Yes,…this *is* the final post I am going to write on heraldry and the Austen family. However in view of all the interest in my posts on heraldry, liveries and the Austens earlier this year, I thought you might like to see some examples of the Austen crest and seal which are on show at the Jane Austen’s House Museum at Chawton.
Above is a wax imprint of the Austen Crest made from a seal. Below is a close up of the wax imprint and you can see, very clearly, that the crest is, as we know, a stag atop a cornet or crown made from bricks…
This is the same device that George Austen, Jane’s father used on his bookplate, below .
Correclty, using heraldic terms, it should be described as:
On a mural crown or, a stag sejant argent, attired or.
Above is an example of an intaglio seal , made from a hard stone, possibly cornelian, engraved with the Austen coat of arms. The blazon( or strict heraldic description ) is as follows:
Or, a chevron gules between three lions gambs erect, erased sable armed of the second.
Which was, as we know from looking at a coloured version of the arms (as shown below on the memorial to James Austen’s first wife, Anne, in Steventon parish church) consisted of
a gold background, upon which is a red chevron, and three lions paws cut off at the middle joint , which are coloured black.
The Austen family motto is inscribed on a ribbon or banner underneath the arms. It is in latin and reads:
Qui Invidit Minor Est
which roughly translated into English means:
Who envies me is smaller than I
Having bourne with all my long meanderings on this subject I thought you all might be interested in seeing some more examples. And I will end this obsession with all things heraldic now, I promise. Well, I will for the time being….;)
14 comments
March 9, 2012 at 1:50 pm
BestBitsAboutBrighton
What a great family motto!
March 11, 2012 at 11:35 am
jfwakefield
It certainly is! Lovely to “see” you here , by the way :)
March 9, 2012 at 2:00 pm
Ramya
Wow! So cool…
March 11, 2012 at 11:37 am
jfwakefield
They are very interesting times, Ia free. I have really enjoyed delving into the aspect of Austen family history, and sharing it here ;)
March 9, 2012 at 3:14 pm
Else T.
Love this info! I enjoy heraldry and have been waiting for your explanation. Thanks so much!
March 11, 2012 at 11:37 am
jfwakefield
So glad(and thank you for your patience!)
March 9, 2012 at 11:11 pm
Cathy Allen
Oh, please don’t end it! I feel relatively certain that I speak for a lot of people: I’ve enjoyed every bit, and learned a lot. I never knew there was so much to it. I do have a couple of questions, though. Why would one use only the CREST, instead of the whole arms? And why is the motto in Latin? It seems like any arms I’ve been aware of (and that’s a key word, AWARE) such as the Prince of Wales’, has a motto in French or Latin. Is that an indication of the age of the family’s right to bear arms? I know that in past centuries, Latin, and then French, were the languages of diplomacy. Does that have anything to do with it? Thank you, Julie.
March 11, 2012 at 11:45 am
jfwakefield
The Crest was a separate part of the arms of a family. It used to be used as a motif on a helmet during tournaments and battles in the medieval period (and beyond). So, it had, therefore, a separate use, as an identifier. Ladies, unless they are sole heiresses of a family, cannot use crests, note,because as they did not fight in battle there was no reason for them to use a crest. As I understand it, a motto can be in any language, but Latin is very common. “Ich dien ” the Prince of Wales’ motto, is actually in German, though the reason why seems to have been lost in the mists of time ;) The motto is a verbal statement of the family’s ideals, really, but IIRC,mottos are not irrevocably part of a family’s armourials and they can be changed( but rarely are in my experience) Does that help?
March 11, 2012 at 7:51 pm
Cathy Allen
Thank you, yes that DOES help very much. I thought the Prince of Wales’ motto was, “Honi Soit Qui Mal y Pense,” so I have now found that that is the motto of the Order of the Garter (for anyone reading this who is interested), and HIS motto is translated “I Serve.” THAT is quite nice, because I’ve seen recordings of the Queen in her speech after her accession, telling about that motto. (And she certainly has done it, hasn’t she?!)
So, returning to the Austen family, someone back in medieval times must have fought in a tournament, so the crest on HIS helmet is part of the family arms. Even to this day, I expect. How very interesting! Thank you for the clarification.
March 12, 2012 at 9:39 am
jfwakefield
Well, not necessarily.That was the crests ancient function, admittedly, but as the first granting of arms to the Austen family ( nor Austeyn as it was then spelt) was made in 1574, I think it unlikely these particular Austens, who were yeoman farmers would have gone into battle thus attired ;)BUt certainly the crest is an element of the arms of the family- as you can see it sits atop the shield that has the arms upon it, and so can be used, when appropriate by descendants of the original grantees. Mr Austen used his on his coach, his bookplate and had the seal engraved with the crest for use on documents ;)
March 17, 2012 at 3:28 am
imogen88
Love this kind of history, thank you Julie.
March 21, 2012 at 10:06 am
jfwakefield
My pleasure,Moni.And to think, I thought you would all be bored to tears!
March 21, 2012 at 1:36 pm
imogen88
LOL, not a chance on this blog, Julie!
March 23, 2012 at 6:45 pm
jfwakefield
:)