Cram's Scholastic Heraldry

The arms of Groton School.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

The father of "collegiate gothic" architecture, Ralph Adams Cram (1863-1942) received a lot notoriety for his depth of knowledge regarding the art and science of heraldry but rarely do we see specific examples of his armorial designs rendered for US corporate bodies.  

The earliest known scholastic coat of arms designed by Cram are those of the Groton School located in Groton, Massachusetts.  According to Groton School (2009), the arms were unveiled in 1902 and blazoned:  Argent, on a cross Gules a sword with point to base hilt enfiling a crown Argent on a chief Sable three open books edged with two clasps Argent.

In my rendering above, I wanted to solve one problem I kept seeing in various emblazonments of Groton's arms, namely that the crown tends to get lost with the sword's hilt when everything is kept white.  By using various shades of white to silver for the sword's hilt and pommel, the crown is able to pop and become more evident in arms.  

The arms of Wellesley College.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

Following a devastating fire in 1914 on the Massachusetts campus of Wellesley College, Cram was commissioned to help rebuild the charred grounds.  According to Wellesley College (1918) we learn about how the college's arms came to be:

"During various discussions that occurred with Messrs. Day & Klauder and other architects the desire was often expressed that the College should have a coat-of-arms. Mr. Day called attention to the fact that the seal of a college should not be used as a heraldic device on buildings. It was Mr. Davenport of the Board of Trustees who became interested in securing a coat-of-arms for the College, and asked the privilege of taking the initiative in the matter.  On consultation with Mr. Cram, Mr. Davenport asked Mr. William T. Aldrich of Boston to prepare a coat- of-arms for the College. Various designs were considered, and finally in June, 1917, he presented to the Trustees a coat- of-arms which had been prepared by Mr. Aldrich and approved by Mr. Cram. This design was accepted as the coat- of-arms of Wellesley College. The heraldic reading is as follows: 

Blazon: Azure, on an open ancient book the words "Incipit Vita Nova" on a chief Or, a cross crosslet of the field between two fountains" (pp 21-22).

Contemporary emblazonments of Wellesley's arms show five clasps on the open and inscribed book, and for this reason I added clasps to my rendering above.  The official blazon noted in Wellesley (1918) does not have have clasps on the book.

So, while Cram did not design Wellesley College's arms, he "approved" them.  I included these arms simply because it was important enough for the college to mention Cram's nod to the design and thus relevant to our discussion regarding his scholastic heraldry.

William T. Aldrich (1880-1966) was an architect in Boston who was later commissioned in the 1930s by Wellesley College to design a sports center.  At the moment I cannot find any other heraldic designs by Aldrich.  Perhaps Wellesley's was a one-off? 

The arms of Rollins College.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

The coat of arms of Rollins College is the other known work in scholastic heraldry by Cram.  Rollins College, located in Winter Park, Florida, was established in 1885 by the Congregational Church.  Zang (2019) notes that the college adopted Cram's design in 1933 and adds: 

"[Rollins' coat of arms] carries a blue St. Andrew’s cross on a gold shield. In addition to the college motto in Latin, it also incorporates the key elements of a rising sun and cascading water below from the College Seal. The two swords emblazoned on the cross were taken from the Coat of Arms of the family of Alonzo Rollins (1832-1887), the initial donor of the College. The book above the cross is a symbol of knowledge, and the emblem below designates a natural spring as a representation of Ponce de Leon’s famous Fountain of Youth." 

The arms of Rollins College are blazoned:  Or, on a cross saltire Azure two swords in saltire Argent pommel and hilt Or between in chief an open book with two clasps proper and a fountain in base

Should more examples of Cram's designs in scholastic heraldry come to light, I'll promptly update this article.

Works Cited

Groton School. (2009). Groton School Quarterly, LXXI, 3, p.3

https://issuu.com/grotonschool/docs/quarterly_2009_fall/4

Wellesley College. (1918 December).  Annual reports of the President and Treasurer of Wellesley College 1916-1918, series 7, no. 6.  

https://www.google.com/books/edition/Annual_Reports_of_the_President_and_Trea/odgiAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Annual+Reports+of+the+President+and+Treasurer+of+Wellesley+College+1916-1918&pg=PP7&printsec=frontcover  

Zang, W. (2019). Branding Rollins: A brief history of college logos and other institutional symbols. Rollins Archives.  

https://blogs.rollins.edu/libraryarchives/2019/05/29/branding-rollins-a-brief-history-of-college-logos-and-other-institutional-symbols/

More Designs by Temple

My variation for a seal with the arms of the City of Fredericksburg
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

In 1971, Temple's (1911-2004) armorial design for the City of Fredericksburg, Virginia was officially adopted by the city.  Packed with meaning and references for Fredericksburg, Temple's design is blazoned:  Argent, on a cross saltire Azure two ostrich feathers in saltire Or on an ineschuteon Gules the crown of Charlemagne Or.  

The arms of Tift College in Forsyth, Georgia.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

The design of arms Temple devised for Tift College which was located in Forsyth, Georgia was adopted by the school in 1965 (Stone, 1969, p.173).  Tift College merged in 1986 with Mercer College and thus these arms are no longer extant. 

Earlier this year, I wrote about Tift College's arms as I had finally located an official blazon; click here to read about Temple's design of arms for Tift College.   

The blazon of arms for Tift College is: Argent, a cross Sable with a maltese cross of the first, on a chief Azure three roses Or barbed Vert (Tift, 1967, p.107).

Concept of using St. Augustine Parish's arms in a wafer-style seal.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

The arms of St. Augustine's Parish in Maryland were covered in my previously article on Temple's design; without hard evidence its entirely likely that Temple created these arms.  I've sent correspondence to Augustine Parish inquiring about design information for their coat of arms which I rendered above and placed within a gothic quatrefoil seal--really to give the parish something for their time and assistance with my research request.

The arms of St. Peter's Cathedral in Helena, Montana.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024. 

Dekay (1993) provides both the blazon and design rationale for the arms of St. Peter's Cathedral in Helena Montana; however no designer is named.  Based on the illustration in DeKay (1993) this coat is highly suspicious in that Temple most likely designed the cathedral's arms.  The line dancetty abstractly refers to the Rocky Mountains, the gold base comes from the arms of the first bishop of the Diocese of Montana, and the black cross patee honors the first vicar of St. Peter's.  I will send the cathedral a request for design information in the coming days.

Blazon for the arms of St. Peter's Cathedral in Helena, Montana:  Per fess dancetty Azure and Or in chief a civic crown Argent charged with two keys in saltire Gules in a base a cross patee Sable (DeKay, 1993, p.109).

The arms of the Cathedral of St. Luke in Orlando, Florida.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

The arms of the Cathedral of St. Luke located in Orlando, Florida is another design likely created by Temple.  I happened upon these arms randomly and the canton immediately raised an eye brow towards Temple.  While I cannot locate a design rationale, the white canton and red cross saltire makes a clear reference to Florida's flag and the fleam is often attributed as a charge for St. Luke the "surgeon."  I rather like this simple design.

Blazon for the arms of the Cathedral of St. Luke in Orlando, Florida:  Pean, on a canton Argent a cross saltire Gules charged with a fleam Or.

The arms of the Cathedral Church of St. James in South Bend, Indiana.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

Dekay (1993) credits Temple for designing the arms for the Cathedral Church of St. James in South Bend, Indiana blazoned:  Azure, three bendlets Or on a canton Gules an escallop Argent (p.112).  The escallop is an attributed charge for St. James the Greater while the three gold lines mimic the waters left in the wake of St. James' missionary travels by ship.  I also like this simple design.

One thing remains clear, Temple loved a canton and he utilized them well. 

Works Cited

Dekay, E. (1993).  Heraldry in the Episcopal Church.  Acorn Press.

Stone, E.W. (1969).  Yesterday at Tift.  Foote & Davies.

Tift College (1967).  Chiaroscuro [yearbook].  The Chiaroscuro Collections, Special Collections and University Archives, Mercer University, Macon, GA.  http://hdl.handle.net/10898/10928 

Temple's Ecclesiastical Heraldry

Anchored by the arms of the Episcopal Church, select ecclesiastical arms
designed by Col. Harry D. Temple.  Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

After emblazoning several designs created by Col. Harry D. Temple (1911-2004), I've admittedly become smitten with his work in scholastic, civic, and ecclesiastical heraldry.  As head of the US Army's Institute of Heraldry, Temple naturally devised a lot of military heraldry but I have little interest there. 

The researcher in me has already started a "Temple Roll of Arms" to begin collecting data on Temple's non-military designs, and I easily gathered 20 so far.  I know more exist.  Challenge accepted!

From what I gather based on my data so far, Temple's ecclesiastical work was mainly within the Episcopal Church and primarily designing arms for cathedrals and parishes.  However, there are at least two designs for Episcopal dioceses--Dioceses of Virginia and Georgia.  

The arms of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

Dekay (1993) cites Temple desiging the arms for the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia in 1971, blazoned:  Sable, three lymphads Or, on a chief Argent a cross Gules.  His simple design for the diocese ties together Virginia's settlement of Jamestown through the ships as well as its Anglican heritage with the chief of St. George.  Again, lovely and simple.  

The arms of the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

Temple's design for the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia was adopted by the see in 1971 and blazoned: Azure, on a bend engrailed Or cottised Argent, a boar's head couped Gules armed Argent and langued Azure between two roses Argent seeded and barbed Or.

The following design rationale comes from the Diocese of Georgia's Archives:

"The symbolism and description in modern language is this: The wide wavy-edged diagonal band is gold and is taken from the Elliott coat of arms in honor of the Right Reverend Stephen Elliott, the first bishop of Georgia. The two thin parallel stripes are of silver and are memorials to Dr. Thomas Bray, to whom the Episcopal Church in Georgia traces its beginning, and Dr. Henry Herbert, the first English priest in Georgia.

The boar’s head is from the arms of General James Oglethorpe, who brought the Church of England to Georgia in 1733. It is colored red.

The two roses, whose petals are silver with sepals and pistils of gold, symbolize the Church’s service to Georgia – the Cherokee rose is the State flower.

The rose at the upper right represents the Diocese of Georgia of the Episcopal Church in the United States, while the one at the lower left memorializes the Diocese of Georgia of the Episcopal Church of the Confederate States of America."

The arms of Trinity Cathedral in Phoenix, Arizona.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

Temple virtually cornered the market devising arms for cathedrals in the Episcopal Church and set the standard for placing a mace and crozier in saltire behind his armorial designs for cathedrals.   One source I saw recently attributes Temple for designing 32 coats of arms for Episcopal cathedrals.  I've recently emblazoned a few and included below, selected purely based on my biased opinions.

Temple cleverly employed gyronny in the base of arms for Trinity Cathedral in Phoenix, Arizona to mimic the state's flag--both in design and colors yielding geographic identification.  Employing three cross-crosslet fitchy provides a fitting number for the Holy Trinity.  Dekay (1993) notes that Trinity became the cathedral for the Diocese of Arizona in 1988 and thus these arms were likely created around that time with the following blazon:  Gyronny of twelve Or and Gules, on a chief Azure three crosses-crosslet fitchy Argent.

The arms of Christ Church Cathedral in Louisville, Kentucky.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

In Temple's design for the arms of Christ Church Cathedral in Louisville, Kentucky we see a similar scheme used as in the arms for the Diocese of Virginia--still simple and clear however.  The chief readily identifies the Anglican nature of the institution while three golden fleurs-de-lis honor the city's namesake with charges from the French royal arms.  The ineschuteon at the honor point narrows the identification by abstractly illustrating the monogram for Jesus Christ with a red coronet for Christ's kingship and crucifixion, according to Dekay (1993).

Blazon for the arms of Christ Church Cathedral in Louisville, Kentucky:  Azure, three fleurs-de-lis Or, on a chief Argent a cross Gules in honor point an ineschuteon Or charged with a Chi-Rho Sable enfiling a coronet Gules. 

The arms of Trinity Cathedral in Trenton, New Jersey.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

For Trinity Cathedral's coat of arms, Temple leaned into local history by incorporating barry wavy lines to reference George Washington crossing the Delaware River prior to the Battle of Trenton during the Revolutionary War.  Dekay (1993) adds that the three celestial crowns refer to the cathedral's merger of All Saints' Parish and Trinity Parish in order to form the present cathedral community.  The star is a reference to the state of New Jersey.

The blazon for the arms of Trinity Cathedral in Trenton, New Jersey:  Sable, on a chevron barry wavy Argent and Azure fimbriated Or a mullet Or between three celestial crowns Or.

The arms of Trinity Cathedral (Episcopal) in Easton, Maryland.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

Here is another of Temple's cathedral designs, the arms of Trinity Cathedral seat of the Bishop of the Diocese of Easton in Maryland.  It is important to note that the diocese itself does not bear arms but rather uses a simple seal, thus providing some challenges for any heraldic designer.  The canton--and ducal coronet--makes a clear reference to the Lord Baltimore's arms thus placing the owner in Maryland. 

Dekay (1993) gives the blazon for the arms of Trinity Cathedral in Easton, Maryland as:  Argent, on a chevron Gules three ducal coronets Or in base a cross patonce Sable, a canton paly Or and Sable with a bend counterchanged.

The arms of St. Augustine's Parish in Chesapeake City, Maryland.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

In Temple's design for an Episcopal parish located in the Diocese of Easton, we find the same canton illustrating unification of parish to the ordinary's cathedra.  At the moment I do not have definitive evidence of Temple's hand in designing St. Augustine's arms, but I'm willing to bet given the use of the canton in both arms, which in the parish's case also references the gift of land by Lord Baltimore.  As always, I'll be in contact with the parish to see what evidence is available and update this post as necessary.

From Augustine Parish website:

"St. Augustine Church, originally called the Manor Chapel, was one of the 30 churches paying tithes to the Bishop of London in 1690. It was the place of worship for the early settlers of Bohemia Manor, an estate of several thousand acres granted to Augustine Herman by Lord Baltimore in 1660 for surveying and mapping Maryland environs.  Herman, who was born in Prague in the early part of the seventeenth century, came to America to seek is fortune. He subsequently became the first naturalized citizen of the colony and a prominent historical figure in Maryland." 

Blazon of the arms of St. Augustine's Parish in Chesapeake City, Maryland: Per fess Argent and Vert in base two arrows in saltire points up Argent surmounted by a winged spur Or a canton paly Or and Sable with a bend counterchanged.

The retired arms of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Richmond, Virginia.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

Lastly, I want to highlight one of Temple's most controversial designs for arms which became newsworthy in 2015.  St. Paul's Episcopal Church in downtown Richmond, Virginia was known as "the cathedral of the Confederacy."  According to Graham (2023), St. Paul's accepted Temple's design in 1967, the arms blazoned:  Azure, cursily Or a sword palewise Argent hilted and pommelled Or, on a canton Gules fimbriated Argent a saltire Azure fimbriated Argent charged with a mullet Or.

The rationale is fairly clear:  the blue field and gold cross-crosslets reference the arms of the Episcopal Church while the sword in pale is associated with St. Paul.  The canton, however, is where things get messy and abstractly mimics the battle flag of the Army of Northern Virginia.  The canton likely is a tribute to the parish's role as a house of prayer during the Civil War.  

By 2015, our society began an awakening through Black Lives Matter and many organizations began taking stock of names and symbols that exclude others.  St. Paul's began cleaning house and Temple's design of arms for the parish were quickly retired.  I will say that I do find the design simple and beautiful.  I chose to render the arms for sake of preservation in future studies of American heraldry.  Otherwise, I'm afraid, this design would be effectively erased.  

Having gone back through this post while adding several more of Temple's designs than originally planned, I must admit my visual delight in seeing his work rendered digitally in full color.  It does appear that cantons, ineschuteons, and chiefs are Temple's "go-to" in many of his heraldic designs.  Regardless, I am completely a Temple fan now and can't wait to explore and find more of his work.

Works Cited

Dekay, E. (1993).  Heraldry in the Episcopal Church.  Acorn Press.

Graham, C.A. (2023). Faith, race, and the Lost Cause: Confessions of a southern church.  University of Virginia Press.

The Arms of Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets

Arms of the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

As a follow up from my previous posting regarding the arms of the Virginia Military Institute (VMI), I want to share another Virginian collegiate-military coat of arms from Virginia Tech's Corps of Cadets.  The Corps of Cadets is a military component of Virginia Tech, a public university located in Blacksburg.  Established in 1872, the Corps of Cadets sport a rather simple and pleasant coat of arms.  

Col. Harry D. Temple (1911-2004) from the US Army Institute of Heraldry not only designed VMI's arms but also those of his alma mater, Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets.  

Designed in 1965, the Corps arms are blazoned:  Ermine, on a pale Gules a sword point upward Argent, pommel and hilt Or.

Armorial flag of the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

Through Temple's design for Virginia Tech, we see the sword in pale used to identify the bearer as military--the same scheme he used earlier in 1961 for VMI's coat of arms.  I appreciate and admire Temple's desire to maintain consistency in charges for identification, as I believe when viewing all arms with the associated charge makes a powerful constant in a designer's armorial.  

L-R: Arms of VMI and Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets both designed
by Col. Harry D. Temple.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

Seeing the two sets of arms above, I believe, furthers my argument.  Click on the label below "Harry D. Temple" to see his other designs covered.