For the coat of arms of the Holy See, see Coat of arms of the Holy See.
Papal coats of arms are the personal coat of arms of popes of the Catholic Church. These have been a tradition since the Late Middle Ages, and has displayed his own, initially that of his family, and thus not unique to himself alone, but in some cases composed by him with symbols referring to his past or his aspirations.[1][2][3] This personal coat of arms coexists with that of the Holy See.
Although Boniface VIII (1294–1303), Eugene IV (1431–1447), Adrian VI (1522–1523) and a few others used no crest above their escutcheon, from John XXII (1316–1334) onward the papal tiara began to appear (a custom maintained until Nicholas V)[4] and, from the time of Nicholas V's successor, Callistus III (1455–1458), the tiara combined with the keys of Peter.[1][5]
Even before the early modern period, a man who did not have a family coat of arms would assume one upon becoming a bishop, as men did when knighted[6] or on achieving some other prominence.[7] Some who already had an episcopal coat of arms altered it on being elected to the papal throne.[1] The last pope who was elected without already being a bishop was Gregory XVI in 1831 and the last who was not even a priest when elected was Leo X in 1513.[8]
In the 16th and 17th century, heraldists also made up coats of arms for earlier popes, especially of the 11th and 12th centuries.[9] This became more restrained by the end of the 17th century.[10]
^ abcCoat of Arms of His Holiness Benedict XVI Vatican. Accessed 2008-03-15.
^Christoph F. Weber, "Heraldry", in Christopher Kleinhenz, Medieval Italy (Routledge 2004 ISBN 978-0-41593930-0), vol. 1, p. 496
^"Arms of the Popes from 1144–1893" in John Woodward, A Treatise on Ecclesiastical Heraldry (London and Edinburgh 1894), pp. 158–167
^Collenberg, p. 692
^Collenberg, p. 693]
^David Brewster, The Edinburgh Encyclopædia (Routledge 1999 ISBN 978-0-41518026-9), vol. 1, p. 342
^Christine de Pizan (1364 – c. 1430), The Book of Deeds of Arms and of Chivalry (English translation: Penn State Press 1999 ISBN 9780271043050, p. 216
^Religion News Service, "Popes and conclaves: everything you need to know"
^Pastoureau 1997, pp. 283–284
^Ottfried Neubecker (1976). Heraldry: Sources, Symbols and Meaning. McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-046308-5, p. 224
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