Heraldic Alphabet 2017

Well, it’s that day again – International Heraldry Day. Once again I’m bringing you the coats of arms of some members of our lgbt community. And, once again, it’s not a full alphabet because I still haven’t found any coats of arms for people whose surname begins with “X”. It has also been difficult finding appropriate arms for the letters Q, U and Z. But at least it leaves us with an even number.

This year’s list is the usual mixture of nationalities and periods. One regret is that I haven’t found any arms of transgender people this time. Hopefully I can make up for it next year.

The arms shown are also a mixture of personally granted arms, inherited family arms and arms of office, which I’ll indicate in the text below. This year I’ve chosen not to show the marital arms (i.e. arms of the husband) of married women.

Without any further ado here’s this year’s Heraldic Alphabet.

A) Clementina “Kit” Anstruther-Thomson (1857-1921): writer (inherited).
B) Lady Eve Balfour, OBE (1899-1990): agriculturalist (inherited).
C) Sir Roger Casement (1864-1910): Irish nationalist (inherited).
D) Mrs. Anne Seymour Damer (1749-1828): sculptor (inherited).
E) Lius Escobar y Kirkpatrick, Marquess de Las Marismas (1905-1991): actor (inherited).
F) Judith Furse (1912-1974): actor (inherited).

G) Princess Vera Gedroitz (1876-1932): surgeon, poet (inherited).
H) Gerald Heard (1889-1971): writer and historian (inherited).
I) Colin Inglis (b.1957): Lord Mayor of Hull 2011-12 (arms of office, city of Hull).
J) Pope Julius II (1443-1513): (inherited, family of Della Rovere).
K) Count Diedrich von Keyserlingk (1689-1745): Prussian court chamberlain (inherited)
L) Charles W. Leadbeater (1854-1834): Presiding Bishop, Liberal Catholic Church (personal grant).

M) Katherine Mansfield (1888-1923): writer (inherited).
N) John Newman (1801-1890): Roman Catholic Cardinal (personal grant).
O) Connell Hill O’Donovan: Mormon historian (inherited).
P) Count Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (1463-1494): philosopher (inherited).
R) Christine Root: Mayor of Horwich 2013-14 (arms of office, town of Horwich).
S) Francis Spellman (1889-1967): Cardinal Archbishop of New York (personal grant).

T) Patrick Trevor-Roper (1916-2004): activist and eye surgeon (inherited).
V) Sir George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham (1592-1628): statesman (inherited).
W) Dame Ethel Walker, DBE (1861-1951): artist (inherited)
Y) Geoffrey Winthrop Young (1878-1958): mountaineer (inherited).