Another Cookbook: The Arms of St. Peter's Parish

Kitchen Keys
Published in 1988 by the Episcopal Church Women
of St. Peter's Parish Church, New Kent, Virginia

Mind the cookbooks.  Never underestimate the power of those plastic spiral bindings or Episcopal Church Women (ECW).  

I happened upon this heraldic cookbook online as part of my quest to discover, render, and share sound corporate heraldry in the US.  Why?  To illustrate the existence of an American heraldic tradition that is alive and continues well into the 21st century.  My focus is on ecclesiastical heraldry in the Episcopal Church and scholastic coats of arms--think schools, academies, colleges, seminaries, universities, and any US-based academic organization.  I have no desire to attempt to collect and catalogue the entirety of designs within these categories, as I'm more interested in those designs that honor the tradition and rules of heraldry.    

Not long ago, I wrote a small bit about the Episcopal Church cookbook phenomenon when I discovered an impaled coat of arms of a parish gracing one such cover.  Click here to read more about my first heraldic cookbook discovery. To read other articles in the Recent Finds series, click the corresponding label at the end of this post.  

Banners of arms for the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia & St. Peter's Parish Church
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

Kitchen Keys plays nicely on the parish dedication of St. Peter's Parish Church in New Kent, Virginia.  The title is brilliant!  Less than an hour from where I write, this historic parish is located in the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia and boasts a well differenced coat of arms.  

Far too often I see parishes adopting the undifferenced-attributed arms of their dedication and using for their own corporate identity.  I blame good intentions and a widespread lack of education within the Episcopal Church on heraldry and parish identity.  To wit, the last publication on church heraldry was Dekay (1993) which is fine but contains errors, gaps without data, and lacks source material.  While Dekay's work is an important contribution towards advancing our knowledge on the subject, it must be treated as a point of departure rather than gospel truth.

Meanwhile, 32 years have passed and little has been added to the literature on heraldry in the Episcopal Church, leaving the faithful bereft and uneducated.

Arms of St. Peter's Parish Church New Kent, Virginia
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

To confirm tinctures for these arms as seen on the cover, I searched the parish's website and Facebook page for any additional evidence.  

There is a banner hanging towards the back of the sanctuary containing the coat of arms--a white field can be confirmed.  Sadly, it does appear that both keys and stars are gold.  Since the photo on the website was taken at a distance, I'm following the recipe from Kitchen Keys and going with red.

Arms and flag of St. Peter's Parish Church, New Kent, Virginia
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

The crossed keys of Saint Peter readily identify themself and the parish dedication.  Established in 1679, St. Peter's Parish experienced the horrors of two wars while surviving to share God's story of love and faithfulness.  The two stars likely commemorate the Revolutionary War and Civil War, the latter causing the most destruction to parish property (Saint Peter's Episcopal Church, n.d.).

By changing tinctures, omitting an upside-down cross, and adding two stars sufficiently differences the parish's arms from those attributed to Saint Peter.  If the two stars commemorate the parish's history through two armed conflicts on American soil, then these arms truly provide bespoke identification for the parish church.  I say to whomever designed the parish arms, job well done.   

Processional banner of arms of St. Peter's Parish Church, New Kent, Virginia
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

I think the arms look rather lovely, and perfectly suited as an armorial flag and processional banner.  I should think all eyes would be on St. Peter's processional banner at the next diocesan convention.

The blazon for the arms of St. Peter's Parish Church, New Kent, Virginia:  Argent, two keys in saltire wards to chief between in chief and in base two stars of five points Gules.

Works Cited

De Kay, E.J. (1993).  Heraldry of the Episcopal Church.  Acorn Press. 

Episcopal Church Women of St. Peter's Parish Church. (1988).  Kitchen keys.  William Byrd Press.

Saint Peter's Episcopal Church. (n.d.).  Our history.  accessed on April 10, 2025.  https://www.stpetersnewkent.org/About_Us_Mission_and_Ministries/History/

New Arms for the Episcopal Parish of Alton and its Rector

The newly adopted coat of arms of the Episcopal Parish of Alton
Designed and rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

It is quite humbling when someone compliments your art work; even more so when it becomes the identity of an entire community.  I am thrilled to share the newly adopted coat of arms for the Episcopal Parish of Alton in Alton, IL.  The Rector is a dear friend and I wanted to help as he establishes his new ministry as Rector.  Somehow, I managed to convince him to adopt arms too.

Following the framework for corporate heraldry used by Pierre de Chaignon la Rose (1872-1941), the design for these arms came readily to mind--my own mental "refrigerator test."  In other words, when I struggle to construct a coherent design, I know the time isn't right just yet.  On the other hand, there have been many instances when the design becomes immediately clear to me--those designs are the best.  The arms of the Episcopal Parish of Alton came to mind rather quickly, a positive indication for a prospective coat of arms.

Infographic from the proposal
Click image to enlarge

In a nutshell, la Rose's goal in creating corporate arms was to layer as many references identifying the owner while keeping the design simple and clear.  One charge--or in "la-Rosian" style, charge-on-charge--could combine multiple references to the corporate body without fuss.  

Since the Episcopal Parish of Alton combines two historically independent parishes, St. Paul's and Trinity, I knew there was a solution honoring the heritage of both while creating something new in the process.

The blazon I landed on seemed clear and reasonable to me.  It combined references to the dedication of both parishes with the sword in pale for St. Paul and three paddle wheels for the Holy Trinity.  Moreover, the chevron makes a nice image of two separate sides coming together at one point, and I felt satisfied in honoring the two communities.  The paddle wheels and barry wavy lines on the chevron reference the parish's location along the Mississippi River and honors local history.  

The blazon for the arms of the Episcopal Parish of Alton: Gules, a sword in pale Argent point to base hilt and pommel Or debruised by a chevron barry wavy Argent and Azure fimbriated Or with three paddle wheels of the field.

Applications for Identity 

Example of business card

Example of letterhead

I wanted to design a simple word mark incorporating the new arms to help reinforce its use within the daily life of the parish.  For example, the two images above show the coat of arms and word mark used to create official parish stationary, such as business cards and letterhead.  

Armorial flag, processional banner, and seal designed
for the Episcopal Parish of Alton
Designed and rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

Countless applications come to mind for the new arms:  coffee mugs, lapel pins, automobile stickers, tee shirts, and the list of merch goes on and on.  Because these files are rendered in vector, the sky is the limit for adding this new dignified decoration to almost anything.  

Cover page of the proposal
Designed and rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

I believe it is critically important that all members of the corporate body have the ability to inhabit their organization's coat of arms--be that on a Christmas ornament or cufflinks, owning a piece of the corporate brand only serves to strengthen and sustain it. 

This was a fun project for me and I'm delighted that the parish will use these designs in one way or another.  I am thankful that I can begin to share my work freely for good use.  My goal is to help smaller parishes either adopt new coats of arms to be used as branding, or help update current digital assets with vector files for use in social media, web design, and so on.  The rationale is that these faith communities would likely not spend money on this sort of project--I've found my niche for ministry and a special way I can serve.  

New Coat of Arms for the Rector

The coat of arms of The Rev. Daniels,
Rector of the Episcopal Parish of Alton
Designed and rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

Not only was I able to have my first parish coat of arms adopted, I designed arms for the Rector too.  

Arms: Argent, on a fess Sable two Mayflowers (epigaea repens) Argent barbed Vert each charged with a fleur-de-lis Azure debruised by a pile Azure charged with a dove descending Argent haloed Or

Motto: Dum Spiro Spero, “While I breathe, I hope”

Design Rationale: The new armiger is an ordained priest in the Episcopal Church, and referenced through the clerical color of black for the fess. The fess is charged with two Mayflowers (epigaea repens) honoring the armiger’s ancestor, William Bradford (1590-1657), who emigrated from England and arrived at Plymouth Colony aboard the Mayflower in 1620.

The flowers are charged with a fleur-de-lis representing not only the City of St. Louis where his ministry began, but also his devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Additionally, the fleur-de-lis is used as the crest in the armiger’s order, the Order of Christ the Savior.

The blue pile represents the limitless heavens above as the dove of peace descends offering grace, healing, and hope in the world today. The motto is attributed to King Charles the Martyr, representing another saintly model for the armiger.

Date: 10 January 2025

The cleric's arms are ensigned by a black galero, cords alternating white and black, and ending with one tassel to indicate his priestly office.  As a guideline, I followed the Earl Marshal's Warrant of 1976 which authorized clergy in the Church of England to ensign their arms with ecclesiastical hats following a prescribed "annex schedule."  To read the Earl Marshal's Warrant of 1976 regarding the use of ecclesiastical hats, click this link to view the document on the College of Arms website.

To view illustrations by rank/office from the College of Arms, click this link for the College of Arms website.

Canterbury & York

Coat of arms of the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, Church of England
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

To continue exploring the world of ecclesiastical heraldry in the Episcopal Church, I want to explore the two archiepiscopal arms in the Church of England--those of Canterbury and York.  This whole post stems from running across a version of an armorial flag for Canterbury that I'd not seen previously...

It seems one cannot discuss the ancient arms of the See of Canterbury without acknowledging the arms used by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Westminster.

Coat of arms of the Archdiocese of Westminster (Roman Catholic)
revised in 2014
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

The Heraldry Society posted an excellent article on the arms of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Westminster which offers some details and history around these arms. Please click this link to read the article on the The Heraldry Society website.

Side by Side: the arms of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Westminster (left)
and the Archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England (right)
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

I've also learned that in 2014, the Archdiocese of Westminster, in fact, revised its coat of arms to appear as they do in the above illustration.  What changed?  The archiepiscopal cross found in pale behind the pallium was removed and placed as an external ornament, because the cross required two cross bars reflecting the see's metropolitical authority.  Click this link to read about the change on the Archdiocese of Westminster website.

Two versions of the archiepiscopal staff from the arms of Canterbury and the two bar 
staff carried by the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church
Rendered by Chad Krouse

Finally, I know now that the archiepiscopal cross in the arms of Canterbury predates the use of two bar crosses to identify metropolitans.  All this from seeing a flag online!  

Coat of arms of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

Admittedly, I've not thought a whole lot about the design for these arms, taking them for granted I suppose.  Initially I thought the pall was the ordinary in the form of a pall cross rather than a charge.  This fact is new and interesting to me.  Especially when considering these arms as an armorial flag.

The See of Canterbury (Cantaur) is the senior archiepiscopal office in the Church of England, followed by its junior partner, the See of York (Ibor).

The blazon for the arms of the Archbishop of Canterbury: Azure, an archiepiscopal staff in pale Or surmounted of a pall Argent fringed of the second and charged with four crosses patee fitchee Sable.

Possible armorial flag for the Archbishop of Canterbury
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

The scholarly world of the Internet showed me an image of these arms as a flag during my search and I was rather stunned.  It was the image of the flag that caused me to hunt down the blazon to see what's going on.  There is no pall cross ordinary.

So, I'm inclined to believe that the illustration above does in fact work when translating these arms into a flag.  

Armorial flag of Sewanee: The University of the South
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

Here's an example to clarify what I mean.  The arms of the University of the South (Sewanee) in Sewanee, TN has a pall cross as the ordinary in the design and overlaid with the "Sewanee" tressure.  If Canterbury's arms used the pall as the ordinary, the armorial flag would translate much like Sewanee's flag above.  Make sense?  All this was new to me and I simply wanted to share.

Armorial flag and coat of arms of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

One important point to remember when considering ecclesiastical flags in the Church of England is the Earl Marshal's Warrant of 1938, which codified the design and arrangement for flags within the provinces of Canterbury and York.

Let's say St. Swithun's by the Swamp (always a go to example in seminary) wants to fly a flag from the church tower.  The parish is situated within the boundary of the Diocese of St. Albans and under its authority.  Furthermore, the diocese is located within the Province of Canterbury in the Church of England.

Coat of arms for the Diocese of St. Albans, Church of England
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

According to the Earl Marshal's Warrant of 1938, St. Swithun's flag must adhere to these guidelines:  the flag will consist of a white field with the red St. George cross throughout, and in dexter canton the arms of the diocese where the parish resides.  The illustration below would be the proper flag for our fictitious parish to fly. 

Armorial flag of the Diocese of St. Albans
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

As a complete aside:  I assert that the Earl Marshal's Warrant of 1938 likely influenced the final design for the coat of arms of the Episcopal Church, which officially adopted its arms in 1940.  To read the whole saga of how the Episcopal Church adopted arms, please click here for my article.

Armorial flag of the Province of Canterbury
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

Yes, I suppose the arrangement also works for both Canterbury and York, but its rather drab, all things considered.  I prefer the initial design with the pall and archiepiscopal staff.  If I was the Rt. Hon. Rt. Rev. Archbishop of Canterbury, I'd be on the phone with Garter to plead my case!

Coat of arms of the Archbishop of York
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

I'm fortunate to say that I've been inside York Minister in the City of York.  The minister is huge!  I hope one day to be equally as fortunate to make a pilgrimage to Canterbury Cathedral.  The City of York itself, as I recall, is filled with heraldry.

Possible armorial flag for the Archbishop of York
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

The arms of the Province of York are simple and clear, so long as we don't get into the Gules and pall with archiepiscopal staff...

Flags of the Provinces of Canterbury & York
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

Recent Finds Special Edition: Impaled Parish Arms

Cover of "Cookbook: Centennial Edition," by
Saint Paul's Episcopal Church, Kansas City, MO
Image source: eBay

As the Recent Finds series continues, I'm presenting a special edition from a rare find.  To read other articles in the Recent Finds series, click on the corresponding label at the end of this post.  

Cookbooks.  That's right, cookbooks.  These bindings of locally loved recipes were something of a phenomenon in the Episcopal Church during the mid-to-late 20th century, produced mostly by parish women and oftentimes as a fundraiser for the church.

During a recent Internet search for parish coats of arms, I happened upon one such work from St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Kansas City, Missouri with the most unusual cover.  An impaled coat of arms!  Seeing an impaled coat of arms in the Episcopal Church, let alone one for a parish, is a rare find.  

Applied arms
Image Source:  Parish's Facebook Page

In case the arms depicted on the cookbook's cover was merely a one-off design, I dug a little deeper to see if this impalement exists and really used by the parish.  It is!  I especially love the doormat.

Arms of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Kansas City, MO depicted in stained glass
Image Source: Parish's Facebook Page

These arms are used and loved by the parish--the stained glass window depicted above is gorgeous even if  the crescent is blazoned as Argent rather than Or.  Well, too late to change that I suppose.

While these arms are technically correct and rendered well, however, it is highly unusual to see this sort of arrangement with parish arms in dexter and those of its diocese in sinister.  Traditionally, the arms depicted in sinister are the senior arms of the pair.  Thus, the arms of St. Paul's Episcopal Church take precedence over those of the Diocese of West Missouri according to the design.  Seems rather out of place to me.  Nonetheless, these impaled arms are quite lovely.

Attributed coat of arms of St. Paul
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

Heralds have throughout history given saints attributed coats of arms for heraldic identification.  Most often, these attributed arms have been used for decoration on altar reredos, stained glass windows, and carvings found throughout Christian churches in the West.  

Saint Paul never bore a coat of arms himself but has been attributed arms widely recognized with a sword and an open book inscribed in Latin, Spiritus Gladius (sword of the Spirit).  

That St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Kansas City, MO successfully differenced the attributed arms of its dedication shows that someone knew what they were doing when creating arms for the parish.  

Blazon for the attributed arms of Saint Paul:  Gules, a sword in pale with point to base pommel and hilt Or surmounted by an open book edged with three clasps Or inscribed SPIRITUS GLADIUS. 

Coat of arms of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Kansas City, MO
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

Repositioning the sword with its point now to chief, dispensing with the open book, and incorporating a golden celestial crown provides three distinct marks of differencing the attributed arms of St. Paul.  Huzzah! 

Technically, I believe, the parish could simply use this coat of arms without impalement.  The heraldic designer could have simply stopped here.  I wonder if the desire to add the arms of the diocese was requested or there was a need to "ju-ju" the arms to look more decadent.  Who knows, we only have a cookbook to go by at this point. 

Blazon for the arms of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Kansas City, MO:  Gules, a sword in pale pommel and hilt Or with point to chief surmounted by a celestial crown Or.

Coat of arms of the Episcopal Diocese of West Missouri
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

Originally known as the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas City, the process for securing a design of arms to be used as a seal began in 1906 (Diocese of Kansas City, 1909, 41).  During its convention in the summer of 1909, the appointed Committee on Diocesan Seal presented for a vote its recommendation for a coat of arms.  Designed by Pierre de Chaignon la Rose (1872-1941), the arms of the see pack a lot of references as simply as possible in a way only the talented la Rose could manage.  

La Rose supplied his rationale to the Committee which presented it before the Convention:

"My first desire was, if possible, to introduce some symbol from the arms of the State of Missouri, which consist (apart from the impalement of the United States arms) of a crescent on a blue field, in chief, and a bear on a red field, in base. I have chosen the crescent. (1) because by its position 'in chief' it is the more important figure heraldically: (2) because it has a religious significance on an ecclesiastical coat, being one of the symbols of the Blessed Virgin Mary: (3) because the bear has little ecclesiastical meaning, except as a symbol of St. Bernard or of the animals which devoured the revilers of the prophet.

"Looking at the map of Missouri it struck me as interesting to note that at Kansas City the Missouri and Kansas rivers meet in the form of an heraldic charge, viz. the 'pairle (or pall) Y. This as an heraldic charge should not be confused with the actual pallium which appears on the arms of the see of Canterbury, which last is the pallium as actually worn, whereas the pairle is simply an abstract form following the same lines, and which, while it suggests the vestment, yet has not archiepiscopal significance. I have placed, then, a silver pairle on a blue field, with the silver crescent in chief, as a very definite representation, in the recognized astract forms of heraldry, of Kansas City in Missouri.

"In the flanks I have placed pendent ears of maize to indicate that the Diocese is situated in the midst of a great corn-growing district. As precedents for these pendent ears, one can refer to the colonial seal of the Province of East Jersey, and to the present arms of the Diocese of Athabasca, on both of which appear ears of maize in this pendent position.

"Finally, I have placed on the pairle four small St. George crosses, just as the Canterbury pallium is charged with four black crosses 'pattes.' By these St. George crosses we can definitely indicate the Anglican Communion in Kansas City, Mo., and we use four of them as the old Canterbury number (and there is nothing to prevent one from considering the number to represent the Lambeth Quadrilateral)" (Diocese of Kansas City, 1909, 41-42).

La Rose's blazon for the arms of the Episcopal Diocese of West Missouri:  "Azure, between in chief, a crescent argent, and in flanks, two pendant ears of maize leaved and slipped or, a pairle of the second, thereon four crosses gules" (Diocese of Kansas City, 1909, 41).

My version of the blazon for the Episcopal Diocese of West Missouri:  Azure, on a pall cross Argent four crosses couped Gules between two pendant ears of maize Or in chief a crescent Argent. 

Example of best practice when incorporating the arms of the see
with a parish coat of arms
Concept and rendering by Chad Krouse, 2025

One idea of how to incorporate the arms of the see with those of a parish can be seen above.  By using the see's arms as the base design--effectively creating a "bordure of the Diocese of West Missouri"--and overlaying the arms of the parish, this method would be seen as a best practice or preference when these two arms collide.

I like this method as it plays on cadency in the Scottish heraldic tradition.  A bordure is used to difference the main coat of arms while distinguishing between younger sons and other cadet branches within a family.  In a sense, one could see the arms of St. Paul's as a "child" of the Diocese of West Missouri.    

Two becoming one: impaling two coats of arms
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

The illustration above simply shows the two separate coats of arms being impaled into a singular coat.  In heraldic terms, the viewer's left side of the shield is called "dexter," and the right, "sinister."  

Coat of arms of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Kansas City, MO
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

Blazon for the impaled arms of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Kansas City, MO:  Impaled: Dexter, Gules, a sword in pale pommel and hilt Or with point to chief surmounted by a celestial crown Or (St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Kansas City, MO).  Sinister, Azure, on a pall cross Argent four crosses couped Gules between two ears of maize Or in chief a crescent Argent (Episcopal Diocese of West Missouri).

Armorial flag of the arms of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Kansas City, MO
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

The impalement looks rather slick when translated into an armorial flag and banner.

Banner and coat of arms of
St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Kansas City, MO
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

So who knows the backstory for these arms?  I'll see what I can learn and will report back any findings.  It is indeed a lovely coat of arms.

Works Cited

Diocese of Kansas City. (1909).  Journal of the twentieth annual council of the Church in the Diocese of Kansas City.  Diocese of Kansas City, 41-42.

The Medieval Academy of America at 100

Pride on display at home: my armorial flag of the Medieval Academy of America
Flag and photograph by the Author.

It's honestly rather hard to believe it almost as it is saying it--I presented a research paper before The Medieval Academy of America's (MAA) centennial conference at Harvard.  Those previous words fail to adequately describe the emotions and sense of belonging I felt while attending MAA's conference last week at Harvard.

Some 500 medieval scholars from around the world gathered on the campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts for three day conference in celebration of the MAA's 100th year since its founding in 1925.

Branded conference swag proudly displaying
MAA's coat of arms in full color

My involvement with MAA began when I discovered that my research muse, Pierre de Chaignon la Rose (1872-1941) designed the Academy's coat of arms in 1927.  As far as I knew, MAA did not have any updated digital assets of their arms, let alone any in full color.  Since heraldry is meant to be seen in full color, I commissioned a fellow digital heraldic artist in Europe to correct this injustice.  

Click here to read about how MAA got its arms in color.

Now that I'm somewhat competent with digital illustration, I've since rendered my own version of MAA's arms and sent to them for use.  MAA's armorial flag seen at the top is my version that I had made into a 3ft x 5ft flag in the style la Rose would have likely used if a flag had been commissioned from him.  Stretching the sun's rays to the edges really makes the whole image look stunning as flag.  

The arms seen above adorning conference merch were the commissioned version. 

Sever Hall at Harvard Yard served as one of several principal buildings hosting the 
Academy's conference

Sever Hall on Harvard's campus was one of the principal buildings hosting presentations during the conference.  My session was on Sever's third floor.  Much to my surprise and delight, Sever's classrooms have actual chalk boards hanging inside these hallowed laboratories of learning.  I don't know why, but observing this ancient pedagogical tool still alive and in use really impressed me.  While the space had fully updated audio/visual technology, the chalkboards harkened back to that age I remember in elementary and middle school.  

Chalkboards in Sever Hall's classrooms

My presentation, "From Battlefields to Beer Steins:  Devising Heraldic Identity for Select US Academic Institutions," focused on the 11 institutions in the US that either received a grant or devisal of arms from the College of Arms in London.

Title slide

I rendered each coat of arms in Adobe Illustrator so that I could help my audience visualize how the heralds in London created unique identification for these select academic institutions.  Now, to have all 11 arms in the same shape, full color, and done in my style is quite rare.  I'm holding back from posting all those arms for now, as I plan to submit a journal article for publication which will include those arms.

Coat of arms of The College of William & Mary
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

Hands down, rendering the arms for the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia required a lot of time and patience.  It's a tad dark and bold, but I was under a pressing deadline.  

For fun, the impaled arms of Harvard and the Medieval Academy of America
to help celebrate the centennial in true heraldic fashion
Concept and rendering by Chad Krouse, 2025

The session and my presentation, I thought, went well especially when scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on a Friday.  During the Q&A, I was surprised to see a lot of interest in la Rose and his work.  I used la Rose's designs created for Calhoun College at Yale, Harvard Law, and Kirkland House at Harvard as examples of the power corporate heraldry holds in displaying institutional identity--all three coats of arms were retired in the 21st century.  

All in all, I had a great three days in Cambridge and simply over the moon about having participated in the conference.  I receive a lot of affirmation and motivation from opportunities such as this, to continue on with my journey exploring la Rose's work and US corporate heraldry.  

Spotted:  Harvard's arms on a university bus in Cambridge

For now, though, I need a break!

Blue Dove

Concept piece for the College of Arms Foundation
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

Its quite an honor to serve on the Board of Directors for the College of Arms Foundation whose purpose is to promote English heraldry and genealogy in the US while providing financial support to the College in London.  Recently I was renewing my membership with the UK-based counterpart, The White Lion Society, whose badge consists of one of the lions from the College's achievement supporting a flag of the College's arms.  I thought it would be a fun challenge to see if I could create something similar using our blue dove.  Voila.

I think it turned out nicely.  Disclaimer:  my humble illustration above is merely a fun project and not an official image.  Who knows, perhaps one day this blue bird might get used in some sort of official capacity.    

Recent Finds IX

Coats of arms for various US academic institutions
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

Our Recent Finds series continues!  To view past articles, click on the label below the post.  Sharing some recently completed renderings of scholastic arms found online.  The key for the arms illustrated above is below and I've highlighted three with a few details as well.

Top Row (L-R):  St. Timothy's School, Stevenson, MD; Trinity Episcopal School, Richmond, VA; and Boston University, Boston, MA

Bottom Row (L-R):  Milton Academy, Milton, MA; St. Timothy's School, Raleigh, NC; and Berkeley Preparatory School, Tampa, FL 

Coat of arms of Milton Academy
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

The Milton Academy's coat of arms was adopted by the school in 1898, one hundred years after its founding in Milton, Massachusetts.  Given this newfound coat of arms, my running top 10 list of US academic institutions bearing arms needed an update.  The list is an ever-evolving project cataloging coats of arms borne by any US school, academy, college, seminary, etc.  Now, with Milton's arms dated to 1898, the school sits at number 7 for having the oldest arms among US academic institutions.  Harvard, no surprise, is number 1 with the oldest having adopted theirs in 1643.  

Blazon for the arms of Milton Academy: Per fess Tenne and Azure on an open book edged with two clasps Or "Dare to be True."

Coat of arms of Trinity Episcopal School
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

For several years now, I've been conflicted regarding the "crest" for Trinity Episcopal School located right here in Richmond, VA.  While I still cannot put my hands on any hard evidence, I was able to locate some data.  It is also possible, perhaps, that Col. Harry D. Temple (1911-2004) designed these as he did live here for some time.

Coat of arms and armorial flag of Trinity Episcopal School, Richmond, VA
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

Since the organizers for the school used St. Michael's Episcopal Church in town as their HQ and sponsoring parish, I felt using the "cross of St. Michael" was appropriate.  Otherwise, it's rather difficult to make out the exact cross from any contemporary rendering found online.  Either way, I thought as a flag Trinity Episcopal School's coat of arms translate well as an armorial flag.

Blazon for the arms of Trinity Episcopal School (Richmond, VA):  Vert, a straight tau cross throughout Argent and in chief three crosses pommy Or.

Coat of arms of Berkeley Preparatory School
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

While riffing on the traditional arms of Berkeley, the prep school in Tampa, FL managed to change tinctures as a mark of difference for their arms.  I think these arms are a great example of how even minor differencing can avoid infringing on established arms; however, the design could be improved to include unique identification indicating a school or its location.