Heraldic Musings

The coat-of-arms of Pope Francis I (yes, I know he won't technically be the first until there's a second) has been released by the Vatican today. Heraldry is an interesting field in which symbols can reveal a good deal about a person. Examining Francis' armorial bearings is the way I have chosen to read the tea leaves about his papacy. Because, you know, I'm a visual learner and all that jazz.

Now, lest anyone squawk about the inclusion of the papal tiara (the crown), please bear in mind that there are several permitted ways to display heraldic achievements. Yes, Pope Francis has personally chosen to follow Benedict XVI's lead in showing an episcopal mitre (bishop's hat) in place of the tiara, but in the realm of heraldry, it can still be appropriate to display papal arms with the traditional regalia of the tiara and the crossed keys - even if the pope doesn't choose to do that himself. Plus, this is one of the only comparatively high-res pics I could find.

The arms of His Holiness are the same that he used when he was Archbishop of Buenos Aires. The blue field is dominated by the symbol of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) which shows the IHS monogram of Christ's name surmounted by a cross and supported by three nails, all within a radiant sun. A star and a flowering Spikenard fill out the bottom of the arms.

A few initial things that strike me about this choice of arms:

It emphasizes the Holy Family - the main symbols point to the three members of the Holy Family: the Jesuit monogram shows Jesus as the light of the world, the star refers to Mary (traditionally, though infrequently hailed as the Star of the Sea, and more recently as the Star of the New Evangelization), and the grape-like Spikenard flowers are a traditional South American symbol for St. Joseph, to whom the pope apparently has great devotion. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph - the family as the center of God's plan for humanity. 

It is Marian - Pope Francis has already shown his devotion to Our Lady through his actions as pope. His arms reinforce this devotion. The field is blue - the traditional Marian color. Again, the star is a reference to Mary leading the way to Christ.

His motto - Though not depicted here, Pope Francis has chosen to keep his archiepiscopal motto Miserando Atque Eligendo, which translates loosely to Lowly, yet chosen. It is a reference to St. Bede the Venerable's commentary on the calling of St. Matthew. Our pope apparently had a strong conversion experience on the Feast of St. Matthew in 1953 at the age of 17. Pope Francis likened his experience to that of the Lord "choosing" St. Matthew, though he was of despised origin. The themes of mercy and humility are already becoming leitmotifs of this pontificate, and I can see the Pope encouraging renewed devotion to the Divine Mercy. From a personal perspective, I appreciate the connection to my name-saint.

All in all, I rather like the coat-of-arms from a graphic perspective. It's a nice change-of-pace from the rather busy red-and-gold dominated arms of Benedict XVI and the overly simplistic arms of John Paul II.     

A Bit of Heraldry

One of the lesser things lost with the abolition of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918 was its spectacular heritage of heraldry. Very few current monarchies (excepting the United Kingdom) have any such heraldry worth boasting about. For those unaware of the subject, a cursory introduction is in order. Heraldry is the art pertaining to a person's coat of arms. Now, the coat-of-arms originated in Medieval Europe, when knights would cover their armor with cloth of a particular pattern and/or color (hence, the arms or armor, was being coated). This practice allowed the knights to be easily identified upon the battlefield. Eventually, arms became hereditary and a complex array of rules were drawn up to govern the awarding of arms to a person of a subsequent generation. A highly intricate system of symbols and colors also developed, often pertaining to a person's geographical origins or personality traits (a fleur-de-lys for France, or a dog for loyalty, for example).

In the arms of Austria-Hungary as they were immediately prior to its dismemberment by the Allies, we see a pictoral microcosm of the empire and of the ruling house of Habsburg. To the left, we see the arms of Austrian portion of the empire, with the black double-headed eagle supporting the minor arms of the constituent Austrian regions. On the right are the arms of the Kingdom of Hungary, surmounted by the sacred crown of St. Stephen with its characteristic bent cross. In the center are the arms of the house of Habsburg, whose members were of course both Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary simultaneously. Thus, by looking at the entire composition, we can visually understand the government of the realm. We can add a layer of insight by translating the motto "Indivisibiliter ac Inseparabiliter" which means "Indivisible and Inseparable" which underscores the union of the disparate ethnicities under a single monarch.

It is somewhat of a tragedy that such emblems have, by and large, ceased to exist. We have become an extremely literal and word-oriented culture, and the ancient language of symbols is largely foreign to the modern mind.