Tilting Helms in National arms.

[Ryan Shuflin]

Many of former colonies have tilting helms as opposed to the golden barred ones usually given to sovereigns. Thoughts?

[Jeremy Kudlick]

If the former colony is not a monarchy in its own right, then there is no Sovereign who would have the heraldic right to the barred gold helm. Perhaps those former colonies recognized they did not have a right to use the helm. Or perhaps, like the United States, the government is prohibited from granting knighthoods or titles of nobility, which would obviate the use of helms except tilting or great helms for armorial display.

Were there any specific examples you had in mind?

[Jonathan Webster]

Canada, Jamaica, The Bahamas and Grenada all have golden helms affronty and are all former British colonies that are now independent monarchies. Trinidad and Tobago has one but has gone from being a monarchy to a republic. Antigua and Barbuda, St Kitts and Nevis, Barbados, and St Lucia all have esquire's helmets and are all former British colonies thai are now monarchies. The Gambia, and until 2000 South Africa, likewise but they became Republics via constitutional amendment. Oh, and I forgot to mention Guyana is a former British colony cum monarchy cum republic that uses a gold helm affronty.

[JMcMillan]

If the former colony is not a monarchy in its own right, then there is no Sovereign who would have the heraldic right to the barred gold helm.

Any sovereign, whether a monarch or not, has the right to a barred gold helm or any other heraldic honor he, she, it, or they may choose to accord itself. The State of New Jersey, for example, does so:



The legal blazon enacted by the state legislature specifically provides for "Shield surmounted by sovereign's helmet, six bars, or."

I suspect that most of the former British colonies still using the ordinary gentleman's helm had their arms granted by the College of Arms fairly late before independence and have simply not chosen to exercise their right to change them.

[Jonathan Webster]

Doesn't Maryland also utilise a sovereign's helm in its arms?

[Jeremy Kudlick]

The great seal of Maryland uses a baron's coronet of rank, since the proprietor of the colony was Baron Baltimore. I can't find any reference to arms of Maryland.

Personally, I feel the use of a golden barred helm by a non-monarch is inappropriate, but if it is universally heraldically acceptable, then so be it.

[Jonathan Webster]

(Shrugs)-I don't see why not personally-a republic is after all just as much a sovereign as a monarch is. Now; if you want to get on the subject of crowns in the arms of a republic, that's a different matter (although not a indefensible one if you consider that many are mural crowns or are designated 'People's Crowns').

[Jonathan Webster]

As can be seen on the State Seal of Maryland; the arms feature a (silver) helm affronty.





-I seem to recall this having something to do with quasi-sovereign rights the Lords Baltimore exercised as regards Maryland, but I could be wrong on that point.

[JMcMillan]

As can be seen on the State Seal of Maryland; the arms feature a (silver) helm affronty.





-I seem to recall this having something to do with quasi-sovereign rights the Lords Baltimore exercised as regards Maryland, but I could be wrong on that point.

The arms used by the state are those of the Lords Proprietors in the version they enhanced for themselves as arms of dominion.

The helm is just the standard English helm for a peer, which the Barons of Baltimore were. But the coronet is that of an earl, not a baron. This was apparently justified on the grounds that the charter to Maryland gave the proprietor the powers equivalent to those of a count palatine. Count=earl, so the reasoning went.

The Baltimores also gave themselves new supporters in their roles as proprietors of Maryland, replacing the traditional Calvert leopards.

[JMcMillan]

I can't find any reference to arms of Maryland.

The arms on the seal of Maryland are the arms of Maryland. Obviously they began as purely the personal arms of the proprietor, but they became arms of dominion from being used as such. They were often referred to as "the arms of the province" in official correspondence during the colonial period. In 1854, when the arms were restored to the state seal after an interval of 60 years, the statute doing so referred to them as "the arms of the state."

See my article on this subject at http://www.americanheraldry.org/pages/i ... e.Maryland for citations and more info.