Heraldic Alphabet 2020

It’s International Heraldry Day again, and I’m celebrating with more coats of arms in the lgbt community. There are 24 of the 26 letters represented this year, using names by which the individuals are usually known.

I’ve spent many, many hours over the years pouring over heraldic books and family trees to ensure as much as possible that each name below in entitled to use the coat of arms illustrated, whether in reality or in theory. The arms are subject to different rules depending on their country of origin. As in previous years they are a mixture of family, personal, marital and official arms. I’ll explain these first. Different nations will have variations of these descriptions.

Family – arms inherited through the father’s family and generally only used by the senior bloodline heir. Children and family members who belong to a junior line may be required to add differences to the arms.

Personal – arms granted by a recognised heraldic authority to, or inherited by, the person listed. I’ve included people entitled to use differences, as mentioned above.

Assumed – arms originally adopted by a person or family where no recognised heraldic authority existed in their lifetime or location. The arms may be in use in other nations by people of the same family name, often unrelated.

Marital – this is complicated: traditionally, wives adopt the arms of their husbands. If she has her own arms she can show them side by side with her husband’s on one shield, or (as an heiress) on a little shield on top of his. Heraldic authorities have modified the rules to included same-sex married couples.

Arms of Office – arms of a corporate, municipal, religious or educational institution, etc., of which the person  was the nominal head and entitled to use in relation to their duties during their term of office.

One thing to remember is that in some nations unmarried women put their arms on a diamond-shaped lozenge or an oval instead of a shield. For the sake of visual uniformity I have use shields throughout.

A) Zoë Akins (1886-1953), US playwright and screenwriter. Marital arms: her arms as Mrs. Hugo Rumbold, being those of her husband Hugo (1884-1932). The star indicates that Hugo was the third son of the head of the family.

B) Sybil Bedford (1911-2006), Anglo-German writer. Family arms: the arms of her paternal family, the Schoenebecks. For more information see here.

C) Mark Chatfield (1953-1998), US Olympic and Gay Games swimmer; cellist. Family arms: those granted by the College of Arms to Mark’s direct ancestor Richard Chatfield (1500-1586). I’ll write more about Mark’s arms next month.

D) Tamara de Lempicka (1898-1980), Polish artist. Marital arms: her arms as Baroness Kuffner de Diószegh, being those of her Czech husband Baron Raul Kuffner de Diószegh (1886-1961).

E) Rev. Peter Elers (1930-1986), Vicar of Thaxted, Essex; 1st President of the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement. Family arms: those of his paternal family, originally from Germany, which were confirmed for use in England by the College of Arms in 1836.

F) Simon Fanshawe (b.1956), English broadcaster and writer. Family arms: those used by his direct male ancestors since 1649. The cross and checks are an “augmentation of honour” awarded by the College of Arms in 1649 in recognition of several members of the family having been Remembrancer of the Exchequer.

G) Reynell Grissell (1927-1999), English concert pianist. Personal arms: those of his father to which is added a crescent to show he was his 2nd son.

H) Mrs. Phebe Coffin Hanaford (1829-1921), the first woman in the US to be ordained as a Universalist minister. Family arms: those of her father’s direct male-line ancestor Tristram Coffin (1609-1681).

I) Ryurik Ivnev (1891-1981), Russian poet, novelist and translator. Family arms: those of his paternal ancestors, the Kovalyov family. Ivnev’s real name was Mikhail Aleksandrovich Kovalyov.

L) Lionel Johnson (1867-1902), English poet and essayist. Family arms: those of his grandfather, Sir Henry Allen Johnson (1785-1860), 2nd baronet.

K) Robert Kitson (1873-1947), English artist and architect of Casa Cuseni. Personal arms: those he was entitled to use as the son and heir of John Kitson (1843-1899). The star indicates that Robert’s father was a third son.

L) Sir Thomas Lipton, 1st Bt. (1878-1931), Scottish tea merchant. Personal arms: granted to him by the English College of Arms in 1902.

M) Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892-1950), American poet, playwright and Pulitzer Prize winner. Marital arms:  her arms as Madame Boissevan, being those of her husband the French coffee importer Eugen Jan Boissevain (1880-1949).

N) Pola Negri (1897-1987), Polish-American actor and star of the Silent Screen. Marital arms: the arms of the Polish Godziemba clan which her husband Count Eugeiusz Dubski was entitled to use.

O) Edward Onslow (1758-1829), English MP. Personal arms: those he used as the 2nd son (indicated by the crescent) of the 1st Earl of Onslow.

P) Casimir Pulaski (1745-1779), Polish-born officer in the American Revolutionary arms. Family arms: for more information see here.

R) Capt. Edward Rigby (pre 1670-after 1711), English naval captain of HMS Drago. Family arms: those depicted on his portrait.

S) Nicole Stéphane (1923-2007), French actor, film producer and director. Family arms: those of her paternal family, the French de Rothschilds (Nicole was born Baroness Nicole de Rothschild).

T) Olga Tsuberbiller (1845-1975), Russian mathematician. Family arms: those of her paternal family, the Gubonin family.

U) Rev. Nicholas Udall (1504-1556), English schoolmaster and playwright. Arms of office: those of Eton College of which Rev. Udall was Head 1534-1541.

V) Rt. Rev. Cherry Vann (b.1958), Bishop of Monmouth, the 1st openly lesbian bishop in Wales. Arms of Office: her arms as bishop, being those of the diocese of Monmouth.

W) Anne Whitney (1821-1915), American sculptor. Assumed family arms: those used by some descendants of John Whitney (1621-1692), Anne’s ancestor, who arrived in New England in 1635. This is one of several variations.

Y) Cardinal York, Prince Henry Stuart (1725-1807), Duke of York and pretender to the British throne. Personal arms: those he used as a British prince and Roman Catholic cardinal. He was referred to by his title not his family name.

Z) Lydia Zinovievna-Annibal (1866-1907), Russian writer and playwright. Family arms: those of her paternal family, the Zinovieva family.

80 More Gays Around the World: Part 13) Eastern Trade

Last time on “80 More Gays”: 33) David Mixner (b.1946) was an anti-Vietnam War campaigner when 34) Leonard Matlovich (1943-1988) was serving there before being discharged because he was gay, as was 35) Frank Kameny (1925-2011), both being among many people discharged from the US armed forces since the first, 36) Frederik Gotthold Enslin (c.1740-after 1778) who escaped the death penalty, until his fellow Dutchman 37) Joost Schouten (c1600-1644).

37) Joost Schouten was one of the leading colonial administrators of the Dutch East Indies Company, the VOC, in the early 17th century. The VOC was the biggest trading organisation in the world at that time. It was founded to obtain spices and luxury goods from East Asia for the European market. Its operations spread from the Indonesian islands to Siam (modern Thailand) and Japan.

Joost Schouten joined the VOC in 1622. He was posted to their trading post at Ayutthaya in Siam. Shortly after he arrived East Asia trade was becoming unprofitable and the Ayutthaya post was closed down. Joost was chosen by the company to remain to buy and store merchandise and to act as a diplomatic agent. Two years later the post reopened.


The flag of the Dutch East Indies Company (the VOC) from 1630.

Joost was reassigned to an exploratory trade mission to Japan in 1625 as secretary to the Dutch colonial governor Willem Janszoon. He returned to Siam after the mission. Incidentally, Janszoon had been the first European to see Australia.

The VOC closed its Ayutthaya post again in 1629 and Joost returned to Japan as their Dutch envoy. At this time the shogun, the military ruler, of Japan was Tokugawa Hidetada, though he had actually abdicated his powers to his son 38) Tokugawa Iemitsu (1604-1651).

Diplomatic relations between Japan and Siam were becoming strained, particularly after the usurpation of the Siamese throne in 1629. Japanese nationals were being victimised in Siam and Shogun Iemitsu refused to receive a Siamese diplomatic mission. This led eventually to the foreign policy adopted in Japan in 1641 that effectively cut off Japan from the rest of the world.

Joost Schouten was on the move again, and back to Siam, and the Ayutthaya trading post was opened once again. Joost was appointed its “opperhoofd”, the chief executive officer. On several occasions Joost was appointed ambassador and trade negotiator to the king of Siam.

The emblem of the Tokugawa dynasty.

In 1641 all hope Joost had of getting back to Japan were dashed when Shogun Iemitsu banished all Europeans. Without this trade link the VOC began to seek new markets and approved an expedition led by Abel Tasman to sail around the bottom of the new continent of Australia. Tasman’s voyage was equipped by Joost Schouten. On this expedition Tasman named an island after Scouten and “discovered” New Zealand.

Joost Schouten’s downfall came in July 1644. He had been reported to the VOC for homosexual acts and he was put on trial with several of his partners. Joost pleaded guilty and admitted to having sex with men since his first arrival in Siam some 22 years earlier.

Homosexuality was a capital offense for the Dutch. Those found guilty were either burned at the stake or drowned. Joost was found guilty and sentenced to be burned at the stake. His partners were sentenced to be drowned. However, because of Joost Schouten’s distinguished service to the VOC they decided he deserved to be spared the pain of his punishment, so they strangled him to death first and then burned his corpse at the stake.

Whether Shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu ever heard of Joost Schouten’s fate is uncertain. Japan had a totally different attitude to male homosexuality. It was similar to the relationships of ancient Greece in which adult men took younger lovers. The Japanese called their same-sex tradition “shudo” or “”wakashudo” and was common practice among the samurai class.

Even though Shogun Iemitsu had several wives and numerous female concubines he is also known to have had at least three male partners under the system of shudo. One story goes that as a child Iemitsu became the boy lover of an older courtier named Sakabe Gozeamon. In 1617, at the age of 13, Iemitsu was installed as heir to the shogunate. It was now expected for him in due course to take his own younger lover. Instead he and Gozeamon continued to be partners. One day in 1620, as the couple were sharing a bath, Iemitsu noticed that Gozeamon was showing a lot of attention to a younger courtier. He murdered Goeamon in a jealous rage.

Shogun Iemitsu is thought by some modern European historians to have preferred sex with men despite his many wives, concubines and children. His most famous son eventually became shogun himself in 1680. This is a man I have written about before because of his introduction of laws protecting dogs. Consequently he is known as the Dog Shogun, but his official name was 39) Tokugawa Tsunayoshi (1646-1709).

I won’t repeat what I wrote in that earlier article, but I’ll mention a national festival which became popular during his rule and is still celebrated on 15th November. The festival is called Shichi Go San, which literally means “7, 5, 3”. It celebrates the various stages in a child’s development at those ages.

Tradition says that Shichi Go San was made popular by Shogun Tsunoyoshi in celebration of his own son and the idea soon spread. It is said he set the festival date to 15th November, the date of an old festival that celebrated he harvest.

This brings me to perhaps the most well-known harvest celebration which also originated in this period, the Thanksgiving in the American colonies. We’ll continue with an American colonial contemporary of Shogun Iemitsu and Joost Schouten, who shared the latter’s fate of execution for sodomy, 40) William Plaine (c.1595-1646).

Next time on “80 More Gays”:  We take a break and catch up on the first 39 “Gays” before continuing with number 40 later in the month.

An Advocate for Pride

This is a historic year for Pride. Firstly because 2020 is the 50th anniversary of the first modern Pride march that took place in Chicago on 27th June 1970, and secondly because this is the first year since then that the majority of the 2020 Pride marches have either been postponed or cancelled. Thank goodness Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras took place as planned before the pandemic lockdown.

Little did we know on New Year’s Day that six months later at the start of Pride Month the whole world would be in lockdown. In a way it gives an opportunity to re-evaluate the message of Pride. It’s time for people in cities around the world to realise just how privileged they are. This year they can feel how many of us felt for decades – left out of Pride. Pride events are still an activity only accessible to those who can afford, or able, to travel. Perhaps now more than any other time in the history of Pride Month provides a unique opportunity to reach out and involve all those in the lgbt community who have never been able to attend a Pride event, either by physical or geographical circumstances, by political restrictions, or family and cultural pressures.

I grew up in a rural village in north Nottinghamshire. I didn’t knowingly meet another gay man until I was 32. The only gay role models were camp stereotypes in television comedies which I could not identify or sympathise with. Not once was any attempt made by lgbt activist in a city to reach out to me. I had to take a 50-mile bus ride to my nearest city once a month before that happened. The isolation was depressing. City-based lgbt communities should think themselves lucky they HAVE a community, because many people around the world don’t and are ignored.

Fifty years after the first Pride its time to change. Many Prides will go online this year. They should reach out to those isolated outside cities and towns. It’s a start, but will it continue? Will Prides next year return to the privileged metropolitan elite? Sermon over.

We know that the word “pride” was used 50 years ago for the commemorations of the Stonewall Riots of 1969, even if it wasn’t applied to the marches. It was suggested by Lee Craig Schoonmaker (1944-2018) at a committee meeting of the Christopher Street Gay Liberation Day (retrospectively the first New York City Pride) that Gay Pride Week would sound better than the proposed Gay Power Week. But there was an earlier use, and it is very likely that Schoonmaker got his idea from there.

It appears in the abbreviation of a 1960s gay right organisation called Personal Rights in Defense and Education – P.R.I.D.E. Its legacy is still felt today, and not just because of the use of the word “pride”.

Way back in the early 1960s there were several gay and lesbian rights organisations in the USA. The most well-known of these were the Mattachine Society and the Daughters of Bilitis. When these were formed in the 1950s the emphasis was on convincing society that gays and lesbians were ordinary people and not perverts or mentally ill. They organised pickets and peaceful protests in a very conservative manner so as to appear “normal”.

Younger generations of the 1960s were more attracted to the general civil rights movements that emerged with its vocal message and active protests. Even before the Stonewall Riots of 1969 several lgbt rights activists took to the newer methods of political protest and radical approach with enthusiasm. Police raids on gay bars and police intimidation grew in the 1960s and the response from the lgbt community needed to be equally more aggressive.

In May 1966 in Los Angeles a 27-year-old activist called Steve Ginsburg (1939-2007) decided to form P.R.I.D.E. Steve may rightly be credited with starting to bring a new definition to an old word, the meaning of lgbt Pride that has now become accepted in the world’s dictionaries.

Steve wanted to instil pride into the lgbt community, hence his deliberate choice of the organisation’s name. In particular the part of the community he wanted to reach were constantly being targeted by the police, the gay bars and venues, what Steve called the “leather and lace crowd”.

The first real test of P.R.I.D.E.’s response to police harassment came after New Year’s Day 1967. The Black Cat Tavern in Los Angeles had only been open for a few weeks and it was packed to celebrate the New Year. Also in the bar were several undercover, plain clothes police officers. On the stroke of midnight several gay couples celebrated with the traditional kiss. This was enough for the police to launch their raid. Several party-goers were beaten and 14 people were arrested. Steve Ginsburg and P.R.I.D.E. decided this was the time to make a stand and they organised one of several demonstrations that were held across Los Angeles a few weeks later in February.

The call for volunteers and participants for P.R.I.D.E.’s demonstration was advertised in their monthly newsletter. Several members of P.R.I.D.E. – Richard Michaels, Bill Rand and Sam Winston – realised that the newsletter was in need of a wider circulation with more news of what was happening. Later in 1967 the newsletter was renamed “Los Angeles Advocate”. This newsletter evolved into the present day “Advocate” magazine and is another legacy of P.R.I.D.E.

From Pride to Advocate - evolution of a publication

The demonstration in response to the Black Cat raid was relatively peaceful compared to the Stonewall Riots. There was certainly no riot. For some gay rights groups at the time even those peaceful P.R.I.D.E. demonstrations were too radical. There was also some dissatisfaction within P.R.I.D.E. that being radical was the wrong direction for activism. You could say that P.R.I.D.E was three years too early. In 1968 the committee decided to dissolve the organisation.

Less than a year later the Stonewall Riots took place. While it is generally regarded as the turning point in lgbt history, the Black Cat raids and P.R.I.D.E. should share that distinction.

Steve Ginsburg continued with his activism. In 1973 he was co-chair of the Gay Freedom Day Parade in San Francisco (retrospectively the 3rd San Francisco Pride). Steve also founded an organisation for lgbt Jews called Chutzpah. Later in life Steve became somewhat reclusive and he died in 2007 at the age of 68.

However you celebrate Pride Month, don’t forget that Stonewall didn’t start it, Black Cat came before it, and there are many lgbt individuals in the world who still cannot celebrate.