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New Bishop of Strängnäs (Sweden)

Posted: 09 Sep 2015, 18:08
by Marcus Karlsson
Last Sunday (6th Seprember) Johan Dalman was consecrated as Bishop of the Diocese of Strängnäs. His Arms designed by Otto von Schwerin shows many perculiar things not common to Swedish Bishops' Arms. Firstly the Shield is divided per Saltire rather than Quarterly usualy found. The Diocesean Arms is also shown in the wrong Way in field III it shoould bee Or a a Key and Sword in Saltire Azure not a Sword and Key in Saltire. For a Evangelical Lutheran Bishop the use of the tinctures Or and Argent associated with the Vatican seems not that well placed. The Motto translates rougly as "Come and See".

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The Star is the Bethlehem Star and the Salamander is taken from the Bishops Noble Family Armorial Bearings.

Re: New Bishop of Strängnäs (Sweden)

Posted: 09 Sep 2015, 18:11
by Marcus Karlsson
From Adelsvapen.com the Armorial Bearings of the Noble Lineage No 1718 Dalman to which the Bishop belongs. Image

Re: New Bishop of Strängnäs (Sweden)

Posted: 30 Oct 2015, 06:22
by Michael F. McCartney
The Argent and Or makes sense to me on two levels - the colors of the stole and mitre; and the fields of his family arms, as shown above, and of the diocese arms (assuming the blue sword and key in the diocese arms are on a gold field).

Re: New Bishop of Strängnäs (Sweden)

Posted: 30 Oct 2015, 10:33
by Chas Charles-Dunne
I suppose the reversal of the Diocesan Arms was done to achieve some sort of visual balance.

Re: New Bishop of Strängnäs (Sweden)

Posted: 30 Oct 2015, 11:25
by Chris Green
Otto von Schwerin is no amateur and really should know better than to come up with this mish-mash. What are these arms supposed to be? They are not the arms of the bishopric of Strängnäs (which for the benefit of our non-Scandinavian readers is pronounced "Strengness"), nor the arms of Bishop Dalman himself.

The arms of the see of Strängnäs are:

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and in accordance with Swedish practice should be quartered 1 & 4, with the personal arms of the bishop 2 & 3. These, for example, are the arms of the present (female) Bishop of Stockholm:

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If Bishop Dalman is not entitled to the undifferenced arms of Dalman (and the Swedish Riddarhus would be able to say without much research), then he could have used the Dalman arms suitably differenced. Instead von S has cobbled together arms that are neither his, nor the diocese's, nor a correct quartering of the two.

Re: New Bishop of Strängnäs (Sweden)

Posted: 30 Oct 2015, 11:47
by Chris Green
I have since looked at von S's company website

http://rhombus.hemsida24.se/en

There is a picture, by the man himself, of the CoA of the previous Bishop of Strängnäs:

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So one cannot say that he is ignorant of the correct practice.

Re: New Bishop of Strängnäs (Sweden)

Posted: 31 Oct 2015, 22:34
by Claus K Berntsen
Chris Green wrote:I have since looked at von S's company website

http://rhombus.hemsida24.se/en

There is a picture, by the man himself, of the CoA of the previous Bishop of Strängnäs:

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So one cannot say that he is ignorant of the correct practice.

That rendition is merely a digital version of the original drawn by Ronny Andersen, and devised by the Swedish Heraldry Society's Workgroup for Ecclesiastical Heraldry in 2005.

The original drawing can be seen on Ronny's website [url="http://www.arsheraldica.dk/9517/BiskopNordinNyVersion"]here[/url], or if you haven't got the time to go there, right here:
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Re: New Bishop of Strängnäs (Sweden)

Posted: 31 Oct 2015, 22:41
by Claus K Berntsen
Chris Green wrote:If Bishop Dalman is not entitled to the undifferenced arms of Dalman (and the Swedish Riddarhus would be able to say without much research), then he could have used the Dalman arms suitably differenced. Instead von S has cobbled together arms that are neither his, nor the diocese's, nor a correct quartering of the two.

Bishop Dalman is so entitled, and used the arms before being raised to the episcopacy.

The real problem I have with these arms, are that they fail to properly show the bishop's jurisdiction, as the per saltire has not been used in this way before, as far as I know. It also fails to tell what the bishop's personal arms look like. What will/should he use when retired, and no longer can/should be using the diocesan arms?

Re: New Bishop of Strängnäs (Sweden)

Posted: 31 Oct 2015, 22:44
by Claus K Berntsen
Michael F. McCartney wrote:The Argent and Or makes sense to me on two levels - the colors of the stole and mitre; and the fields of his family arms, as shown above, and of the diocese arms (assuming the blue sword and key in the diocese arms are on a gold field).

Actually, there is no stole, only the mitre with its lappets (infulæ).

Re: New Bishop of Strängnäs (Sweden)

Posted: 01 Nov 2015, 06:47
by Chris Green
That rendition is merely a digital version of the original drawn by Ronny Andersen, and devised by the Swedish Heraldry Society's Workgroup for Ecclesiastical Heraldry in 2005.

My point was that von S clearly knows what the arms of a Bishop of Strängnäs should look like (substituting Dalman arms for his predecessor's).

Bishop Dalman is so entitled, and used the arms before being raised to the episcopacy.

So von S has no business breaking up the arms to create this new concoction.

The real problem I have with these arms, are that they fail to properly show the bishop's jurisdiction, as the per saltire has not been used in this way before, as far as I know. It also fails to tell what the bishop's personal arms look like. What will/should he use when retired, and no longer can/should be using the diocesan arms?

Absolutely!