The College of Arms

Arms, Kenya ,Stakeholders

Stakeholders
Workshop Held on 25th February 2011 at KIE Nairobi

Presented by Joseph Kamenju

A Member of The College of Arms, Nairobi, Kenya
H ld off th
Herald the morning
i
The word “Heraldry”
Heraldry
German “heer”
heer - a host, an army

E li h
English: - Signaling
Si li
- Crying out.
- Proclaiming
A Herald blows a trumpet ahead
of an army
The International Herald Tribune
•A Herald of the Morning
•A town crier
•Today’s messager or bringer of News
 Heraldry:
y

Pomp and ceremony,

especially attended
with armorial
trappings; pageantry.

Mao Parade
Heraldry
Th science
The i off armorial
i lbbearings
i
(ARMS)

Samburu
Armorial
Bearings
 WHAT IS A LOGO?
• A company or product identifier
• The Crier for a Company
• The Herald of an Organization or Company

Heralding or announcing the end of thirst

To Embazon is to decorate something

David Beckam

Kamba Cattle Emblazoning

Nd b l H
Ndebele House E
Emblazons
bl

or to depict an armorial bearing in graphic form.

To emblazon a shield is to graphically draw it up
using the rules of heraldic art. These are scientific
rules not unlike the rules for Kamba cattle
emblazoning. Emblazoned Maasai Shields
The term “blason,”
,
by which the science of heraldry is denoted in
French, English, Italian, and German, is probably
derived from the German word “blazen” -- to blow
the horn.

The term Blazon

is the formal defining description of a coat of arms in
Heraldry.y The p
primaryy definition of a coat of arms is
the blazon, not an image.
To Blazon is to describe an armorial
design in heraldic language
Town Coucil of Karatina
BLAZON
An African shield a fess argent
sixteen billets argent overall two
bars sable representative of a
railroad
il d ttrackk iin chief
hi f azure a
muratina tree fruited and
eradicated proper in base azure
the snow clad p peaks of Mount
Kenya proper as the same are in
the margin hereof more plainly
depicted.
SUPPORTERS:
On either side a young Kikuyu
man and woman both habited
proper and each clasping one of
two spears crossed saltirewise
behind the shield and the woman
holding a scales in her left hand.
Coat of arms of the
Republic of Kenya Various Logos
 WHAT IS A COAT OF ARMS?
• The official shield or seal of a family, state, etc
having an arrangement of bearings, or symbols,
usually depicted on and around a shield, in a
special language described as heraldry which
indicates ancestry and special distinctions.

• A University’s Coat of Arms for example carries

symbols valued by the institution over time and
is the central element within the system's official
seals.
seals
THE GREAT SEAL OF THE USA

MOTTO: OUT OF MANY, ONE

Sir Paul McCartney, Kt, M.B.E. Coat of Arms
• The design of Sir Paul McCartney's coat of arms
granted in June 2001
2001, not only incorporates
his musical career, but also incorporates his
Liverpudlian roots with the crest showing a Liver
bird holding a guitar in its claw. The time he
spent with fellow band members John Lennon,
George Harrison and Ringo Star are also
represented in Sir Paul's design by the four
curvedd emblems
bl on th
the shield
hi ld which
hi h resembles
bl
'beetles' backs, while the two black circles also
shown on the shield symbolises records and
CDs. The motto ' Ecce Cor Meum ' in Latin is
Behold myy Heart is the title of the oratorio Sir
Paul wrote during his first wife's Linda's illness.
We use heraldry,
or armory,
armory to
identify persons;
their documents,
documents
their buildings,
towns and tombs.
Such use of
heraldry has
resulted
lt d iin ttwo
other, but
secondary,
secondary
purposes:
commemoration
and decoration.
 Starehe Boys Centre
Commemorating the founder Mr. Griffin with a Griffin erased?
ORIGINS

Mediaeval Europe
p
• Age of chivalry
g
• Knights in Armor
• Identification

Blazonry
• The artistic decoration
of shields for
purposes of display
and identification
 ORIGINS
• The knight upon his
return home usually
hung his helmet and
shield on a wall and
p them with
draped
his cloak. This was
p
later represented byy
artists as his “Coat
of Arms
Arms”
ORIGINS OF
THE DESIGN
SG
Sketched roughly from
the appearance of the
knight or the hanging
off the
th armorial
i l
bearings
A Crest
A.
B.Wreath (Torse)
C Helmet (Side View)
C.Helmet
D.Mantling
E.Shield
F.Scroll (Motto)
Formal arrangement of a Coat of Arms showing the main
elements. This is refered to as “Full Achievement of Arms”
The term ARMS refers to the shield alone as the principle
element of the Achievement.
 ARMS
• The most important
p
part of the Coat of
Arms is the shield
and is the one
called “Coat of
Arms” or “Arms”.
The rest of the
elements only go
into giving a more
complete story
referred to as the
“Full Achievement
of Arms”
FULL ACHIEVEMENT OF ARMS

Coat of Arms of The University of Nairobi

THE SCIENCE OF SHIELD COLOURS
THE SCIENCE OF SHIELD DIVISIONS
(ORDINARIES)
THE SCIENCE OF ELEMENTS THAT DIVIDE
THE SHIELD (SUB-ORDINARIES)
(SUB ORDINARIES)
THE SCIENCE OF PLACING ELEMENTS
ON THE SHIELD (CHARGES) examples
l
 SHIELD SHAPES

16th Century after

19th Century by
Walter Leonhard
Knight and Rumley

Shield shapes vary according to the geographical origin as well as the time period.
GRANT OF ARMS
The A
Th Arms are granted
t dbby th
the
Registrar of Arms in Kenya, and in
other countries by the King of Arms,
, such other official
the State Herald,or
mandated by law to grant such arms.
To a University, Local or Municipal
authority,
y, etc.,, such a Grant together
g
with the Charter, and the Mace,
constitute the only visible
instruments of power and authority
so that they attain the status of
hallowed objects.
Grants are also given by the
sovereign to persons who have
significantly enriched the Realms of
the sovereign. (see pdf)
Examples here in Kenya are
Presidential grants like EBS, EGH,
etc orders.
 CAERNAVON
CASTLE

• On the
investure of
the Prince of
Wales on 1st
July 1969
Municipal Council of Nyeri Council Chamber
Maasai Moran’s
(B lt)
(Belt)
United Kingdom Flag
R
Republic
bli off S
South
h Af
Africa
i FlFlag
R
Republic
bli off K
Kenya Fl
Flag