From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
[edit] Summary
Family coat of arms of Jane Austen, the author, taken from the heraldic bookplate of John Austen Esq. of Broadford, Kent, England — who was either Jane Austen's patrilineal cousin once removed (lived 1716-1807), or her patrilineal second cousin (lived 1777-1851), depending on which one of a father and son is meant.
The blazon is: Or, a chevron gules between three lions' gambs erect, erased sable armed of the second. Crest: On a mural crown or, a stag sejant argent, attired or. (A mural crown, unlike many other types of crowns or coronets, is not any sign of aristocracy or nobility; however, the right to bear arms does suggest some degree of family social prominence). According to the 1909 edition of Fox-Davies' "Complete Guide to Heraldry", after the early 19th-century, the English College of Arms granted new mural-crown crests only to high-ranking officers in the British army.
Note that the ornamental winged child's head at the bottom of the heraldic shield is not actually part of the coat of arms. A heraldic display for Jane Austen individually would probably have been shown on the "lozenge" (or diamond shape) considered appropriate for a woman, rather than on a shield, and without the crest above.
The Latin motto, "QUI INVIDIT MINOR EST", can be translated as "Who(ever) envies (me) is lesser/smaller (than I am)".
Original artwork was done by unknown 18th century English engraver. Scanning and image manipulation (ruthlessly pruning away as much inessential ornamentation as possible, and applying rudimentary colorization) done by H. Churchyard. Small detail colors (the "arming" of the claws of the lion's paws in red and the "attiring" of the deer's horns in gold/yellow) are not shown, and it's not as clear as it might be that the stag is supposed to be white.
[edit] Licensing
File history
Click on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time.
| Date/Time | Dimensions | User | Comment |
current | 15:49, 12 February 2006 | 349×483 (22 KB) | Churchh | |
File links
The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed):