The coats of arms of the Holy See and Vatican City in the form that combines two crossed keys and a tiara used as a coat of arms of the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

have origins attested from the 14th century."A red shield bearing two white crossed keys, and surmounted by the tiara, is to be seen in a window of the cathedral of Bourges accompanying the achievements of the

anti-pope An antipope ( la, antipapa) is a person who makes a significant and substantial attempt to occupy the position of Bishop of Rome and leader of the Catholic Church in opposition to the legitimately elected pope. At times between the 3rd and mid- ...

Clement VII Pope Clement VII ( la, Clemens VII; it, Clemente VII; born Giulio de' Medici; 26 May 1478 – 25 September 1534) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 November 1523 to his death on 25 September 1534. Deemed "the ...

and Benedict XIII, and other examples of these tinctures are to be found in manuscripts dating from the time of the former of these anti-popes and from that of

Nicholas V Pope Nicholas V ( la, Nicholaus V; it, Niccolò V; 13 November 1397 – 24 March 1455), born Tommaso Parentucelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 March 1447 until his death in March 1455. Pope Eugene made ...

, in a series of shields painted on the ceiling formerly in the church of San Simone at Spoleto (ca. 1400), in the 15th-century glass in the cathedrals of York and of Carpentras, in various 15th-century books of arms both English, German, and Italian, as well as in Martin Schrot's book of arms which is as late as 1581.
Donald Lindsay Galbreath, ''A Treatise on Ecclesiastical Heraldry'' (W. Heffer and Sons, 1930)
The combination of one gold and one silver key is a somewhat later development.Donald Lindsay Galbreath, ''A Treatise on Ecclesiastical Heraldry'' (W. Heffer and Sons, 1930), p. 9
The coat of arms of

Vatican City Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—' * german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ') * pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—' * pt, Cidade do Vati ...

, a

sovereign ''Sovereign'' is a title which can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin , meaning 'above'. The roles of a sovereign vary from monarch, ruler or ...

entity established by the

Lateran Treaty The Lateran Treaty ( it, Patti Lateranensi; la, Pacta Lateranensia) was one component of the Lateran Pacts of 1929, agreements between the Kingdom of Italy under King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy and the Holy See under Pope Pius XI to settle ...

of 11 February 1929, was adopted by the Fundamental Law of the new state on 7 June 1929, and has its coat of arms defined by law as having the silver key in bend and the gold key in bend sinister.https://www.vatican.va/news_services/press/documentazione/documents/sp_ss_scv/insigne/sp_ss_scv_stemma-bandiera-sigillo_en.html#Stemma della Santa Sede For decades after the creation of Vatican City State, the arrangement of the keys in the Holy See's coat of arms as described in these sources distinguishes it from that of Vatican City State by a reversing of the gold and silver keys. However, such form of the coat of arms has not been used by the Holy See for decades: in all official events and in the diplomatic missions of the Holy See abroad, it is always the regular Vatican City flag (with the gold key pointing upwards to the right and the silver key pointing upwards to the left) that is flown,http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/Nunciatura_apostolica_BSB_01.jpg https://pamelaho.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/vatican-city-flag.jpg Reuters
/ref>http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/USA_and_Vatican_flag.jpg http://traditioninaction.org/religious/religiousimages/F017_WhiteHouse.jpg and the Vatican now only uses the Holy See's coat of arms in

monochrome A monochrome or monochromatic image, object or palette is composed of one color (or values of one color). Images using only shades of grey are called grayscale (typically digital) or black-and-white (typically analog). In physics, monochro ...

, which renders it, in practice, one and the same as the coat of arms of

Origins and background

Ecclesiastical heraldry Ecclesiastical heraldry refers to the use of heraldry within Christianity for dioceses, organisations and Christian clergy. Initially used to mark documents, ecclesiastical heraldry evolved as a system for identifying people and dioceses. It i ...

had the same origin and developed contemporaneously with general heraldry, which had become general throughout England, France, Italy and Germany by the end of the 12th century. Ecclesiastical heraldry appears first in seals, nearly all vesica-shaped. When

Pope Gregory IX Pope Gregory IX ( la, Gregorius IX; born Ugolino di Conti; c. 1145 or before 1170 – 22 August 1241) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 March 1227 until his death in 1241. He is known for issuing the '' Decr ...

waged war against

Emperor Frederick II Frederick II ( German: ''Friedrich''; Italian: ''Federico''; Latin: ''Federicus''; 26 December 1194 – 13 December 1250) was King of Sicily from 1198, King of Germany from 1212, King of Italy and Holy Roman Emperor from 1220 and King of Jerusa ...

in 1228, papal troops were described by

Richard of San Germano Richard of San Germano ( it, Riccardo; before 1170 – after October 1243) was a notary in San Germano in the Latin Valley not far from the monastery of Monte Cassino between February 1186 and March 1232. He wrote a chronicle (sometimes ''Chron ...

as "bearing the sign of the keys" (''clavigeros hostes'' or ''clavesignati''). The keys appeared on their banners and were sewn onto their clothing over their breasts. The conflict is consequently called

War of the Keys The War of the Keys (1228–1230) was the first military conflict between Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, and the Papacy. Fighting took place in central and southern Italy. The Papacy made strong gains at first, securing the Papal States and i ...

Keys and their arrangement

The earliest

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visu ...

ing of the arms of the Holy See is that found in

Froissart's Chronicles Froissart's ''Chronicles'' (or ''Chroniques'') are a prose history of the Hundred Years' War written in the 14th century by Jean Froissart. The ''Chronicles'' open with the events leading up to the deposition of Edward II in 1326, and cover th ...

of 1353, which describes them as "gules two keys in saltire argent". From the beginning of the 14th century, the arms of the Holy See had shown this arrangement of two crossed keys, most often with a gold key in bend and a silver in

bend sinister In heraldry, a bend is a band or strap running from the upper dexter (the bearer's right side and the viewer's left) corner of the shield to the lower sinister (the bearer's left side, and the viewer's right). Authorities differ as to how mu ...

, but sometimes with both keys or (gold), less often both keys silver, as described by Froissart."From the beginning of the 14th century, the two crossed keys constitute the arms of the papacy. The field of the shield is generally gules (red) and the cord is azure (blue). Most often the key placed in bend is gold and the one placed in bend sinister is silver; sometimes they are both gold, or, less often, silver"
Michel Pastoureau, "Keys" in Philippe Levillain, ''The Papacy: An Encyclopedia''
(Routledge 2002 ), vol. 2, p. 891). The practice by which the gold key is placed in bend and the silver in bend sinister was slow in establishing itself, and only from the time of

Pope Pius II Pope Pius II ( la, Pius PP. II, it, Pio II), born Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini ( la, Aeneas Silvius Bartholomeus, links=no; 18 October 1405 – 14 August 1464), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 August ...

is it found with certainty. "The practice of placing a gold key in bend over another in bend sinister of silver is not found with any certainty before the time of Pius II (1458–64)." In 1952–1953 the English Heraldry Society gave the blazon of the arms of the Holy See as "Gules a key ''or'' "gold" in French)in bend above a key ''argent'' "silver" in French)in bend sinister, both wards upwards, the bows united by a cord or, above the shield a tiara, its three crowns or "gold") the mitre argent "silver")". In his 1978 book, ''Heraldry in the Catholic Church'', Archbishop

Bruno Heim Bruno Bernard Heim (5 March 1911 – 18 March 2003) was the Vatican's first Apostolic Nuncio to Britain and was one of the most prominent armorists of twentieth century ecclesiastical heraldry. He published five books on heraldry and was respons ...

described the same arrangement. The arrangement of the keys in the Holy See's coat of arms as was described in these sources distinguished it from that of Vatican City State by a reversing of the gold and silver keys. However, the Holy See authorities have all but ceased to use the distinct coat of arms that theoretically represented the Holy See – in all official events and including diplomatic missions of the Holy See abroad, it is always the regular Vatican City flag, with the golden key pointing upwards to the right (and the silver key pointing upwards to the left), that is flown. The Vatican itself now only uses the Holy See coat of arms in

, which makes it indistinguishable from the coat of arms of

''Sede vacante''

The gold key is placed in bend also in the '' sede vacante'' emblem, with the tiara replaced by an ''

umbraculum The umbraculum ( it, ombrellone, "big umbrella", in basilicas also conopaeum) is a historic piece of the papal regalia and insignia, once used on a daily basis to provide shade for the pope (Galbreath, 27). Also known as the pavilion, in modern ...

'' (umbrella) said to represent the absence of a pope and the temporary governance of the

Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church The Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church is an office of the papal household that administers the property and revenues of the Holy See. Formerly, his responsibilities included the fiscal administration of the Patrimony of Saint Peter. As reg ...

over the temporal affairs of the Holy See, and in the arms of the Papal States.

Tiara

By the end of Froissart's 14th century the

papal tiara The papal tiara is a crown that was worn by popes of the Catholic Church from as early as the 8th century to the mid-20th. It was last used by Pope Paul VI in 1963 and only at the beginning of his reign. The name "tiara" refers to the entire h ...

was included in the coat of arms of the Holy See according to Galbreath and ''Insegne e simboli: araldica pubblica e privata medievale e moderna''.Giacomo C. Bascapé, Marcello Del Piazzo, Luigi Borgia (editors), ''Insegne e simboli: araldica pubblica e privata medievale e moderna'' (Ministero per i Beni Culturali e Ambientali
Ufficio Centrale per i Beni Archivistici, 1983, ), p. 337 Claudio Ceresa, on the other hand, says the earliest known evidence of its adoption dates from the following century, in the pontificate of

Martin V Pope Martin V ( la, Martinus V; it, Martino V; January/February 1369 – 20 February 1431), born Otto (or Oddone) Colonna, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 November 1417 to his death in February 1431. Hi ...

(1417–1431).Claudio Ceresa, "Una sintesi di simboli ispirati alla Scrittura"
on ''

L'Osservatore Romano ''L'Osservatore Romano'' (, 'The Roman Observer') is the daily newspaper of Vatican City State which reports on the activities of the Holy See and events taking place in the Catholic Church and the world. It is owned by the Holy See but is not a ...

'', 10 August 2008

Papal States

Coat of arms of Federico and Guidobaldo da Montefeltro

The distinction between the coat of arms of the papacy and that of the territory ruled by it dates back at least to the 16th century. Galbreath states: "From the 16th century on, this, the third coat of the Papacy — which may be blazoned ''Gules a pair of keys crossed in saltire, one gold, one silver, tied gold, surmounted by a tiara silver, crowned gold'' — is taken to represent the Papacy as distinct from the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from ...

." This statement is quoted with approval by Heim. The arms of the Papal States differed in having the

(the emblem of the Pope's temporal powers) in place of the tiara, and were incorporated as the first quartering of the royal coat of arms of the

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia was proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to an institutional referendum to abandon the monarchy and f ...

(1805–1814). This coat of arms was not resumed for the territory over which the Pope's temporal powers were restored in 1929 with the creation of Vatican City State. The holder of the title of

Gonfalonier of the Church The gonfalonier of the Church or papal gonfalonier ( it, Gonfaloniere della Chiesa, " standard-bearer"; la, Vexillifer Ecclesiæ) was a military and political office of the Papal States. Originating from the use of the Papal banner during comb ...

was entitled to include in his own arms the same design of the crossed keys and umbraculum on a red field.

Vatican City State

The coat of arms of Vatican City State is officially described, under the heading "Annex B. Official coat of arms of Vatican City State", in article 20 of the Fundamental Law of Vatican City State in force since 22 February 2001, which repeats the contents of article 19 of the original Fundamental Law of Vatican City State adopted on 7 June 1929 with immediate effect. Each of these official documents includes an illustration of the coat of arms of the state accompanied by the words "''Chiavi decussate sormontate dal triregno in campo rosso''" ("Crossed keys beneath the

on a red field") and is accompanied by an illustration that depicts the keys as two in number, one white (

argent In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to be ...

) in bend and one golden ( or) in

, interlaced at their intersection with a red (

gules In heraldry, gules () is the tincture with the colour red. It is one of the class of five dark tinctures called "colours", the others being azure (blue), sable (black), vert (green) and purpure (purple). In engraving, it is sometimes depic ...

) cord. The tiara is represented as white with golden crowns.

Charges on the escutcheon

Claudio Ceresa says that the oldest known representation of the crossed keys beneath the papal tiara dates from the pontificate of Martin V (1417–1431), whose successor,

Eugene IV Pope Eugene IV ( la, Eugenius IV; it, Eugenio IV; 1383 – 23 February 1447), born Gabriele Condulmer, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 3 March 1431 to his death in February 1447. Condulmer was a Venetian, and ...

(1431–1447), included it in the design of a silver coin. Galbreath and ''Insegne e simboli: araldica pubblica e privata medievale e moderna'' say it is attested from the previous century.

The keys

The keys refer to the promise of

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

to Peter, "I will entrust to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you declare bound on earth shall be bound in heaven; whatever you declare loosed on earth shall be loosed in heaven." They are a symbol of the power the Catholic Church believes that Christ gave to Saint Peter and his successors, with the gold key signifying that the power reaches to heaven and the silver key that it extends to all the faithful on earth, the interlacing indicating the linking between the two aspects of the power, and the handles of the key being at the base to symbolize the power being in the hands of the pope."The symbolism of the keys is brought out in an ingenious and interpretative fashion by heraldic art. One of the keys is of gold ( or), the other of silver (

). The golden key, which points upwards on the

dexter Dexter may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Dexter, the main character of the American animated series '' Dexter's Laboratory'' that aired from 1996 to 2003 * Dexter, a fictional character in the British web series ''Diary of a Bad Man'' * Dext ...

side, signifies the power that extends even to Heaven. The silver key, which must point up to the sinister side, symbolizes the power over all the faithful on earth. The two are often linked by a cordon

Gules In heraldry, gules () is the tincture with the colour red. It is one of the class of five dark tinctures called "colours", the others being azure (blue), sable (black), vert (green) and purpure (purple). In engraving, it is sometimes depic ...

as a sign of the union of the two powers. The handles are turned downwards, for they are in the hand of the Pope, Christ's lieutenant on earth. The wards point upwards, for the power of binding and loosing engages Heaven itself." Bruno Bernhard Heim, ''Heraldry in the Catholic Church: Its Origin, Customs and Laws'' (Van Duren 1978 ), p. 54

The tiara

While actual wearing of the papal tiara has been discontinued by John Paul I and his successors, it remains a papal heraldic symbol. A crown was added to the headgear of the Pope in 1130 to symbolize sovereignty over the

. In 1301,

Boniface VIII Pope Boniface VIII ( la, Bonifatius PP. VIII; born Benedetto Caetani, c. 1230 – 11 October 1303) was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 December 1294 to his death in 1303. The Caetani family was of baronial ...

, at that time in conflict with

Philip IV of France Philip IV (April–June 1268 – 29 November 1314), called Philip the Fair (french: Philippe le Bel), was King of France from 1285 to 1314. By virtue of his marriage with Joan I of Navarre, he was also King of Navarre as Philip I from 12 ...

, added a second crown to indicate that his spiritual authority was superior to any civil power. In 1342,

Benedict XII Pope Benedict XII ( la, Benedictus XII, french: Benoît XII; 1285 – 25 April 1342), born Jacques Fournier, was head of the Catholic Church from 30 December 1334 to his death in April 1342. He was the third Avignon pope. Benedict was a careful p ...

added a third crown to symbolize the superiority of papal religious authority over that of non-religious monarchs. The original significance of the three crowns was lost over time and they came to represent instead the pope's powers as

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

, ruler and

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

References

External links

Holy See Press Office—State of Vatican City Flag, Coat of Arms and Seal (''official site'')

Text of the Fundamental Law of Vatican City State, including a reproduction of Annex B depicting the coat of arms of the state

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coats Of Arms Of The Holy See And Vatican City Government of Vatican City

Vatican heraldry

Christian symbols Holy See