Canting arms

Examples of canting arms

Personal coats of arms

A famous example of canting arms are those of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother's paternal family, the Bowes-Lyon family. The arms (pictured below) contain the bows and blue lions that make up the arms of the Bowes and Lyon families.

File:Bowes-Lyon Arms.svg|Bowes-Lyon family: bows and lions File:Arms of Beatrice of York.svg|Princess Beatrice of York: Beatrice = bee thrice = three bees File:Rosetti arms.svg|Rosetti family: three roses File:Quintin Hogg Arms.svg|Quintin Hogg, Baron Hailsham of St Marylebone: three hog's heads File:Cokborgne blason.png|Cockburn: three red cocks File:Coat of Arms of John Caspar Crowninshield.svg|Crowninshield family: crown in shield File:Blason-argent-3-jumelles-gueules.svg|De Barry family: three bars gemelles File:Costa.png|Coat of arms of the head of the Portuguese Costa family: costa means "rib" in Latin and Portuguese File:Coat of Arms of Dwight Eisenhower.svg|President Dwight D. Eisenhower: a blacksmith's anvil, as Eisenhauer is German for "iron-hewer" File:Flag of Maryland.svg|alt=Flag of Maryland, originally the arms of George Calvert, 1st Lord Baltimore, whose mother's maiden name was Crossland; the latter's arms shows a cross.|Flag of Maryland, originally the arms of George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore, whose mother's maiden name was Crossland; the latter's arms shows a cross. File:Coat of Arms of Theodore Roosevelt.svg|Theodore Roosevelt: roses-fields File:Blason famille Maus (Gressenich, Namur, Anvers, Bruxelles).svg|Maus family: a mouse in the first and fourth quarters. File:Anthony Michael Gerard Rota Escutcheon.png|Anthony Rota: rota means "wheel" in Latin File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Edwin_Forrest.svg|Edwin Forrest: Three trees and a tree crest (forest) File:De-Saint-Pol-Campdavene.svg|Arms of the Campdavaine branch of the counts of Saint-Pol: a sheaf of oats (Camp d' means field of oats in that family's Picard language [Champ d'avoine in Paris French]).

Municipal coats of arms

Municipal coats of arms which interpret the town's name in rebus form are also called canting. Here are a few examples. File:Coat of Arms of Berwickshire County Council 1890-1975.svg|The arms of Berwickshire, Scotland: Bear and wych elm File:Elmbridge BC Crest of Arms.png|Elmbridge, Surrey (1974): elm tree on bridge. (The toponym is related to bridges but not to elms; the prefix refers to Emel, a former name for the river Mole.) File:Blason de la ville de Châteaurenard (13).svg|Châteaurenard: Château = castle; Renard = fox File:DEU Eberbach COA.svg|Eberbach (1976): Eber = boar; Bach = brook (wavy blue fess) File:Hensbroek.svg|The coat of arms of the village of Hensbroek in North Holland interprets the toponym as "hen-breeches" (the toponym is unrelated to either "hen" or "breeches", deriving from the personal name Hein and the Dutch cognate of "brook", i.e. "Henry's brook".) File:FEC.png|Freixo de Espada à Cinta (1926): Freixo = ash (tree); de Espada = with sword; à Cinta = at the waist, in Portuguese File:Falkenberg kommunvapen - Riksarkivet Sverige-vector.svg|Falkenberg (1948): Falken = falcon; Berg = hill, in Swedish File:Seinäjoki.vaakuna.svg|Seinäjoki (1951): = wall, joki = river Kontiolahti.vaakuna.svg|Arms of Kontiolahti featuring a bear ( or kontio), carrying a log driving pike pole referring to the importance of forestry in the region's economy File:DEU Berlin COA.svg|Berlin (1954): Bär = bear CHE Bern COA.svg|City and canton of Bern: Bär = Bear File:Escudo de Manacor (Islas Baleares).svg|Manacor: man a cor = hand with heart, in Catalan File:Escut de Torrevella (2001).svg|Torrevieja (1829): Torre = tower, vieja = old File:Coat of Arms of Kryvyi Rih.svg|Kryvyi Rih: Kryvyi = crooked, Rih = horn, in Ukrainian File:Coat of Arms of Rueda (Valladolid).svg|Rueda (1986): rueda = wheel in Spanish File:POL Łódź COA.svg|Łódź: Łódź = boat File:DEU Wolfsburg COA.svg|Wolfsburg: Wolf's Castle File:Blason ville fr Magenta (Marne).svg|Arms of Magenta, France, feature a bend sinister in magenta, an extremely rare tincture in heraldry File:Örnsköldsvik vapen.svg|Örnsköldsvik (1894): örn = eagle, sköld = shield and vik = Bay. File:DEU Füssen COA.svg|Füssen: Füße = feet File:Schaffhausen-coat of arms.svg|Schaffhausen: Schaf = sheep, Haus = house File:Wappen at steinhaus.png|Steinhaus: Stein = stone, Haus = house File:AUT Schattendorf COA.svg|Schattendorf: Schatten = shadow, Dorf = village File:AUT Hadersdorf-Kammern COA.jpg|Hadersdorf-Kammern: Hader = quarrel, Dorf = village File:Wappendornbirn.svg|The arms of Dornbirn feature pears, Birn in German File:Kotka.vaakuna.svg|The arms of Kotka feature an eagle () File:Seal of South Kuching.svg|An example of canting arms outside Europe: the Malaysian city of Kuching features a cat on its municipal coat of arms, kuc(h)ing being the Malay word for cat

Ecclesiastical coats of arms

File:CoA Roman Catholic Diocese of Lansing.svg|The arms of the Diocese of Lansing: The lances crossed per saltire are a play on the name of the see, the city of Lansing, Michigan. File:CoA Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre.svg|The arms of the Diocese of Rockville Centre: The mounds in the circle at the center of the arms are a play on the name of city in which the diocese is based, Rockville Centre, New York. File:Coat of Arms Diocese of Baton Rouge, LA.svg|The arms of the Diocese of Baton Rouge: The shield features a red baton, referencing the city name, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and its literal French meaning. File:Coat of Arms Diocese of Buffalo, NY.png|The arms of the Diocese of Buffalo: The arms feature an American bison, colloquially called a buffalo, carrying a banner of the Cross of St. George (analogous to the heraldic Lamb of God), referencing the name of city in which the see is based, Buffalo, New York. File:Coat of Arms Diocese of Brownsville, TX.png|The arms of the Diocese of Brownsville: The tincture of the field, tenné, is depicted as brown, referencing the seat of the diocese, Brownsville, Texas. File:CoA Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix.svg|The arms of the Diocese of Phoenix: The arms feature a phoenix, the namesake of the diocesan seat, Phoenix, Arizona. File:Coat of Arms Diocese of Fort Worth, TX.png|The arms of the Diocese of Fort Worth: The arms feature a castle, referencing the fort for which the city, Fort Worth, Texas, was named. File:Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Anchorage.svg|The arms of the Archdiocese of Anchorage: The anchor references the namesake of the see, Anchorage, Alaska. File:Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford.svg|The arms of the Archdiocese of Hartford: The arms feature a hart, a male deer, in the midst of flowing water, i.e., fording a body of water, referencing the name of the see, Hartford, Connecticut. File:Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles.svg|The arms of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles: The arms feature three pairs of wings, denoting three angels, and referencing the namesake of the see, Los Angeles, California, which translates to "the angels."

Notes

Sources

• Winifred Hall: Canting and Allusive Arms of England and Wales. 1966.

References

• {{Cite web

References

1. "Tinctures".
2. Neznanich, Modar. "Heraldry for Those Who Cant".
3. Englefield, Eric. (1979). "Flags". Ward Lock.
4. Room, Adrian. (1988). "Dictionary Of Place Names In The British Isles". Bloomsbury.
5. (1982). "Suomen kunnallisvaakunat". Suomen Kunnallisliitto.
6. Schneider, Klaus-Michael. "Municipality of Manacor". CRW Flags.
7. "Bishop Boyea arms". Roman Catholic Diocese of Lansing.
8. "Bishop Barres arms". Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre.