BBC coat of arms
Encyclopedia
The coat of arms of the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

was adopted in March 1927 to represent the purpose and values of the corporation. While the coat of arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...

 is now in relative obscurity — it does not appear on BBC programmes for example - this was not always the case. The coat of arms was modified in 1986 when the BBC logo was redesigned. No elements of the coat of arms were changed, however the shapes made more angular and more heraldic looking.

Elements

The various elements of the coat of arms were chosen to provide a heraldic
Heraldry
Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...

 translation of the qualities of the BBC.
  • Lion — the crest
    Crest (heraldry)
    A crest is a component of an heraldic display, so called because it stands on top of a helmet, as the crest of a jay stands on the bird's head....

     of the coat of arms has a lion above the helmet. The lion is the national animal of the UK and indicates the BBC's British identity.
  • Thunderbolt — The lion grasps a thunderbolt in its outstretched paw, this to represent broadcasting itself (transmission).
  • Eagles — In heraldic language the two eagles which grasp the shield are "supporters
    Supporters
    In heraldry, supporters are figures usually placed on either side of the shield and depicted holding it up. These figures may be real or imaginary animals, human figures, and in rare cases plants or inanimate objects...

    ". Eagles were chosen to depict the inherent speed of broadcasting. Both eagles have bugles suspended from their collars, representing "proclamation", i.e. the public service element of broadcasting.
  • Motto — The coat of arms features the BBC motto
    Motto
    A motto is a phrase meant to formally summarize the general motivation or intention of a social group or organization. A motto may be in any language, but Latin is the most used. The local language is usual in the mottoes of governments...

    , "Nation shall speak peace unto Nation"
  • Shield
    • Globe — the globe in the shield of the coat of arms represents the scope and breadth of the BBC's operations
    • Estoiles — Around the globe are seven estoiles, heraldic symbols for divine goodness and nobility. Their place in the shield increase the representation of the scope and breadth of the corporation. They also symbolize the seven planets in the Solar System other than the Earth. Following the later discovery of Pluto in 1930, there were eight other recognised planets; however, the number of other planets was again reduced to seven when Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet in 2006.


The background of the shield, the mantling (drapery depicted tied to the helmet above the shield) and the collars of the eagles are blue (azure
Tincture (heraldry)
In heraldry, tinctures are the colours used to emblazon a coat of arms. These can be divided into several categories including light tinctures called metals, dark tinctures called colours, nonstandard colours called stains, furs, and "proper". A charge tinctured proper is coloured as it would be...

 in heraldry).

The style of the coat of arms has changed considerably over time; from the style of the motto, the formality of the lion and eagles, the alignment of the shield (it was tilted in early versions, and is now perfectly straight) and the addition of a compartment (the design placed under the shield, a grassy mound in the BBC coat of arms).

Motto

The idealistic BBC motto is most likely based on biblical verses from the Book of Micah
Book of Micah
The Book of Micah is one of fifteen prophetic books in the Hebrew bible/Old Testament, and the sixth of the twelve minor prophets. It records the sayings of Mikayahu, meaning "Who is like Yahweh?", an 8th century prophet from the village of Moresheth in Judah...

 and the Book of Isaiah
Book of Isaiah
The Book of Isaiah is the first of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, preceding the books of Ezekiel, Jeremiah and the Book of the Twelve...

: "Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.

In 1934 the motto was changed to "Quaecunque", meaning "Whatsoever". This was inspired by St Paul's Epistle to the Philippians
Epistle to the Philippians
The Epistle of Paul to the Philippians, usually referred to simply as Philippians, is the eleventh book in the New Testament. Biblical scholars agree that it was written by St. Paul to the church of Philippi, an early center of Christianity in Greece around 62 A.D. Other scholars argue for an...

 4:8:

This inspired the dedication that appears in the entrance hall of Broadcasting House
Broadcasting House
Broadcasting House is the headquarters and registered office of the BBC in Portland Place and Langham Place, London.The building includes the BBC Radio Theatre from where music and speech programmes are recorded in front of a studio audience...

:
in 1948 the motto reverted to the original.

Useage

Prior to 1986, the logo was used on a few sources, mainly BBC documentation and stationary, such as the BBC Handbook, or for some uses around some of the studios. In these occurrences the coat of arms wouldn't be used directly, but used subtly on other furniture, such as the bollards outside New Broadcasting House, Manchester.

Following the redesign in 1986, the coat of arms was used much more frequently alongside the main logo. Some examples include:
  • In the BBC's "virtual" news set, used between 1993 and 1999, much of what was seen was computer generated using Silicon Graphics
    Silicon Graphics
    Silicon Graphics, Inc. was a manufacturer of high-performance computing solutions, including computer hardware and software, founded in 1981 by Jim Clark...

     systems. The titles opened to the BBC News logo overlaid on the spinning globe. The shot widened to include the whole coat of arms and finally the whole set (of which only the newsreaders and parts of the desk were real). The coat of arms, studio lights, floor and the majority of the desk were all computer generated.
  • The generic BBC News titles prior to 1993 used a transmitter as its icon, similar to that used on the coat of arms.
  • The coat of arms featured on flags from BBC studios, and on signage for the studios themselves.
  • The BBC outakes programme Auntie's Bloomers
    Auntie's Bloomers
    Auntie's Bloomers was a blooper show hosted by Terry Wogan that ran from 29 December 1991 to 29 December 2001 and aired on BBC1. Most bloopers consisted of homegrown BBC programmes including soaps, sitcoms, dramas and news. Although the show was made by the BBC it was also made by independent...

     featured a set of large shelves with tape records, dusty corners and industrial lift shafts, meant to represent the BBC Archives. The centre of this set is Terry Wogan
    Terry Wogan
    Sir Michael Terence Wogan, KBE, DL , or also known as Terry Wogan, is a veteran Irish radio and television broadcaster who holds dual Irish and British citizenship. Wogan has worked for the BBC in the United Kingdom for most of his career...

    's desk where he provides his commentary. The floor in this central section features a large version of the coat of arms.
  • The coat of arms featured heavily on publications, including back covers and on the spines of books.


The coat of arms has now largely been superseded by the ubiquitous BBC blocks logo from 1997. It has not been abandoned by the corporation, but no longer appears on programmes or prominently in BBC publications, buildings or other locations.

Badge

The BBC was also granted a heraldic badge
Heraldic badge
A heraldic badge is an emblem or personal device worn as a badge to indicate allegiance to or the property of an individual or family. Medieval forms are usually called a livery badge, and also a cognizance...

of: A Thunderbolt proper thereon a Pellet inscribed with the letters BBC Or.
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