Heraldic Alphabet 2021

It’s International Heraldry Day again, and I’m celebrating with more coats of arms in the lgbt community. Today 24 letters of the alphabet are represented. As before, I use names by which each person is most usually known. British peers are listed under their title.

I’ve spent years doing the research to ensure as much as possible that everyone listed is entitled, in reality or theory, to use the arms illustrated.

Bear in mind is that some nations don’t allow women to use shields, only ovals or diamond shapes. For the sake of visual uniformity I’ll only use shields. Let’s start with some definitions.

Difference – a designated object added to an inherited coat of arms to show a person’s place in the order of birth.

Family – arms inherited from the father and/or heiress, primarily used in most nations by the senior bloodline.

Personal – inherited family arms (often with differences), or those granted by an official heraldic authority.

Assumed – arms adopted where no official heraldic authority existed in a person’s lifetime or location, often of an unrelated family of the same name.

Marital – arms of a married couple. Many heraldic authorities recognise same-sex marriages. If both spouses have a coat of arms they place them side by side on one shield. Heraldic heirs places their arms on a little shield on top of their spouse’s.

Arms of Office – arms of an institution of which a person was the nominal head, used only during their term of office. A person may also possess their own arms.

Quarters – multiple coats of arms can be inherited by one person and displayed in the quarters of the shield.

Here is the 2021 Heraldic Alphabet:

A) Count Laszlo Almasy (1895-1951) – Hungarian explorer, aviator and spy. Inherited family arms. Although a younger son, under Hungarian rules Laszlo was entitled to use the family arms un-differenced.

B) Mariana Belcombe (1790-1868) – partner of Anne Lister of Shibden Hall. Marital arms as Mrs. Charles Lawton. His arms are on the left half. The arms on the right are those of Mariana’s original family name, Bulcock.

C) Frances Cobbe (1822-1904) – Irish writer, anti-vivisectionist and suffragette. Inherited arms, confirmed by the Ulster Office of Arms to her father. They quarter the arms of Cobbe (a pun – a cobb is a male swan) with Welborne, whose heir married into the family.

D) Eyre de Lanux (real name Elizabeth Eyre, 1894-1996) – American artist and designer. Inherited arms, those of her direct male-line ancestors, the Eyres of Nottinghamshire.

E) Damien Egan (b.1983) – Mayor of Lewisham 2018. Arms of office, being those granted to the London borough of Lewisham in 1966 by the College of Arms.

F) Gavin Henderson, 2nd Baron Faringdon (1902-1997) – British politician. Inherited personal arms, first matriculated (registered) to his grandfather in 1902 by the Court of Lord Lyon in Scotland.

G) Laura Gilpin (1891-1979) – American photographer. Inherited (perhaps assumed) arms. The arms attributed to her direct ancestor James Gilpin (1622-1682).

H) Lesbia Harford, née Keogh (1891-1927) – Australian poet and social campaigner. Family arms. Lesbia was a direct descendant of a 15th century chief of the Clan McKeogh (illustrated). She descends from a junior line.

I) Stephen Fox-Strangways, 1st Earl of Ilchester (1704-1776) – English politician. Personal inherited arms. The Fox arms (top right) are canting (i.e. they show foxes). The fleur-de-lys is a mark of honour granted to Ilchester’s father by King Charles II. In 1758 Ilchester adopted the Strangways name and arms (top left) on the death of his mother-in-law, whose heir he married.

J) Edward James (1907-1984) – English poet and art patron. Personal inherited arms, granted to his uncle by the College of Arms in 1879. The ostriches represent his uncle’s friendship with the Prince of Wales (ostrich feathers are the Prince’s emblem), and because he explored Africa. The heraldic dolphin is used by many James families.

K) Anna Kowalska (1903-1969) – Polish writer. Inherited family arms. Anna’s paternal family name, Chrzanowska, belongs of the Korvin heraldic clan, to which Sofia Kovalevskaya also belongs (Heraldic Alphabet 2016), and they use these arms.

L) Amy Lowell (1874-1925) – American poet. Inherited family arms. Amy descends from colonist Percival Lowle (1571-1665). His arms and ancestry were recorded by the College of Arms in 1591.

M) Anastasie Mannerheim (1893-1978) and Sophie Mannerheim (1895-1963) – lesbian daughters of Baron Carl Mannerheim, President of Finland 1944-46. Inherited family arms. The original Mannerhiem arms are on the central shield. The others were added in 1768 when their ancestor was ennobled and represent his military career and family.

N) Sir Harold Nicolson (1886-1968) and Vita Sackville-West (1892-1962) – British writers. Marital arms. My 2015 Heraldic Alphabet featured the incorrect arms of this bisexual couple. As heraldic heiress (i.e. no brothers) Vita would display her arms on a little shield on top of her husband’s as shown here.

O) Cian O’Callaghan (b.1979) – Irish politician, Mayor of Fingal County 2012-3 (the first Irish openly gay mayor). Arms of office, being the arms granted to Fingal County in 1994.

P) Stewart Perowne (1901-1989) – English diplomat, archaeologist and designer. Personal arms. Granted to his father by the College of Arms on 8th February 1924. The crescent is a difference mark indicating he was the second son.

Q) QBoy (real name Marcos Brito, b.1978) – British rapper and DJ. Inherited family arms. QBoy’s ancestors have lived on the Canary Islands for centuries. The purple lions are taken from the arms of the kingdom of Castile who conquered the islands in 1402.

R) Miles Radcliffe (1895-1946) – murdered chocolate factory manager in Wellington, New Zealand. Family arms. Miles descends from John Radcliffe (d.1683) of Shaw Hall, Lancashire (his arms are illustrated). The quarters show the arms of Radcliffe, Legh, Arderne and Sandbach.

S) Vida Dutton Scudder (1861-1954) – US social reformer and literature professor. Assumed family arms. Vida descends from colonist Thomas Scudder of Kent. He may have been related to the Scudders of North Clay, Kent, whose arms (illustrated) were recorded in 1574. The Scudder Family Association of the USA use these arms.

T) Sir William Teeling (1903-1975) – Irish author and politician. Personal inherited arms. The zigzags of the Teeling arms were granted by the Ulster Office of Arms. The crosses and lions are those of the Burkes of Ower, County Galway, whose heir was Sir William’s mother.

U) Thomas Upcher (1906-1985) – owner of Sheringham Hall, England. Personal inherited arms. Granted by the College of Arms to his ancestor Peter Upcher on 18th February 1777. It combines the arms of Peter’s grandmother Sarah Abbot (chevron and pears) with his mother’s, Mary Foxwell (blue chevron and fox heads).

V) Antonio Vasconcelos (1963-1989) – Mozambique-born London banker; one of 51 people at his birthday party killed in the “Marchioness” Thames disaster. Inherited arms as carved on his gravestone. Mozambique follows Portuguese rules whereby individuals can take the name and arms of any ancestor. These arms are of Antonio’s mother, Maria da Gama Lobo Salema (da Gama on the left, Lobo on the right).

W) Jerzy Waldorff (1910-1999) – Polish music critic and broadcaster. Inherited family arms. Jerzy’s paternal family name, Preyss, belongs to the Nabram heraldic clan and they use their arms.

Y) William Yeoward (1957-2019) – British crystal glass designer. Family arms, granted by the College of Arms to his great-uncle, Lewis Yeoward, on 16th April 1914.

That concludes this year’s Heraldic Alphabet. Even though I plan to stop posting regular articles after August I intend to produce another Heraldic Alphabet in 2022.