The Arms of Chad Michael Krouse

The arms of Chad Michael Krouse, copyright 2014.

Digital artwork by Steve Cowan, July 2014.

After months, and I mean months, of going back and forth over a design for arms, I finally have resolution. With the careful eye of Canadian heraldic artist, Steve Cowan, we designed the above escutcheon to impart something meaningful about me.  Steve was a treat to work with, and I highly recommend him.  The dogwood flowers, depicted as proper, represent the official flower of the Commonwealth of Virginia--my adopted state.  The Cross of Saint Chad is a pun on my name, as Saint Chad is also my patron saint.  The three bars, barry wavy, reflect my love of the water (especially fishing).  Fishing, my mid-life crisis hobby, was something I wanted to incorporate and had a few designs with fish hooks in saltire.

The Blazon

Arms:  Per chevron Gules and barry wavy Argent and Azure, 

in chief two dogwood flowers (cornus florida) proper and in base a cross of Saint Chad of the first; 

Crest:  On a wreath of Gules and Argent, a Cardinal's head (cardinalis cardinalis) erased clutching in its beak a Madonna lilly (lilium candidum) seeded proper;

Motto:  Ich Mache Recht.

My arms on a lozenge for my daughter.

Painted by Ceilidh Burdick, Ealeroi Studios, July 2014.

For some reason, it's always harder to create something for yourself as opposed to someone else.  Below is a colored pencil drawing of my complete achievement of arms.  I mistakenly opted for azure in the wreath and mantling.  It is blazoned, now, for gules (red).    

Achievement of arms, Chad Michael Krouse.

Colored pencil, by the author.  2014.

Since I had settled on the crest and motto long before the shield, I wanted to make certain that the final design worked in harmony with everything.  I believe this was achieved.  It is interesting to note that a lot of friends (Facebook) thought it looked off balance.  One even went so far as to suggest it looked like a crazy wrestling mask!  So it remains a fundamental truth that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  For prior thoughts on the motto and crest, click here.

Early drafts in colored pencil.

Here's an example of some of the earlier drafts which struggled to incorporate too much stuff.  The medieval canon of heraldry demands a noble simplicity for ease of identification--these miss the mark.  

First draft with shield divided "per chevron."

This next image represents the first time I divided the shield "per chevron" but still cluttered up the chief with three dogwoods.  Moreover, I made a poor attempt to place a charge upon a charge with no real distinction between the two.  This was when I started to see the fish hooks in saltire which do look sharp.  

Again, another bad attempt with the chief, but I rather liked the fish hooks in saltire.  It was a struggle to decide between the Cross of Saint Chad or the fish hooks.  The cross won!  

I'm glad that I went through this lengthy process of give and take.  It afforded me time to really flesh out what I wanted and how I wanted to be identified vis a vis coat armour.  I'm extremely happy with the final design and am ready to proudly display my arms.  

_____________________

Epilogue

It's now 2020, and looking back at this post has been touching, to say the least.  One critical thing to note, here, is that when the first emblazonment was completed, the wrong dogwood flower was used!  Yes, it's wrong!  The heraldic artist lives in Canada and had a Canadian version on his mind, which is completely understandable.  We made a quick update with the appropriate version for Virginia. 

  

Pierre de Chaignon la Rose and the Mystery of Saint Edward's Seminary

 

"Friends of St. Edward State Park"

Pencil, by the author.

As I was searching the web for resources on the heraldic work of Pierre de Chaignon la Rose (1872-1941), I came across a blog post from the Friends of Saint Edward State Park in Kenmore, Washington.  Once upon a time, there was a seminary founded by the Society of Saint Sulpice in the Archdiocese of Seattle. The seminary was dedicated to Saint Edward the Confessor and la Rose was enlisted to devise arms for the school.  Constructed around 1931, the 316-acre property was to house the seminary.  It closed in 1977. Now, the grounds have been turned into a state park and is supported by a group of local citizens.

Through some research, the group identified a drawing for arms executed by la Rose along with a letter, all of which are reportedly held in the archives of the archdiocese.

la Rose's draft shield for Saint Edward's Seminary
Source: Blog Posting of 31 Aug 2013

The blog posting from 31 August 2013 contains the following information from la Rose (the blog post has since been removed, and I'm glad I captured this data):

"Saint Edward himself has a very beautiful coat ascribed him by the medieval heralds-apocryphal, of course, as he lived before the rise of personal heraldry, but still, an actual emblem which he used on his coinage: a cross with five martlets.  This in conjunction with the Sulpician emblem, I shall make the basis of a carefully studied design.

The arms ascribed to Saint Edward by the early heralds consist of a gold cross and five gold 'martlets' on a blue field.  The shapes and arrangement are the same as in my own drawing.  We may not use this coat unaltered, for to do so would imply, heraldically, that St. Edward was the Founder of the Seminary, instead of being simply its Patron.  I have therefore changed the coloring from blue and gold to red and silver - the colors of the diocesan arms. As for St. Edward's cross and martlets, they appear, as I think I told you, on his coins.  The significance of the birds I do not know, nor does anyone else.  In heraldry they are always shown as having no feet visible. 

On the Sulpician 'inescutcheon' you will note the crescent (of the Immaculate Conception) which distinguishes the American house of the society from the French." 

From a letter of Pierre de Chaignon La Rose, 13 February, 1931

That is all that is known about the tinctures.  I wanted to see if I could recreate these arms and bring them to life for the benefit of the friends society.  I took license with the ineschutcheon, opting for azure to represent the Blessed Virgin Mary (which the Sulpician monogram represents) but left the charges all in argent.  I opted to shade this in as silver rather than leaving them stark white.  The banner surrounding the shield can be found in another of La Rose's work, the arms of Rice University.  Since I could not fit in the entire name, "The Friends of Saint Edward State Park," I again used artistic license to get the point across.  I selected the date of 2007, represented by Roman numerals (for the Roman Catholic nature of the place), because this is the date the property was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Comparing the seminary's arms with those attributed to St. Edward the Confessor.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

All in all, I love a challenge and enjoyed this.  While I'll never know if what I drew was correct in la Rose's mind, it doesn't much matter.

I've posted an update regarding these arms which you can read by clicking here.  

The arms of St. Edward's Seminary.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

I have created the following blazon:  Gules, on a cross floury Argent an inescutcheon Azure charged with the Badge of the Society of Saint Sulpice in the United States between five martlets Argent. 

The Arms of The Rev. Alfred Hope Patten

The arms of The Rev. A. Hope Patten as found on his bookplate.

Rendered by Chad Krouse,  2024.

As I was scanning old files on my computer, I came across this photograph of a bookplate belonging to The Rev. Alfred Hope Patten (1885-1958), the English priest who was the man behind the restoration of the Anglican Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham.  I honestly think I got this photograph from a book that was being auctioned off on eBay which explains the quality.  Note the use of two black tassels from the gallero.

Nulla Pallescere Culpa roughly translates to "To turn pale at no crime."

Click here to view my post of the heraldry at the Anglican Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham. 

Heraldry and the like

Crest:  On a wreath a cardinal erased clutching in its beak a lilly seeded proper.
Assumed by the author, 1 June 2014.

Ever since my days as a student at Hampden-Sydney College, I have had a fascination with the subject of heraldry.  More specifically, I love the meaningful display of symbols which layers the history and stories of the person or corporation bearing those arms.  Hampden-Sydney received an honorary grant of arms from the College of Arms in London in 1976 as part of the college's bicentennial celebrations.  The heralds executed an attractive blazon which bears the symbols of both John Hampden and Algernon Sydney, for which the college is named.  Staring at these arms for four years made me curious to learn more about the arcane subject of heraldry.

I drew the crest above as part of my own assumption of arms.  Since there is no legal arms granting body in the US, any person who wishes to bear arms can and may do so--much like the medieval times.  I chose the cardinal as it represents the state of my birth (West Virginia) and my adopted home state (Virginia).  The cardinal, surprisingly, makes few appearances on coat amour and mainly in North America.  Personally, I find the cardinal to be quite noble.

Arms of the City of Fredericksburg, Virginia

Arms of Prince George County, Virginia

Arms of the Senate of Virginia

The lilly is a representation of my devotion to Our Lady of Walsingham and can be found in the grant of arms to the College of Guardians of the Holy House (Walsingham).

Arms of the Sanctuary School which features the shield referenced above.

The actual grant of arms to the College of Guardians by the College of Arms in London.

Detail of the Holy House which can be found in the canton azure.

Finally, the motto.  I had three criteria for this: 1) must be deeply meaningful, 2) must be original, and 3) must be in German.  Since I fancy "all things English," and knowing that my armorial bearings would reflect this, I wanted to ensure that Krouse-German heritage was honored.  "Ich Mache Recht," or simply "I make right," was the end result.  I could have an entire post on the deeply meaningful statement of how I make things right in my life.  I'll spare the reader.  I'm very happy with the design of the crest and its representation of me.  Now, if only I could come to some agreement on the blazon of the shield.  More to come.