Coat of arms of the Drapers Company
Encyclopedia
Worshipful Company of Drapers
The Worshipful Company of Drapers is one of the 108 Livery Companies of the City of London; it has the formal name of The Master and Wardens and Brethren and Sisters of the Guild or Fraternity of the Blessed Mary the Virgin of the Mystery of Drapers of the City of London but is more usually known...
, The Master and Wardens and Brethren and Sisters of the Guild or Fraternity of the Blessed Mary the Virgin of the Mystery of Drapers of the City of London was probably the first corporate body in England to be granted a coat of arms, on 10 March 1439. The arms were modified in 1561, when the crest was added and the original supporters of two angels changed to the current lions, and again in 1613, when the shape of the crowns was changed and the motto added.
The College of Arms
College of Arms
The College of Arms, or Heralds’ College, is an office regulating heraldry and granting new armorial bearings for England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
says that many livery companies and other bodies received grants after the Drapers. The Drapers' Company always says that it has the oldest extant grant.
Blazon
| Azure | On a blue background |
| Three clouds | three clouds |
| radiated proper | with the sun emerging from behind, all in their natural ('proper') colours |
| each adorned with a Triple Crown Or | each cloud has a gold three tiered crown |
| Supporters | |
| Two lions, Or, pelletted | Two gold lions with black spots (or 'pellets') |
| Crest | |
| On the helm | A helmet, |
| a wreath of the Company's colours, thereon | on which is a ring of twisted blue and gold cloth |
| a mount Vert thereon | a green hill, on top of which is |
| a Ram couchant Or | a gold Ram lying down but with head raised |
| armed Sable | the ram's horns are black |
| the whole hatchment | the whole coat of arms |
| mantled gules doubled argent | is on a cloak of red lined with white or silver |
Symbolism
The Company's patron is the Virgin Mary.It has been suggested that the arms demonstrate that from Mary, through the Holy Spirit, comes the divine Son of God: thus the sunbeams represent the brilliance and light of the Virgin Mary, and the cloud which is a frequent symbol for the Holy Spirit. Mary was deemed to be an empress; the symbol for an emperor/empress is the triple crown, still used by the Vatican City
Vatican City
Vatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of...
.
The triple repetition is dictated by the general principle of three charges to a shield apparent in medieval heraldry.