The coat of arms of York is that belonging to the

City of York Council City of York Council is the local authority for the city of York, in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. York has had a city council from medieval times, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1996 the council has be ...

, the local authority of the

City of York The City of York, officially simply "York", is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

, England. The

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 an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...

of the arms is ''

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 b ...

, on a cross

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). Gules is portrayed in heraldic hatch ...

five lions passant guardant Or''. The arms were first recorded in 1587 after a

heraldic visitation Heraldic visitations were tours of inspection undertaken by Kings of Arms (or alternatively by heralds, or junior officers of arms, acting as the kings' deputies) throughout England, Wales and Ireland. Their purpose was to register and regulat ...

of Yorkshire, however it is possible that they were granted during the reign of

Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after t ...

(1327–1377). Richard II granted the city the right to carry a sword and

ceremonial mace A ceremonial mace is a highly ornamented staff of metal or wood, carried before a Head of state, sovereign or other high officials in civic ceremonies by a mace-bearer, intended to represent the official's authority. The mace, as used today, der ...

in processions and for the bearer of the sword to wear a

cap of maintenance A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

or ''chapeau''; since the eighteenth century the arms have sometimes depicted with the sword and mace crossed behind the shield and the cap above it, but these additions have not been officially granted by the

College of Arms The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional Officer of Arms, officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the ...

. The local government of York has been reformed since the arms were first granted, however each time they have been transferred to the new local authority.

Description

The

, or heraldic description, of the arms is ''

, on a cross

five lions passant guardant Or''. They consist of a silver field with a red cross, upon which are five golden lions facing heraldic right (the viewer's left) with their right forelegs raised and their heads facing out. The arms are sometimes shown with a civic sword and mace crossed behind the shield and a

or ''chapeau'' above. A cap of maintenance is a cap of crimson velvet with an ermine trim.

History

The arms were recorded without

tinctures A tincture is typically an extract of plant or animal material dissolution (chemistry), dissolved in ethanol (ethyl alcohol). Solvent concentrations of 25–60% are common, but may run as high as 90%.Groot Handboek Geneeskrachtige Planten by Ge ...

(that is without colours) in 1587, following an

of Yorkshire in 1584. They may have originally been granted during the reign of

(1327–1377).

Richard II Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward, Prince of Wales (later known as the Black Prince), and Joan, Countess of Kent. R ...

presented a sword to the city in 1387 to be used in civic ceremonies and, in 1397, the right to carry a mace was granted by royal charter. A

was presented to the city by Richard in 1393. These symbols have been used with the arms since the 18th century but have not been officially granted by the

, the heraldic authority for England. When the Corporation of the City of York was abolished in

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

and replaced by York City Council the arms were transferred to the new authority. When that body was itself abolished in 1996 the arms were transferred again to the present

unitary authority A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...

order in council An Order in Council is a type of legislation in many countries, especially the Commonwealth realms. In the United Kingdom, this legislation is formally made in the name of the monarch by and with the advice and consent of the Privy Council ('' ...

in 1997.

References

External links

*{{cci

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

Culture in York History of York