Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast (n.d.).  Our Seal.  Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast.  https://www.diocgc.org/about-us

General Convention (1982).  Journal of the 67th General Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church.  Seabury Professional Services.

McCrady, J. W. (1983).  After 125 years completing the university's heraldry. The Sewanee News, 49(1), 29-30.

Wright, J.R. (2005 May 26).  Heraldry of the American Episcopal Church [Lecture summary].  New York Genealogical and Biographical Society.  https://silo.tips/download/heraldry-of-the-american-episcopal-church#modals

The Arms of Johns Hopkins University

The seal and coat of arms of The Johns Hopkins University
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

With the Great 50 days of Easter now in full swing, I'd like to return to some new heraldic discoveries among our academies.  Today, I want to feature a fairly well known coat of arms, albeit one with a plot twist.  To read other articles in this series focusing on corporate heraldry shaping the American tradition, click the tag at the end of this post.

For a quick recap:  several months ago I challenged myself to seek and find good corporate heraldry in the Episcopal Church, civic/social organizations, and my other favorite category of scholastic coats of arms.  I wanted to build a dataset of those corporate bodies bearing coats of arms that shape the American heraldic tradition, as well as to prove this ancient art is alive and thriving in the US today.   

Coat of arms of Johns Hopkins University
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

The coat of arms of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore is another example of arms that I did not pay much attention to over the years.  Why?  Given the only emblazonments seen of the university's arms are entangled within its vesica seal likely kept me from digging any further.  As a result of taking on the task of rendering those arms discovered online, I know that how these arms were presented created my issue.  

When I began to render the seal and actually look at the design, the disparate elements began to make sense to me.  What I once saw as fussy now has layers of meaning.  I recall reading in Col. Harry D. Temple's (1911-2004) Heraldry and the Diocese of Virginia, in which he noted the use of oak leaves in scholastic coats of arms as a way to denote strength.  I never considered this image of acorns and leaves in Johns Hopkins' ensigns to be anything more than mere doodles.  I was wrong.         

These arms continue to grow on me, even with the Calvert-Crossland quarterings that seemingly overpower everything. I sense there must be another way to illustrate geographical location for the university rather than blithely use the arms of Maryland.  Ah, too late.  

Adopted by its board of trustees on 7 December 1885, the seal and coat of arms of this private research university were collaboratively designed by Clayton C. Hall, a prominent Baltimore historian and Stephen Tucker, then Somerset Herald at the College of Arms in London (Johns Hopkins University, n.d.).  Plot twist...heralds at work on an American design in the 19th century.

Having evidence of the College of Arms creating a scholastic coat prior to the 20th century is assuredly an outlier in my data--the College of William & Mary notwithstanding.  I have evidence of the herald's college involved with designing arms for Bryn Mawr College (1903-1904) and the University of Chicago (1911-1912), but those would come later.  Furthermore, it is altogether possible that Johns Hopkins' commission to the College of Arms may have created a precedent that the University of Chicago (also a private research university) would later follow with their restudy.  Perhaps a missing piece of the puzzle now coming into focus.  Thus, this London-based plot twist was an exciting revelation.

L-R: Coats of arms of Bryn Mawr College and the University of Chicago
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

One observation:  it appears that the go-to differencing mark used by the heralds at that time in corporate arms is the chief,  Johns Hopkins and University of Chicago illustrate this point.   Click here to learn about the coat of arms of the University of Chicago.  

Armorial flag, Johns Hopkins University
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

The date of armorial adoption places the university in the top 5 US academic institutions bearing coats of arms.  As this is a ongoing project there will be some seat swapping as new data emerges.  For now, these are the current top five oldest academic institutions in the US with coats of arms along with their adoption date:

1. Harvard University - 1643

2. College of William & Mary - 1694

3. Yale University - 1740

4. Brown University - 1833

5. Johns Hopkins University - 1885

The university's arms look sharp as an armorial flag.  The quartered crosses bottony are supposed to be stretched as illustrated, unfortunately.  

Blazon for the arms of Johns Hopkins University:  Quarterly 1st and 4th, paly of six Or and Sable a bend counterchanged (Calvert); 2nd and 3rd, quarterly Argent and Gules, a cross bottony counterchanged (Crossland); on a chief Azure a terrestrial globe between two open books bound and edged Or.

Works Cited

Johns Hopkins University (n.d.).  Academic seal.  Johns Hopkins University, https://brand.jhu.edu/visual-identity/university-marks/#academic-seal

Temple, Harry D. (1971).  Heraldry and the Diocese of Virginia.  Privately printed.