International Women's Day 2018 : Lafond arms
Posted: 08 Mar 2018, 18:15
8 March is International Women's Day. Last year, we looked at the approaches taken by different heraldry authorities to the bearing of arms by women. This year, an interesting and possibly unique example from Canada.
These are the arms of Mme Michaƫlle Jean, who was governor-general of Canada 2005-2010. They were granted in 2005 :
These are the arms of her husband, Jean-Daniel Lafond. They were granted in 2008 :
These are the arms of their daughter, Marie-Eden Lafond. Each of her parents' grants included a differenced "cadet shield" for her, and in 2009, she was granted her own motto. This emblazonment is from her 2009 patent :
Mlle Lafond has the option of
- using her maternal arms only, with a label for difference; or
- using her paternal arms only, with a bordure compony for difference; or
- quartering the two arms, in which case the marks of cadency fall away.
Presumably these options also apply to other Canadian women who are heirs to both maternal and paternal arms. However, they would probably place the paternal arms in the first and fourth quarters, whereas, in this case, the maternal arms take precedence. Presumably this is because Mme Jean, by virtue of her high office, outranks her husband.
These are the arms of Mme Michaƫlle Jean, who was governor-general of Canada 2005-2010. They were granted in 2005 :
These are the arms of her husband, Jean-Daniel Lafond. They were granted in 2008 :
These are the arms of their daughter, Marie-Eden Lafond. Each of her parents' grants included a differenced "cadet shield" for her, and in 2009, she was granted her own motto. This emblazonment is from her 2009 patent :
Mlle Lafond has the option of
- using her maternal arms only, with a label for difference; or
- using her paternal arms only, with a bordure compony for difference; or
- quartering the two arms, in which case the marks of cadency fall away.
Presumably these options also apply to other Canadian women who are heirs to both maternal and paternal arms. However, they would probably place the paternal arms in the first and fourth quarters, whereas, in this case, the maternal arms take precedence. Presumably this is because Mme Jean, by virtue of her high office, outranks her husband.