Dr Kat and the Royal Arms of the United Kingdom

hello and welcome back to the channel if you're new here hi you are very welcome this is reading the past and I'm dr. Kat last month on the 23rd of july 2019 President Donald Trump was giving a speech and he was doing so in front of a projection of the presidential seal of the United States of America it seems that the president and those attending were not aware at the time that this projection of a seal had been doctored and this got me thinking how well are we able to recognize the signs insignias coats of arms of our own nation do we know what the component parts me would we notice if one was missing or altered and so for today's video I want to explore the Royal Arms of the United Kingdom [Music] [Music] the coat of arms is no doubt something that you are familiar with you may in fact have an image in your mind's eye of just what a coat of arms might look like however what we are talking about today and indeed the thing you might be thinking of is perhaps more appropriately called an achievement of arms and this is something that falls under a wider blanket term of heraldry unfortunately we don't have a firm origin date for heraldry or in fact for something like heraldry as we know it if for example we look at the Bayeux Tapestry an embroidered pictorial representation of William the Conqueror's invasion of England in 1066 unsurprisingly we find a lot of soldiers and those soldiers are holding shields on those shields of images insignias patterns designs whatever you want to call them and they look a lot like what we think of as heraldry however academics and researchers who have worked on the Bayeux Tapestry points out that this is not what's going on here these shields don't seem to have images that tie to an individual in fact there may be the same image on multiple shields or an individual may be depicted holding a shield that has multiple different images and that is not how heraldry works the heraldic design the achievement of arms the crest all of these things are tied to an individual and their family they are distinct specific and individuated while we may not have a firm date for the start of the heraldic system as we know it what is certain is that by the time it's up and running it forms a vital cornerstone in the feudal system of social status these signs and signifiers let people know who sits where in the pecking order additionally on the battlefield it's a life-saving device by bearing the arms of your family it lets your opponent's know just how wealthy you are in essence over your mail or even plate armor if you wear a coat with your family's arms on it or fly a banner over your head it lets them know that you are worth more alive than dead it tells them that should you be captured killing you would be a waste of time and money rather they should save your life and ransom you back to your family it is also a vital part of the code of chivalry particularly in the joust or tournament these icons and images of your family and your achievement of arms though on your shield they go on the coat that sits over your armor they are on your horse all of these things that is part of the pomp and circumstance of display additionally within the achievements of arms are symbols and images that can form badges these batteries can then be worn by the followers or supporters of a nobleman or by people who wish to become or be seen as a follower or supporter of a nobleman these badges can therefore offer a person the protection of that Lord they may also be used to show loyalty to that Lord within this symbolic code people are setting themselves out there essentially setting out their social stall they are showing where they stand in the pecking order and also in some cases who they are loyal to for me the component parts that make up the widest spectrum of heraldry is vital for us to understand because they are such a formative part of our ancestors visual landscape they used these things to define themselves but also to read and understand others and their place in the world if we lose our understanding of this language if we misrepresent misunderstand or forget it then I think we lose a part of our past and of course it's important we remember that this language of heraldry is not simply consigned to the Past it's still an active part of our visual landscape albeit a somewhat smaller one we use the language and symbols of heraldry to define our nation our monarch and love our leading institutions and so I think it's really important to know where it came from so that we can understand where it is now so with that being said let's take a closer look at the Royal Arms of United Kingdom we started this video I mentioned that the things that we think of as being coats of arms should perhaps more appropriately called achievements of arms and maybe you are looking at what I have up on screen now and thinking well surely that's a coat of arms no most appropriately this would be the achievement of arms the coat of arms most specifically refers to what went on a coat the sir coat that went over somebody's mail or armor for battle or for the tournament this is an achievement Farms because within it is contained a shield a helmet some mantling and also various other accoutrements depending on a person's rank title and family name what we are looking at here is the Royal Arms of the United Kingdom these refers specifically to the monarch however in Scotland a different variation is used which looks like this I'm now going to put them side-by-side so if you want you can place and spot the difference a variation of the arms is also used by the British government and so I'm going to put that variation side-by-side here in order to explain this achievement of arms I'm going to work from the top down but before I do I think it's important to look at just how many lions are featured here the lion is a recurrent image in multiple forms of heraldry and it links to a number of different individuals nations and institutions the lion is however something that is implicitly tied to the nation of England it is our national heraldic beast you will also notice that the lines being depicted here are taking up a variety of postures now in terms of why one lion is position one way and why another lioness station another way it seems to be mostly stylistic a way for one person's arms to be differentiated from another's regardless of posture the lion in heraldry symbolizes strength power military might and ferocity the person or nation that bears a lion on their surcoat or banners is highlighting that they are a dangerous opponent not to we underestimated or trifled with working from the top down in this achievement of arms the first thing we encounter is a golden lion it is adopting a posture known as Staunton guardant and on its head it wears some Edwards crown listen Edwards crown is the one that is used in the coronation of our monarchs a form of this crown has been in use since the 13th century although the current one is a remake of the original which was melted down during the Commonwealth after the execution of Charles the first there was no thought that we would ever be crowned King again and so much of the regalia of monarchy that could be melted down and sold was when charles ii was invited to retake his Father's throne the full regalia needs to be remade and the Edward's crown used in the carnation was remade at this time this Golden Lion which sits at the top of the achievement of arms is known as the crest and it itself is shown to be standing on this and Edward's crown as well as wearing it this larsson Edward's crown makes up the Royal helm a helmet crowned which represents the sort of facial protection that would be worn in battle or in the joust or tournament spilling out from behind this helm and crest is something it looks like feathers it is in fact the mantle of the achievement of arms in this case ermine ermine is a fur that is associated with the monarchy and also the highest ranks of the nobility when we see members of the royal family going about their official business wearing cloaks the cloaks are edged with ermine similarly the San Edward's crown itself is also trimmed with ermine as you may have noticed in the spot the difference portion of this video where I did side by side comparisons on the various achievements of arms this helm crest and mantling is only something that is present in the Royal achievements of arms it is not used in the government's version these are the Monarchs achievements and therefore can only be used on their set of arms sitting below the helm crest and mantle is a shield in this case it has been quartered the first and fourth-quarter contained the arms of England these are three Golden Lions in a passing card and posture according to the French heralds this means they should be more properly called leopards and there are some that argue that these are therefore leopards and not lions in England they have always been called lions and that is what I will be referring to as these three golden lions passant guardant are on a red field they are armed and lagged azure so their nails and tongue of blue when used by England's national sporting teams these tinctures so the color of the tongue or the field or even the lines themselves are altered the gold Lions with the azure tongues and nails on this red field is specific to the arms of England itself we aren't sure which English monarch was the first to use lions in this way we think it's around about the late 12th century it's possible that they were first adopted in this format by Richard the first or richard the lionheart is's also known and it is believed that the three lions themselves represent the territories over which Richard held dominion namely the nation of England and the duchies of Normandy and Aquitaine in the second quarter of the shield we see a red lion adopting a rampant posture on a field of gold it sits in a kind of frame that is known in heraldry as a double tressure Florrie counter Florrie the red line on a gold background contained within this double tressure Florrie counter fluorine is the symbol of Scotland in the third quarter we have a golden harp on a blue background the symbol of Ireland the shield in the achievement of arms of the United Kingdom has looked this way since 1837 when Queen Victoria ascended to the throne as a woman she was not able to lay claim to the Hanoverian crest and so this is why the arms look the way they do since Victoria's alteration to the achievement of arms there has been one further change when Elizabeth the second came to the throne the golden harp of Ireland which had rest on that blue background had formerly borne the figure of a woman on it now it does not as to why the golden harp represents Ireland there are a lot of suggestions as to the reasoning for this one being that the harp was an elite musical instrument the type of thing that an aesthetic well-rounded court would be proud to have it has also been suggested that the strings of the Irish harp are supposed to represent the arms of the Irish King therefore maybe this has a double meaning it is warning people that should they face the Irish King in battle they will find him well prepared well armed and ready to fight however should they come to his court in peace they may find themselves at a court filled with music that is being made on this most elite of instruments the shield is surrounded by a blue garter with gold writing the symbol of the Order of the Garter the golden writing reads in medieval French oh nice Joaquim Ali Ponce which is translated to mean shame on him who thinks evil the Order of the Garter was founded by Edward the third we believe in 1348 according to the legend the Order of the Garter was formed when a lady celebrating at a court function lost her garter other courtiers and noblemen laughed at her misfortune Edward the third rather than laughing took her pot he went over picked up her garter and shamed those who had laughed at her saying oh nice Joaquim al he ponts in this respect it is the very symbol of the chivalric code we have a king defending the honor of a lady and from the time of Edward the third right up till now it has been a particular mark of distinction and privilege to be named a Knight of the Order of the Garter two beasts stand on either side of this shield that is encircled by the Garter these are known as the supporters of the achievement of arms the dexstar supporter the one that sits to the right hand side is a crowned lion this is the Lion of England that has been crowned with some Edwards crown the sinister supporter and by that I mean the one that sits simply on the left-hand side of the achievement of arms is a trained unicorn the chain on this unicorn is attached at the neck by a crown it is the symbol of Scotland the unicorn was believed to be the most dangerous Beast this mythical beast is even more dangerous than the lion taming it is nearly impossible only somebody with incredible power and might an excellent husband moment for animals would be able to do so additionally it is believed that the unicorn would only rest its head in the lap of a virgin it can spot and sense purity by choosing the chained unicorn for its symbol perhaps the nation of Scotland is telling us how it wishes to be perceived as a powerful nation well governed but one with a pure unspotted reputation with just that sort of lap that a unicorn may calmly rest its head in as we move down to the very bottom of this achievement of arms it looks like it's all sitting on a small grassy hill this area is called the compartment and in this green compartment we see three plants being represented we have the Scottish thistle the English Tudor Rose and the Irish Shamrock and if we look closely we can see that all of these plants have been engrafted onto a single vine these three plants having been joined up and connected in this way is a representation of the joined up nature of the entity that is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland the eagle eyed and eared amongst you might be wondering why I haven't made any mention of Wales and also why on this achievement of arms Wales does not seem to be represented and the explanation for this is that this achievement of arms is a representation of the United Kingdom as it was after the Act of Union in 1707 and by that year Wales was thought to be part of England and therefore covered by that form of heraldry sitting at the very bottom of the achievement of arms is its armorial motto do aim and wah which translates to God and my right in this armorial motto the monarch is asserting their divine rights in years past it was to rule the nation but now in the age of constitutional monarchy it is to reign over it so I'd love to know what you think about today's discussion topic perhaps there's another aspect or element from the wonderful world of heraldry that you would like me to make a video on maybe a set of arms or a symbol a motif or a badge that you've seen that you would like me to provide some greater context for well if that's the case then let me know all about it in the comment section down below or come find me over on my social media I'll leave the links in the description box follow me there and we can continue the conversation I hope you've enjoyed this video and found it useful if you did then please let me know by hitting the thumbs up please also subscribe to my channel and click the bell icon so that YouTube tells you when I'd next uploaded I hope you're gonna have a great day whatever you're doing and I look forward to speaking to you in my next video take care of yourselves bye bye for now [Music] [Music]

Channel: Reading the Past

Views: 6,102

Rating: 4.9818182 out of 5

Keywords: Irish Harp, St Edward’s Crown, Unicorn, Scottish Lion, Three Lions, Achievements of Arms, Coat of Arms, Heraldry, Medieval, Renaissance, Early Modern, History, Education, Culture, Literature

Id: 6mhR9W8cAlU

Length: 17min 41sec (1061 seconds)

Published: Fri Aug 09 2019