Portal:Heraldry/DYK Archive

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< Portal:Heraldry

The following have appeared on the Heraldry and Vexillology portal as part of the "Did you know" series:

1 May 2006
2 June 2006
3 July 2006
4 August-September 2006
5 October 2006
6 November 2006
7 December 2006-January 2007
8 February 2007
9 March 2007
10 April 2007
11 June-July 2007
12 August 2007
13 September 2007
14 December 2007
15 January 2008
16 February 2008
17 April 2008
18 May 2008

[edit] May 2006

Adam Bruce, Finlaggan Pursuivant

...that President Lyndon Johnson was granted a coat of arms by the American College of Heraldry and Arms in 1968?
...that British officer of arms Sir William Henry Weldon was the owner of a circus?
...that the Canadian Heraldic Authority was established by Queen Elizabeth in 1988?
...that several Scottish noble families retain private officers of arms (pictured)?

[edit] June 2006

...Rodney Dennys left his career in the British intelligence service to become an officer of arms?
...The Ypotryll has the head of a boar, the body of a camel, the legs and hooves of a goat and the tail of a serpent?

Thornbury Castle

...During World War II the records of the College of Arms were stored in Thornbury Castle (pictured), home of Sir Algar Howard, Norroy and Ulster King of Arms?
...that Johannes Rietstap was the founder of modern heraldic theory in The Netherlands?

[edit] July 2006

...Rodney Dennys left his career in the British intelligence service to become an officer of arms?

Coat of arms of Greenland

...The coat of arms of Greenland (pictured) depicts a polar bear raising its left forepaw, breaking with the heraldic tradition of showing the right forepaw raised, because polar bears are left-handed?
...In almost 100 years of existence, Ireland King of Arms granted only three coats of arms?
...The horseman depicted on the coat of arms of Moscow was not identified with Saint George until the 18th century?

[edit] August-September 2006

Coat of arms of Schleswig-Holstein

...that in the coat of arms of Schleswig-Holstein (pictured) the lions in the Schleswig arms allegedly face the right because Otto von Bismarck thought it impolite for them to turn their backs on Holstein?
...that Charles St Clair, 17th Lord Sinclair was both York Herald and a Scottish Peer, so he could attend the State Opening of Parliament in either capacity?
...that Henry Lane was appointed Bluemantle Pursuivant at the age of 15?
...that British paediatrician June Lloyd, Baroness Lloyd of Highbury is commemorated by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health as one of the supporters in their coat of arms ?

[edit] October 2006

Flag of Lesotho

...that Lesotho has adopted a new flag (pictured) to celebrate the 40th anniversary of its independence?
...that the novel The Heralds follows the exploits of fictional members of the College of Arms as they vie to be the next Garter Principal King of Arms?
...that the United States federal and state governments do not employ coats of arms, but have chosen to use seals as their official emblems?
...that James Terry was an Irish officer of arms who remained faithful to James II of England after his escape to the European continent?
...that a bumerke is a house mark with relation to coats of arms as it was frequently used instead of them and used with a shield as a frame work for the mark?

[edit] November 2006

Flag of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

...that the ordinances of the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania define a civic flag (pictured), an ensign, a pennant and a streamer?
...that the Canadian Heraldic Authority has recently appointed three new Heralds Extraordinary – Albion, Capilano and Rouge?
...that the "four moors" which appear on the Flag of Sardinia have been associated with the island since the 14th century?
...that the Alphyn, a rare heraldic creature, was the badge of the Barons de La Warr?

[edit] December 2006-January 2007

Flag of Trondheim

...that John Anstis became Garter Principal King of Arms in 1718, after trying for almost a decade to get the appointment?
...that the Karavas were the only Sri Lankan community traditionally entitled to use flags?
...that the Norwegian heraldic authority forbade any other municipality to use the rose which appears on the Flag of Trondheim (pictured), because of the symbol's long association with that city?
...that the Samara flag, presented as a gift from Russia to the Bulgarian volunteers in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78, is the only flag awarded a Bulgarian Medal for Bravery?

[edit] February 2007

Coat of arms of Lardal

...that the coat of arms of Lardal (pictured) in Norway features a hulder as a charge?
...that the Raven banner, a standard used by various Viking leaders including Sigurd the Stout and Harald III of Norway, was a totem believed to have the power to grant victory to its holder?
...that Ralph Bigland worked as a cheesemaker across Europe before becoming an officer of arms and eventually Garter Principal King of Arms?
...that the coat of arms of Ullensaker is the only Norwegian municipal coat of arms depicting a Norse god?

[edit] March 2007

Themba Mabaso, State Herald of South Africa

...that Themba Mabaso, the State Herald of South Africa (pictured), has also written a children's book?
...that the Pennon of the Conquest, a flag raised by the Moors of Valencia in 1238 to indicate their surrender, still exists?
...that South African heraldry combines elements of the British and Dutch heraldic traditions?
...that the Flag of El Hatillo Municipality, Miranda uses the same colours as the flag of Venezuela, though in a different order?

[edit] April 2007

...that the pursuivant Thomas Hawley (pictured as King of Arms) was captured and detained before the Battle of Flodden, but released before the fighting started?
...that the Flag of Federal Territory, Malaysia, was adopted on May 23, 2006?
...that Marcus Vulson de la Colombière, a French heraldist of the 17th century, was involved in a dispute with Silvester Petra Sancta over who invented the method of hatching to indicate heraldic tinctures?
...that the Pennon, one of the principal varieties of flag carried during the Middle Ages, derives its name from the Latin penna, meaning wing?
...that Richmond Herald, Lawrence Dalton, embezzled tabards from the Royal Household in 1547?

[edit] June-July 2007

Annunciation commissioned by Ferry de Clugny, 1465-75

...that the arms of Ferry de Clugny, Cardinal-Bishop of Tournai, appear in the carpet and stained glass in the depiction of the Annunciation (pictured), now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art?
...that the current rendering of the mermaid in the coat of arms of Ustka is the result of a two-year debate over the size of her breasts?
...that the Shtyki Memorial, which honors the defenders of Russia in the Battle of Moscow, is depicted on the flag and coat of arms of Zelenograd?

[edit] August 2007

...that the system of heraldry has two main methods to designate the tinctures of arms: hatching and "tricking", i. e. designation of tinctures by means of abbrevations or signs?
...that the The College of Dracology for the Study of Fabulous Beasts is an organization dedicated to the study of dragons and other fabulous beasts, particularly with respect to their use in heraldry?
...that since 1555, St Benet Paul's Wharf has been the church were the College of Arms, and many officers of arms are buried?

[edit] September 2007

Flag of Denmark

...that Heraldic badges were common in the Middle Ages particularly in England?
...that the Dannebrog (pictured) is the oldest state flag in the world still in use, with the earliest undisputed source dating back to the 14th century?
...that the coat of arms of Montenegro derives from that of King Nikola?

[edit] December 2007

Flag of the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium

...that the irises of Saint Gaugericus Island became a symbol of Brussels, and the iris is now on the flag of the Brussels-Capital Region (pictured)
...that the coat of arms of Andalusia bears the Pillars of Hercules, the ancient name given to the promontories that flank the entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar??
...that Marcela de Agoncillo, who made the first flag of the Philippines, was married to the first Filipino diplomat?

[edit] January 2008

William Segar, Garter Principal King of Arms, early 17th century

...that Garter King of Arms William Segar (pictured) was imprisoned for confirming a coat of arms to someone who was not a gentleman?
...that merchant's marks, the precursors of hallmarks, printers' marks and modern-day trademarks, served in place of heraldic imagery, which could not be used by middle class traders and artisans?
...that after the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall, many East Germans cut the central coat of arms from the East German flag, and the Foundation for the Reconciliation of the SED Dictatorship still uses this as its logo?
...that a romantic scene in Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe refers to an area near Smisby in Derbyshire which was thought to have been used for ancient jousting battles?

[edit] February 2008

William Peyton as Delhi Herald Extraordinary in 1911

...that the British First World War general Sir William Peyton (pictured) served as Delhi Herald Extraordinary at the Delhi Durbar of 1911?
...that Somerset Herald John Charles Brooke's parents originally sent him to London to study as a chemist?

[edit] April 2008

Attributed arms of Satan

...that medieval heraldry attributed a coat of arms (pictured) to Satan based on a Bible verse mentioning "three unclean spirits like frogs"?
...that the Guilford Courthouse flag is the oldest surviving example of an American flag with eight-pointed stars?
...that the symbolism of seated monarch on the Flag of Mide is derived from iconography rather than classical heraldry?
...that the Seal of Oregon includes a a British man-of-war departing and an American steamer arriving?
...that the international maritime signal flags developed by Home Riggs Popham are also used in the Racing Rules of Sailing?

[edit] May 2008

Flag of the Republic of the South Moluccas

...that Johan Teterisa was recently sentenced to life in prison for waving the banned secessionist flag (pictured) of the so-called Republic of the South Moluccas in front of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono during a nonviolent protest?
...that British politician Jock Stallard was expelled from the Labour Party in the 1950s for flying the red flag from St Pancras town hall, but later served as a Labour MP and life peer?
...that Raymond Jacobs maintained that he was the last surviving member of the original party of Marines who raised the first flag on Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima?
... that during the Croatian War of Independence the Croatian ship registry was not recognized, so Atlantska Plovidba registered its ships under the Flag of Malta?