Lilies and Swords

Arms of St. Joseph's Academy, St. Paul, MN.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

In 1851, the Sisters of St. Joseph established St. Joseph's Academy in St. Paul, MN and would later enlist Pierre de Chaignon la Rose (1872-1941) to design a proper coat of arms for the school.  Created in 1927, la Rose blazoned the arms:  Azure, a semme of Madonna lilies Argent, on a sword in pale Or with hilt in base, an open book edged with two clasps Or inscribed Suboles Doctrinae Pietas (“Reverence, Scion of Scholarship”). 

A library print of the Academy's arms from St. Joseph Academy (1971).
From the Author's private collection.

I remember well when I stumbled upon these arms years ago, utterly fascinated by la Rose's semme work with the lilies.  A striking design for the Sister's school.

Learning how to recreate la Rose's design in vector format presented some challenges.  The library print above was my only guide and I struggled to figure out how to make the semme of lilies work.    After learning what a "clipping mask," is and how to use it, bam we have semme!  

The design incorporates the lilies to reference the Sisters of St. Joseph, and the sword in pale geographically locates the academic institution in St. Paul, MN.  Simple, clear, and perspicuous heraldry at its finest.  La Rose's ability to abstractly illustrate multiple data points in one harmonious design is truly his gift to US corporate heraldry--setting a standard without the need for quartered arms littered with multiple charges as so often seems to be the case in scholastic heraldry.

I simply love this design.

Works Cited

St. Joseph Academy. (1971).  School of happy memories: A pictorial history 1851-1971.  Privately printed.

Lecture Notice

Free virtual lecture announcement!!!

Mark your calendars for Thursday, October 17th at 7:00 p.m. (Eastern) for a free virtual lecture sponsored by the American Heraldry Society.  

To register for this program, please click here for the American Heraldry Society's registration page.

I'll be presenting--for the first time--one of my favorite themes from my research on Pierre de Chaignon la Rose (1872-1941), his use of the phoenix rising from its flames.  We'll cover both some scholastic and ecclesiastical heraldry.  I promise to make this exciting and captivating so log on and join us!

Mission Digital: Preserving Arms From the Past

The arms of St. Edward Seminary (now closed) designed by
Pierre de Chaignon la Rose.
Rendered now in vector format by Chad Krouse, 2024.

As I continue to learn and grow in the new world of digital heraldry, I'm embracing a new purpose.  My mission:  to preserve coats of arms from various US corporate bodies that either no longer exist or extremely difficult to find.  This new idea isn't really new for me, most of my heraldic research on Pierre de Chaignon la Rose (1872-1941) has uncovered numerous armorial ensigns that have seemingly been lost to history.  In many cases with la Rose's work, some of his designs have never seen color much less rendered in digital form.  To read one such example, please click here to learn about the arms of St. Edward Seminary.

My new purpose also helps as I continue to present various case studies on US corporate arms--having nicely rendered arms adds tremendous value in telling the stories behind the designs.

Arms of the Foreign Mission Sisters of St. Dominic,
designed by John Nainfa and Pierre de Chaignon la Rose.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

The arms of the Catholic Students' Mission Crusade,
designed by Pierre de Chaignon la Rose.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

The arms of the Catholic University of America,
designed by Pierre de Chaignon la Rose.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

The arms of the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine,
designed by Pierre de Chaignon la Rose.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

While I've previously covered the arms for the Foreign Mission Sisters of St. Dominic, Catholic Students' Mission Crusade, the Catholic University of America, and the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, I wanted another shot at reworking the designs in vector and truly give them justice.  Please click here to read my previous analysis on these arms.

The arms of Lenox School (now closed),
designed by Pierre de Chaignon la Rose.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024

I also wanted to rework the arms of Lenox School, mainly the open and inscribed book.  Click here to read more about the arms of Lenox School.

Arms of the Gallery of Living Catholic Authors,
designed by Pierre de Chaignon la Rose.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

The arms of the Gallery of Living Catholic Authors is another coat I believe has never been digitally rendered before, as I discovered it buried deep in an archives.  I've written previously about this unique design created by la Rose, but now I've finally rendered these arms in vector format.  These arms are among my favorite designed by la Rose.  

And now some fresh emblazonments of old coats of arms.

The arms of Rich's Department Store (now closed),
devised by the College of Arms.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

Perhaps one of the most unusual arms I've encountered coming from London, the arms devised in 1966 for Rich's Incorporated, formerly a major department store located in Atlanta, Georgia.  Based on my research, Rich's arms represent the only US-commercial body to have petitioned the College of Arms for a devisal of arms.  The retailer merged with what is now Macy's.   

The arms of Georgia State College (now university)
devised by the College of Arms.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

Georgia State College (now a university), located in Atlanta, Georgia, was the first US academic institution to receive a devisal of arms from the College of London following the Earl Marshal's change in the early 1960s.  The university, as far as I can tell, still use their arms within a seal matrix for its legal mark.  I don't see any use of the arms for decoration, etc.  I wanted to digitally render these arms in vector format as part of my mission to preserve the design for future generations of scholars. 

The coat of arms of Winthrop College (now university)
devised by the College of Arms.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

Next up, we have the rather lovely and simple arms of Winthrop College (now a university) located in Rock Hill, South Carolina.  Sadly, the university no longer uses these arms in favor of design and thus I wanted to ensure their preservation by digitally rendering them.  I've not encountered a digital version in the wilds of the Internet.

The coat of arms of Kent School,
devised by the College of Arms.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

Finding a decent rendering of the Kent School's coat of arms has become virtually impossible, and I knew I wanted to help change that.  Located in Kent, Connecticut, the Kent School's arms were originally designed in late 1920s and used a black engrailed fess with a gold fretty.  To celebrate the school's centenary, it received a devisal of arms from the College of Arms as seen above.  Black became blue!   

The arms of Roxbury Latin School,
granted by the College of Arms.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

I encountered the same issue when trying to find a good emblazonment of the arms for Roxbury Latin School in Massachusetts.  The school, given its pre-Indepedence founding date, received an actual grant of arms from London.  Their lovely and simple.

Arms of the Mescalero Apache Tribe devised by the College of Arms.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

File these arms under "extremely rare."  The arms of the Mescalero Apache Tribe represent the only known design of arms for a first nations corporate body in the US.  The tribe received a devisal of arms from the College of Arms in 1986.  I may be wrong here and more research will be needed.  The arms are simple and likely represent important Apache symbols.  I'd love to get my hands on the official blazon.

Arms of the American Society of the Order of Saint John,
granted by the College of Arms.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

Before the US Priory of the Order of St. John was elevated to a priory, the organization existed as the American Society of the Order of St. John.  Granted by the College of Arms and conveyed by letters patent dated 24 May 1988, the arms are blazoned:  Gules, a cross Argent in the first quarter the Royal Crest proper and on the cross a Bald Eagle displayed proper.

Following the Society's elevation to a priory, the organization would receive a new grant from the College in 1996. 

The arms of Tift College (now closed),
designed by Col. Harry D. Temple.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

And finally, for now, we have the first digitally rendered arms of Tift College in Georgia which has since closed.  The arms were designed by Col. Harry D. Temple (1911-2004) and I've written about these previously.  Please click here to learn more about Tift College's coat of arms.

The arms of Stanford University designed by
Stanford Professor Eric Hutchinson.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

Stanford Chemistry Professor, Dr. Eric Hutchinson (1920-2005), created the "red frond" for Stanford University's heraldry in 1967 to serve as the unifying charge for the arms of Stanford's foundations.  Click here to view Doty's (1996) article on the heraldry of Stanford. 

More arms are in the works, but for now, please enjoy!

Finding Notre Dame

The arms of the University of Notre Dame
designed by Pierre de Chaignon la Rose.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024. 

For the longest time I've been frustrated by the fact that no decent digital emblazonment of Notre Dame's arms existed...until now.  These arms were among the early designs that I completed using vector format. Designed in 1930 by Pierre de Chaignon la Rose (1872-1941), the arms for the University of Notre Dame located in South Bend, Indiana are somewhat iconic in my opinion.  

Blazon for the arms of the University of Notre Dame:  Azure, issuing from a lake barry wavy Azure and Argent, a passion cross charged with an open book edged Or thereon inscribed VITA DULCEDO SPES, and in dexter canton a six pointed star Argent.

A souvenir found on eBay. 

The university's arms set within a gothic quatrefoil and most likely 
rendered by la Rose himself.

Banner of arms of the University of Notre Dame.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

So, now we have la Rose's beautiful, simple, and clear arms for the University of Notre Dame.