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.

Arms of the Episcopal Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

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.  There would be no need to counterchange the chevron as seen on the quilted banner.  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.

A garb of wheat in heraldry

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 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.

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!

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.   

MAA Centennial Conference Presentation

Indulging in some fun: impaling the arms of Harvard with
the Medieval Academy of America
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

Next week, some 500 scholars from across the globe will be converging on Harvard's campus for the Centennial conference of The Medieval Academy of America.  The Academy was established in Boston in 1925, and of course Ralph Adams Cram (1863-1942) was among the founders.  I've covered the arms of the Academy previously so please click here for background information regarding Pierre de Chaignon la Rose's (1872-1941) design produced in 1927.

If you're counting, the Academy took 2 years to study and consider what emblem(s) best represented the new scholarly enterprise.  Cram chaired the committee that commissioned la Rose for the design.  Thus, the Academy turns 100 this year, but its coat of arms must wait two more years.  Given the youthful history of heraldry in the United States when compared to those European countries of origin, celebrating a centennial milestone for the Academy's coat of arms becomes rather significant.

The carrying power, as la Rose stated, best describes those simple and clear designs which endure.  In other words, these cherished symbols somehow cement the human experience for those communities whose identities are branded in sound heraldry. 

Another artifact proving this theory can simply be found in the arms of Harvard, adopted through armorial assumption by the Corporation in 1643.  To have the brand, the essence, and the whole corporate identity wrapped in abstract symbols--onto a 13th century implement of war, no less--surviving and widely known throughout the world for 382 years reveals the true carrying power of heraldry in the modern era. 

Flyer for shameless promotion - click image to enlarge
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

Frankly, it was one of my heraldic projects from February 2024 that began my interest in the Academy which led to a research proposal, "From Battlefields to Beer Steins: Devising Heraldic Identity for Select US Academic Institutions."  The paper will explore how 13th century designs painted onto shields for identification in the chaos of battle, evolved to serve as modern day branding for those US academic institutions receiving coats of arms from the College of Arms in London.

To date, there are 2 institutions holding actual grants of arms while 9 others received devisals of arms.  While this distinction between grants and devisals appear innocuous, in the subject area concerning the law of arms these terms matter.  So, we'll definitely dig into that area as well.

Hampden-Sydney College's iconic coat of arms will be front and center as an eminent example of how an institution successfully embraced arms creating its brand identity.  Of those 11 academic institutions in the US, I argue that HSC was one of the few that got it right.  

The creative genius of Richard McClintock played a significant role in figuring out ways to incorporate Hampden-Sydney's arms in publications, admissions materials, etc. ultimately leading creating the College brand which persists to this day.  His work provides the College community with an enduring symbol that has now cemented the Hampden-Sydney experience for several generations of students and faculty.  Click here to learn about Hampden-Sydney College's coat of arms.

Riffing on the classic American film capturing campus life,
Animal House
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

While brainstorming digital assets to create for my presentation, I had the idea of riffing on the ubiquitous "college" tee shirt worn in the film Animal House.  Since my doctorate was in the social sciences and I'll be wading through a sea of humanities scholars, I'm leaning on a few tricks to win acceptance!  Thus, I wanted to use Latin as my audience will be extremely well versed in the language par excellence, and may appreciate the playfulness while engaging more with this subject.  I'm planing to ask a lot of questions in hopes of sparking dialogue for the art and science of heraldry, as I want to understand its historic absence from such scholarly gatherings.  As far as I know, there will be no other papers on the subject of heraldry!  

Another fun doodle
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

All are welcome to the conference and program details can be found by clicking this link to go to Harvard's site.  I certainly plan to share a recap shortly thereafter with hopes of submitting the presentation as a journal article.

Recent Finds VII

I had this vision in my head for a lion bishop
Created and rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

A lion bishop?  Well, of course!  Anything is possible in the world of heraldry!  I had this vision in my head with the lion wearing a mitre and cope and bedazzled in all the episcopal finery possible.  Voila!

...and the finds keep coming!  Here's a quick post with some interesting US corporate heraldry found online recently and then rendered by me.  

The coat of arms of St. James Episcopal Church Prouts Neck, ME
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

The coat of arms of St. James Episcopal Church Prouts Neck in Maine successfully avoided the old "2 and 1" with escallops.  In the absence of any known blazon, I'm guessing the escallop here would be proper.  Green is an entirely appropriate tincture for the State of Maine. 

The coat of arms of St. Gabriel's Episcopal Church Hollis, NY
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

"Hail Mary, full of grace the LORD is with you," proclaimed the angel Gabriel.  The coat of arms of St. Gabriel's Episcopal Church in Hollis, New York successfully ties together the herald's trumpet with the angel's wings.  I'm still trying to track down, however, if this coat is the attributed and undifferenced version for St. Gabriel.  Regardless, the design works.  My only question is why is there no geographic reference--which leads me to believe these are the attributed arms.  

The coat of arms of the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Barre, Vermont
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025 

Vermont continues to keep things interesting and the coat of arms of the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Barre, VT are quite lovely if not unique to say the least.  These arms were a fun puzzle to solve.

The coat of arms of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (left) and Anderson University (right)
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

In 2021, Anderson University in South Carolina officially adopted a coat of arms as seen above.  The university is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention and I wonder if the bordure was intentional--matching Southern Baptist Theological Seminary's arms.  Either way, I appreciate this thematic approach by our Protestant sisters and brothers.

The coat of arms of St. Paul Seminary (Roman Catholic) in St. Paul, MN
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

The coat of arms of St. Paul Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota carries forward the barry wavy in base which is featured in the arms of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis along with its cathedral, the Basilica of the St. Mary.  Additionally, the seminary's arms avoid the undifferenced and attributed version of arms while providing unique geographic identification as well as unification.  Score!

Recent Finds Part VI

Arms recently found on the web and digitally emblazoned, legend below
by Chad Krouse, 2025

For part six of recent finds, I am sharing a few scholastic coats of arms recently found online.  While I was familiar with the arms of Gilman School and Indiana University, the others were new.  I know I've written before about this point, however, it is a universal truth that the artistic rendering of a given coat can only serve to enhance the beauty and effectiveness where blazonry ends.  The ensigns of the two aforementioned academic institutions never stirred much within me;  I saw those arms as interpreted by the artists who rendered them.  Well, today my mind has changed.  I love the arms of Indiana University (as I interpreted them ha!).  

First Diagonal Row (Top-down):  The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, a coat of arms presently unknown, and Middlesex School;

Second Diagonal Row (Top-down):  The Masters School, University of Indiana, and Gilman School 

The coat of arms of Indiana University
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

In 1962, Indiana University officially adopted a coat of arms designed by Ade Bethune (1914-2002) who immigrated to the US from Belgium and became a highly skilled liturgical artist in the Catholic Church.  The blazon for the arms of Indiana University:  Gules, on a sun in splendor Argent an open book with four clasps edged of the field. 

Coat of Arms unknown at present
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

Loved this design immediately but could not identify it!  One source suggests that these arms are from the US Hospital Auxiliary and used as an award of sorts.  Another source points to the military--the three white stars on a blue field would support that theory.

Blazon:  Argent, on a cross throughout Gules an open booked edged with two clasps Or inscribed Pro Patria et Ecclesia on a chief Azure three mullets of the field.

The coat of arms of Masters School in Dobbs Ferry, NY
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

Rendering the arms of Masters School in Dobbs Ferry, NY was a fun break from some of the more traditional divisions in the field.  A simple and clean coat of arms.  My blazon for the arms of Masters School:  Or, on a triangle throughout void of the field Purpure an open book edged with three clasps Argent thereon inscribed Do It With Thy Might.

The ribbons hanging from the pages are bookmarks and a first for me in rendering them.

The coat of arms of Gilman School in Baltimore, MD
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

Founded in 1897, Gilman School in Baltimore would adopt its coat of arms in 1907, representing an early adopted among US academic institutions before the arms race of the 20th century took off.  Gilman School's coat of arms were designed by faculty member Hamlet S. Philpot who taught Greek, Latin, and history.  The arms are incorporated in the school's seal which has seen a few revisions during its lifetime.  The school's archives present this timeline better that I could, so please click here to see how Gilman School's arms and seal has evolved.