Armorial bindings; Bookplates, English; Heraldry -- Great Britain
The coronets of younger children of the Sovereign are the same as that
of the Prince of Wales, but without the arch.
[Illustration]
The coronets of Princes, grandchildren of the Sovereign, are the same
as those of the younger children of the Sovereign, except that the two
outer crosses pattée are replaced by strawberry leaves.
[Illustration]
Charles II. settled all these matters as they now are, and also
ordained that Princes, grandchildren or nephews of the Sovereign,
being also Dukes, should wear on their coronets four crosses pattée
alternately with four strawberry leaves.
[Illustration]
The Black Prince was the first English Duke. The title derives from
Dux, a leader, and was, and still is, a sovereign title in many
instances. The Black Prince was created a Duke in 1337 by his father
Edward III. On the Prince's tomb at Canterbury he wears over his helmet
a coronet which shows ten or more leaves on short pyramidal points
rising from the circlet. The present ducal coronet is probably a
survival of this form. The Black Prince's helmet with chapeau and crest
is also preserved at Canterbury. On the tomb of John Beaufort, Duke of
Somerset (1444), at Wimborne Minster, he is shown wearing a coronet
set with several trefoils or leaves rising from the circlet. The same
design shows in _Prince Arthur's Book_ (1501-2) at the College of
Arms, where the banner of Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, is ensigned
with a coronet bearing several leaves resembling strawberry leaves.
At the coronation of Edward VII., the official description of a Duke's
coronet is "of silver gilt, and on the circle eight strawberry leaves."
Pictorially five of these leaves are shown.
[Illustration]
The first English Marquis was Robert de Vere, created Marquis of Dublin
by Richard II. in 1387. A Lord Marcher was a Governor or Ruler of
the Marches, or Frontiers, but the dignity did not become hereditary
until the fourteenth century. It was a position of much importance and
responsibility. The coronet of a Marquis is nearly the same as that of
a Duke, but each alternate leaf is turned into a silver ball or pearl.
At the coronation of Edward VII., the official description of a
Marquis's coronet is "of silver gilt, and on the circle four gold
strawberry leaves and four silver balls alternately, the latter a
little raised on points above the rim." Pictorially three strawberry
leaves and two pearls are shown.
[Illustration]
The title of Earl, or Eorl, is one of Anglo-Saxon origin, and probably
derived from the Danish Jarl. Eorls were warriors and had charge of
shires, but by the Normans they were called Counts. It is the oldest
English title of nobility.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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