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. 

Recent Finds Part V

US civic coats of arms discovered on the Internet (legend below)
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025
Click image to enlarge

In the ongoing "recent finds series," I've decidedly gone in a new direction in search of US civic coats of arms to render and share.  I was rather surprised by the number of arms used by cities in Rhode Island, and I may need to devote a whole post to those designs.

Top Row (L-R):  City of Austin (TX), City of Saco (ME), and Warwick (RI)

Middle Row (L-R):  Crozet Civic Association (VA), Smithfield (RI), and Warren (RI)

Bottom Row (L-R):  Lincoln, North Providence, and Tiverton (all RI)

Arms of the City of Austin, TX
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

I had no idea that the City of Austin used arms, and rather simple ones too.  While the overall design incorporates colors/elements from the state flag of Texas, I believe the gold lamp is a reference to the city being a seat of learning with UT Austin located there.  

Arms of Crozet Civic Association (Crozet, VA)
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

Quite literally in my backyard, the Crozet Civic Association adopted the arms of Crozet for which the town near Charlottesville is named for in 1996.  The arms are simple and lovely.  Read more about these arms by clicking here.

Arms of the City of Saco, ME
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

The arms of Saco, Maine are also simple and lovely, incorporating the chevron from the state's namesake Sir Fernado Gorges, and pinecones from the evergreen tree emblazoned on the state's arms.

Arms of Lincoln, RI
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

Lastly, I want to highlight the arms from Lincoln, Rhode Island which incorporate in base the cross of St. George and fleur-de-lis from its namesake Lincoln in England.  I've been there!  The chief provides the differencing by incorporating an axe to play on Abraham Lincoln.

Imagined: The Presiding Bishop's Insignia

The seal of the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

Adopted during its 1946 General Convention, the Episcopal Church incorporated its arms (adopted in 1940) into a vesica seal shape for the sole use of the Presiding Bishop.  Rendering this design was quite the challenge, but fun nonetheless.

Imagined arms for the Presiding Bishop in a traditional arrangement
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

Naturally, I went one step further.  Earlier in his renderings of arms for Roman Catholic bishops, Pierre de Chaignon la Rose (1872-1941) placed a miter on the right and crozier on left immediately above the shield.

The pastoral staff of the Presiding Bishop
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

Additionally, what if the two bar metropolitan's staff was recreated and used in place of a crozier?

An imagined version of arms for the Presiding Bishop
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

Another imagined version of arms for the Presiding Bishop
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

I thought each had their merits, but my favorite one has the key and pastoral staff in saltire behind the arms.   Either way, it's fun to play around and try out new ideas--even if they're just imaginary.  

Against 'Armorial Amnesia'

Heraldic abstraction of the Milwaukee Pierhead Lighthouse
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

Armorial amnesia /noun/: institutional forgetfulness or rejection of their armorial insignia for corporate identification often at the expense of modern branding.

Example:  St. Bart's has the worst case of armorial amnesia I've seen in my life, the new logo approved by the vestry gives a solidly corporate and benign feeling as opposed to the parish's coat of arms used for so long.  

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Everything has its own cycle of life.  Trees.  Ants.  And us humans, of course.  Organizations, believe it or not, also have their own life cycle--a never-ending merry go 'round of death and resurrection.  I find that organizational cycles have variable speeds when it comes to most non-profits.  Volunteer-led groups, perhaps, are the most susceptible to painful downs when leaders depart and experience dramatic highs when fresh faces appear at the table.  

One casualty of the organizational life cycle is the slow and steady decline of institutional memory.  What do I mean by institutional memory?  It is quite simply the collective experiences of the organization through multiple life cycles, bearing scars and all. 

Just as the lighthouse gives advanced warning to ships at sea, organizations whose lifecycles spin continuously are at a significant risk of losing their history and/or identity.  Or, perhaps worst of all, institutions believing their identification is tied to something outdated like a coat of arms seek a more modern solution and reject their past.  

Preservation of design is my goal, especially in the absence of any other body maintaining a database of US corporate heraldry.  Recently, I was put to the test with a coat of arms from a now closed Episcopal Church.

Line art of the coat of arms of St. James' Episcopal Church (Milwaukee, WI)
Image from Dekay (1993), page 141

St. James' was established in 1867 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and constructed in the gothic revival style.  By 2017, the parish property was sold and is now being used as a meeting venue.  All attempts to discover any information on these arms via the internet proved fruitless.  

Dekay (1993) provides a line art drawing for St. James' arms.  I am most grateful for this clue even if there was no blazon provided in the work.  Without hatch marks or any colored image of St. James' arms, speculation based on known evidence is our course in recreating these arms for preservation.

First, let's begin with the base of these arms, a trimount, lighthouse, sun, and barry wavy lines.

Milwaukee Pierhead Lighthouse in Milwaukee, WI
Photo from dnr.wisconsin.gov

Given the city's location next to Lake Michigan provides a reasonable rationale for the barry wavy lines, so I logically selected blue and white.  I began to see that the base design was most likely meant for geographical identification which led me to understand the next element, the lighthouse.

A quick internet search revealed two lighthouses in the Milwaukee area, with the closer one being the Pierhead Lighthouse in red and black--the other was all white.  Believing that the Pierhead lighthouse better conformed to heraldic rules of tincture, I selected this one to recreate.  Typically, trimounts in base are rendered as a metal and white became the logical solution working perfectly with the red and black lighthouse.

The sun placed behind the lighthouse would be rendered in its proper colors.  So, now we turn to the chief.

Attributed arms of St. James
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025.

Dorling (1911) describes the attributed arms to St. James as: Azure, three escallops Or (p 140).  So, if the designer of the parish's coat of arms was a purist, blue might be the color of the chief and gold for shells.  However, there is another option which is equally attractive and works within our proposed scheme for the base.  

Using a red chief with white shells would provide differencing and at the same time create something unique for parish identification.  Below is an illustration to better understand what I mean here.

Comparing the color and metal of the arms' chief.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

I do believe that any one of these four could work, each presenting artistic benefits for identification.  However, we have to make some sort of guess.

The coat of arms of St. James' Episcopal Church (Milwaukee, WI)
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

My first instinct was to believe the chief was red and the shells white so as to provide contrast against the barry wavy lines while drawing out the red from the lighthouse.

Another reasonable option for the arms of St. James' Episcopal Church
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2025

However, the more I think about the options, I'm now of mind to go with the blue chief and gold shells.  Again, without a blazon at present its truly anyone's guess.  

I'll continue to see what I can find out about these lovely arms to settle the matter of its blazon.  Which do you prefer?

Works Cited

Dekay, Ekford. (1993).  Heraldry in the Episcopal Church.  Acorn Publishing.

Dorling, E.E. (1911).  Heraldry of the church.  Mowbray Publishing.