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112-414: In heraldry, the arrowhead generally points downwards, whereas in other contexts it more usually points upwards. The broad arrow as a heraldic device comprises a socket tang with two converging blades, or barbs . When these barbs are engrailed on their inner edges, the device may be termed a pheon . Woodward's Treatise on Heraldry: British and Foreign with English and French Glossaries (1892), makes

224-451: A livery collar (an innovation of Gaunt's, probably the Collar of Esses ). The mob attacked him, pulling him off his horse and the badge off him, and he had to be rescued by the mayor from suffering serious harm. Over twenty years later, after Gaunt's son Henry IV had deposed Richard, one of Richard's servants was imprisoned by Henry for continuing to wear Richard's livery badge. Many of

336-405: A "counter-relief" or intaglio impression when used as seals. The process is essentially that of a mould . Most seals have always given a single impression on an essentially flat surface, but in medieval Europe two-sided seals with two matrices were often used by institutions or rulers (such as towns, bishops and kings) to make two-sided or fully three-dimensional impressions in wax, with a "tag",

448-623: A "nose-on" view. "The Prison Commissioners ... wrote, on 2 March last: 'It [the broad arrow] is referred to in the Public Stores Acts in 1875, but was in use many years before that date. It has been used in Convict Prisons and Hulks for more than 80 years, and was also used in Australia.'" Heraldic device A heraldic badge , emblem , impresa, device, or personal device worn as a badge indicates allegiance to, or

560-524: A V-6 engine has two banks of three cylinders at an angle driving a common crankshaft, a V-12 two groups of six in-line. Broad arrow or W engines have three groups, one vertical and the two others symmetrically angled at less than 90° on either side. Both the air-cooled Anzani 3-cylinder fan engines of the "pioneer era" of aviation , and the later, " Golden Age of Aviation "-era British Napier Lion 12-cylinder, triple-bank liquid-cooled inline aviation engine could be said to have this layout when seen from

672-412: A broad Arrow and a Portcullice". A proclamation issued by Charles II in 1661 ran: And His Majesty doth further command, That on all other Stores, Where it may be done without prejudice to the said Stores, or Charge to His Majesty, as Nails, Spikes, and other the like Stores, that the broad Arrow be put on some part of the same, whether by Stamp, Brand, or other way, as shall be particularly directed by

784-477: A daily basis. At least in Britain, each registered notary has an individual personal seal, registered with the authorities, which includes his or her name and a pictorial emblem, often an animal—the same combination found in many seals from ancient Greece. Seals are used primarily to authenticate documents, specifically those which carry some legal import. There are two main ways in which a seal may be attached to

896-477: A document. It may be applied directly to the face of the paper or parchment (an applied seal ); or it may hang loose from it (a pendent seal ). A pendent seal may be attached to cords or ribbons (sometimes in the owner's livery colors ), or to the two ends of a strip (or tag ) of parchment, threaded through holes or slots cut in the lower edge of the document: the document is often folded double at this point (a plica ) to provide extra strength. Alternatively,

1008-657: A doorway at Blois) and the crowned salamander among flames of François Ier with the motto "Nutrisco et extinguo" (right, at Chambord). These and many more were collected by Claude Paradin and published in his Devises héroïques of 1551 and 1557, which gives the motto of Louis XII as "Ultos avos Troiae". Later the sun of Louis XIV was equally famous. With the accession of the House of Hanover in 1714, British monarchs ceased to use personal badges ( Royal Cyphers came into use instead), though historical badges continue to be used for various purposes as part of royal symbolism (such as

1120-584: A flag bearing a white pine is said to have been flown at the Battle of Bunker Hill . The broad arrow was used to denote government property in the Australian colonies from the earliest times of settlement until well after federation . William Oswald Hodgkinson 's government-sponsored North-West Expedition in Queensland used the broad arrow to mark trees along the expedition's route. The broad arrow mark

1232-736: A form of written identification since the Qin dynasty (221 BC–). The seals of the Han dynasty were impressed in a soft clay, but from the Tang dynasty a red ink made from cinnabar was normally used. Even in modern times, seals, often known as "chops" in local colloquial English, are still commonly used instead of handwritten signatures to authenticate official documents or financial transactions. Both individuals and organizations have official seals, and they often have multiple seals in different sizes and styles for different situations. East Asian seals usually bear

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1344-434: A general moral lesson that any reader might apply in his or her own life. Particularly well-known examples of devices – so well known that the image could be understood as representing the bearer even without the motto – are those of several French kings, which were freely used to decorate their building projects. These include the porcupine of Louis XII with its motto "Eminus et cominus" or "De pres et de loin" (left, over

1456-407: A gold chain around his neck." Because it is used to attest to the authority of its bearer, the ring has also been seen as a symbol of power, which is why it is included in the regalia of certain monarchies. After the death of a Pope, the destruction of his signet ring is a prescribed act clearing the way for the sede vacante and subsequent election of a new Pope. Signet rings are also used as

1568-503: A higher fee if they are. When granted, the badge is typically illustrated on the letters patent containing the grant of arms, and upon a heraldic standard ( flag ). The standard is not however granted automatically with the said achievement of arms and badge, but can be requested if a badge is granted and upon payment of a further fee. Seal (emblem) A seal is a device for making an impression in wax , clay , paper , or some other medium, including an embossment on paper , and

1680-483: A lead or plastic seal with a government marking, typically fixed to a wire that passes through part of the meter housing. The meter cannot be opened without cutting the wire or damaging the seal. Specially-made tamper-evident labels are available which are destroyed if the protected container or equipment is opened, functionally equivalent to a wax seal. They are used to protect things which must not be tampered with such as pharmaceuticals, equipment whose opening voids

1792-419: A lever-press or a screw press . Certain medieval seals were more complex still, involving two levels of impression on each side of the wax which would be used to create a scene of three-dimensional depth. On the death of a seal-holder, as a sign of continuity, a son and heir might commission a new seal employing the same symbols and design-elements as those used by his father. It is likely that this practice

1904-462: A meaning that could not be derived from either part alone. The device, to all intents and purposes identical to the Italian impresa , differs from the emblem in two principal ways. Structurally, the device normally consists of two parts while most emblems have three or more. As well, the device was highly personal, intimately attached to a single individual, while the emblem was constructed to convey

2016-687: A means of cancelling them. When King James II of England was dethroned in the Glorious Revolution of 1688/9, he is supposed to have thrown the Great Seal of the Realm into the River Thames before his flight to France in order to ensure that the machinery of government would cease to function. It is unclear how much truth there is to this story, but certainly the seal was recovered: James's successors, William III and Mary used

2128-691: A name written in Aramaic (Yitsḥaq bar Ḥanina) engraved in reverse so as to read correctly in the impression. From the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC until the Middle Ages, seals of various kinds were in production in the Aegean islands and mainland Greece. In the Early Minoan age these were formed of soft stone and ivory and show particular characteristic forms. By the Middle Minoan age

2240-466: A new set for seal forms, motifs and materials appear. Hard stone requires new rotary carving techniques. The Late Bronze Age is the time par excellence of the lens-shaped seal and the seal ring, which continued into the Archaic , Classical and Hellenistic periods, in the form of pictorial engraved gems . These were a major luxury art form and became keenly collected, with King Mithridates VI of Pontus

2352-413: A piece of ribbon or strip of parchment , running through them. These "pendent" seal impressions dangled below the documents they authenticated, to which the attachment tag was sewn or otherwise attached (single-sided seals were treated in the same way). Some jurisdictions consider rubber stamps or specified signature-accompanying words such as "seal" or "L.S." (abbreviation of locus sigilli , "place of

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2464-478: A seal. The practice spread, and it seems to be taken for granted by King Clovis I at the very beginning of the Merovingian dynasty . Later ecclesiastical synods require that letters under the bishop 's seal should be given to priests when for some reason they lawfully quit their own proper diocese. Such a ruling was enacted at Chalon-sur-Saône in 813. Pope Nicholas I in the same century complained that

2576-461: A smaller counter-seal , which would be used to impress a small emblem on the reverse of the impression. In some cases the seal and counter-seal would be kept by two different individuals, in order to provide an element of double-checking to the process of authentication. Sometimes, a large official seal, which might be in the custody of chancery officials, would need to be counter-sealed by the individual in whose name it had been applied (the monarch, or

2688-431: A souvenir or membership attribute, e.g., class rings (which typically bear the coat of arms or crest of the school). One may also have their initials engraved as a sign of their personal stature. Traditionally, signet rings were worn either on the little or the ring finger of the least dominant hand, with the most common usage being on the little. The less noble classes began wearing and using signet rings as early as

2800-576: A timber harvesting area which are not to be felled; or to indicate forest produce which has been seized under the Act; or to indicate that forest produce lawfully cut or obtained is not to be removed until the brand is obliterated with the crown brand by any authorised officer." The broad arrow is used currently by the Australian Army to denote property owned by the Department of Defence. The mark

2912-620: A variety of hard materials, including wood, soapstone, sea glass and jade. East Asian seals are traditionally used with a red oil-based paste consisting of finely ground cinnabar, which contrasts with the black ink traditionally used for the ink brush . Red chemical inks are more commonly used in modern times for sealing documents. Seal engraving is considered a form of calligraphy in East Asia. Like ink-brush calligraphy, there are several styles of engraving. Some engraving styles emulate calligraphy styles, but many styles are so highly stylized that

3024-481: A way that the item could not be opened without the seal being broken. Applied seals were used on letters close (letters intended only for the recipient) and parcels to indicate whether or not the item had been opened or tampered with since it had left the sender, as well as providing evidence that the item was actually from the sender and not a forgery. In the post-medieval period, seals came to be commonly used in this way for private letters . A letter writer would fold

3136-406: Is also the impression thus made. The original purpose was to authenticate a document, or to prevent interference with a package or envelope by applying a seal which had to be broken to open the container (hence the modern English verb "to seal", which implies secure closing without an actual wax seal). The seal-making device is also referred to as the seal matrix or die ; the imprint it creates as

3248-509: Is easily detached by cutting the cords or strips of parchment, but the forger would then have great difficulty in attaching it to another document (not least because the cords or parchment are normally knotted inside the seal), and would again almost certainly break it. In the Middle Ages, the majority of seals were pendent. They were attached both to legal instruments and to letters patent (i.e. open letters) conferring rights or privileges, which were intended to be available for all to view. In

3360-730: Is known as sigillography or sphragistics. The stamp seal was a common seal die, frequently carved from stone, known at least since the 6th millennium BC ( Halaf culture ) and probably earlier. The oldest stamp seals were button-shaped objects with primitive ornamental forms chiseled onto them. Seals were used in the earliest civilizations and are of considerable importance in archaeology and art history . In ancient Mesopotamia carved or engraved cylinder seals in stone or other materials were used. These could be rolled along to create an impression on clay (which could be repeated indefinitely), and used as labels on consignments of trade goods, or for other purposes. They are normally hollow and it

3472-527: Is not a distinction very stringently adhered to." The pheon features prominently in the arms of the Sidney family of Penshurst , and thence in the arms of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge , and of Hampden–Sydney College , Virginia . Sidney Sussex's newsletter for alumni is titled Pheon . The broad arrow was used in England (and later Britain), apparently from the early 14th century, and more widely from

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3584-555: Is now unusual in most countries in the west for private citizens to use seals. In Central and Eastern Europe, however, as in East Asia, a signature alone is considered insufficient to authenticate a document of any kind in business, and all managers, as well as many book-keepers and other employees, have personal seals , normally just containing text, with their name and their position. These are applied to all letters, invoices issued, and similar documents. In Europe these are today plastic self-inking stamps. Notaries also still use seals on

3696-566: Is often made out of agate , carnelian , or sardonyx which tend not to bind with the wax. Most smaller classical engraved gems were probably originally worn as signet rings, or as seals on a necklace. The wearing of signet rings (from Latin "signum" meaning "sign" or "mark") dates back to ancient Egypt: the seal of a pharaoh is mentioned in the Book of Genesis . Genesis 41:42: "Removing his signet ring from his hand, Pharaoh put it on Joseph 's hand; he arrayed him in garments of fine linen, and put

3808-545: Is presumed that they were worn on a string or chain round the neck. Many have only images, often very finely carved, with no writing, while others have both. From ancient Egypt seals in the form of signet rings , including some with the names of kings, have been found; these tend to show only names in hieroglyphics . Recently, seals datable to the Himyarite age have come to light in South Arabia . One example shows

3920-432: Is that the device used on naval stores and property was in its origins a simplified and corrupted version of an anchor symbol . Thus, a set of "Instructions for marking of Timber for His Majesty's Navy" issued in 1609 commands: ... the sayde Commissioners to marke the same [selected trees] with an axe bearing His Maj[esty's] letters and an anker to distinguishe them from the rest as appropriated to His Majestys Navye lest in

4032-399: Is unique, and engravers often personalize the seals that they create. The materials of seals and the styles of the engraving are typically matched to the personalities of the owners. Seals can be traditional or modern, or conservative or expressive. Seals are sometimes carved with the owners' zodiac animals on the tops of the seals. Seals are also sometimes carved with images or calligraphy on

4144-565: The Admiralty for the French Revolutionary Wars were equipped with mattresses and other items bearing the broad arrow: at Norman Cross Prison , Huntingdonshire, this was proven effective, when a local tradesman found in possession of items bearing the marks was convicted and sentenced to stand in the pillory and two years in a house of correction . The broad arrow was routinely used on British prison uniforms from about

4256-599: The Ministry of Defence from 1964 onwards, before being phased out in the 1980s. It is currently a criminal offence in the United Kingdom to reproduce the broad arrow without authority (in the same way as it is an offence to reproduce hallmarks ). Section 4 of the Public Stores Act 1875 makes it illegal to use the "broad arrow" on any goods without permission. A newspaper, The Broad Arrow , including

4368-783: The Naval and Military Record to form the United Services Review . Items deemed no longer serviceable, but still of market value, were stamped again with a second broad arrow, nose-to-nose with the first, to mark them as legally "sold out of service". The broad arrow was used by the British to mark trees (one species of which was the eastern white pine ) intended for ship building use in North America during colonial times. Three axe strikes, resembling an arrowhead and shaft, were marked on large mast -grade trees. Use of

4480-603: The Papal Chancery these leaden authentications fell out of favour in western Christendom. Byzantine Emperors sometimes issued documents with gold seals, known as Golden Bulls . Wax seals were being used on a fairly regular basis by most western royal chanceries by about the end of the 10th century. In England, few wax seals have survived of earlier date than the Norman Conquest, although some earlier matrices are known, recovered from archaeological contexts:

4592-508: The Ring of the Fisherman , the papal signet, and to see that it is broken up. A similar practice prevailed in the Middle Ages and it is often alluded to by historians, as it seems to have been a matter of some ceremony. For example, on the death of Robert of Holy Island , Bishop of Durham, in 1283, the chronicler Robert Greystones reports: "After his burial, his seal was publicly broken up in

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4704-424: The seal impression (or, more rarely, the sealing ). If the impression is made purely as a relief resulting from the greater pressure on the paper where the high parts of the matrix touch, the seal is known as a dry seal ; in other cases ink or another liquid or liquefied medium is used, in another color than the paper. In most traditional forms of dry seal the design on the seal matrix is in intaglio (cut below

4816-429: The 13th century. In the 17th century, signet rings fell out of favor in the upper levels of society, replaced by other means for mounting and carrying the signet. In the 18th century, though, signet rings again became popular, and by the 19th century, men of all classes wore them. Since at least the 16th century there have also been pseudo-signet rings where the engraving is not reversed (mirror image), as it should be if

4928-575: The 16th century, to mark objects purchased from the monarch's money, or to indicate government property. It became particularly associated with the Office or Board of Ordnance , the principal duty of which was to supply guns, ammunition, stores and equipment to the King's Navy . The origins of the broad arrow device used by the Board of Ordnance are debated. The symbol is widely supposed to have been derived from

5040-491: The 1830s onwards. An instance of the Admiralty using the mark in a salvage case occurred at Wisbech , Isle of Ely in 1860: "The barque Angelo C , laden with barley, from Sulina , lying at Mr Morton's granary, has been marked with the 'broad arrow', a writ at Admiralty having been issued at the instance of Peter Pilkington, one of the pilots of this port, who claims £400 for salvage services alleged to have been rendered to

5152-420: The 19th century in some cases. A particular concern in all the legislation was to forbid the issuing of liveries to those without a permanent contract with the lord; these groups assembled for a particular purpose were believed to be the most dangerous. The Statute of Liveries of 1506 finally forbade entirely the issuing of liveries to those of higher rank; they had to be domestic servants or persons experienced in

5264-561: The Charter's Mast Preservation Clause, and tree harvesting increased with disregard for broad arrow protected trees. However, as Baltic imports decreased, the British timber trade increasingly depended on North American trees, and enforcement of broad arrow policies increased. Persons appointed to the position of Surveyor-General of His Majesty's Woods were responsible for selecting, marking and recording trees as well as policing and enforcing

5376-506: The Middle Ages, this generally comprised a compound of about two-thirds beeswax to one-third of some kind of resin , but in the post-medieval period the resin (and other ingredients) came to dominate. During the early Middle Ages seals of lead, or more properly " bullae " (from the Latin), were in common use both in East and West, but with the notable exception of documents (" bulls ") issued by

5488-516: The Tudors completed Henry VI's unfinished building. The Collar of Esses became in effect a badge of office, though of course still denoting allegiance to the monarch. In the Renaissance, the badge, now more likely to be described as a "personal device", took an intellectual turn, and was usually combined with a short text or motto, which when read in combination were intended to convey a sense of

5600-688: The antler tips, which the angels' badges lack. The white hart in the badge on the Treasury Roll, which the painted one may have copied, had pearls and sat on a grass bed made of emeralds, and a hart badge of Richard's inventoried in the possession of Duke Philip the Good of Burgundy in 1435 was set with 22 pearls, two spinels , two sapphires , a ruby and a huge diamond. Cheaper forms of badge were more widely distributed, sometimes very freely indeed, rather as modern political campaign buttons and tee-shirts are, though as in some modern countries wearing

5712-430: The artist, and the seals from the owners of the paintings. East Asian seals are the predecessors to block printing . There is a direct line of descent from the seals used in the ancient world, to those used in medieval and post-medieval Europe, and so to those used in legal contexts in the western world to the present day. Seals were historically most often impressed in sealing wax (often simply described as "wax"): in

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5824-578: The aspirations or character of the bearer. These impresas or emblems were used on the reverse of the portrait-medals that became fashionable in Italy, and used the vocabulary of Renaissance Neo-Platonism , often dropping links to the actual heraldry of the owner completely. Indeed, by the 16th century, emblems were adopted by intellectuals and merchants who had no heraldry of their own. Later emblem books contained large numbers of emblems, partly to allow people to choose one they thought suited them. By

5936-505: The association of either Sidney with the Board. The earliest known use of the symbol in what seems to be an official capacity is in 1330, on the seal used by Richard de la Pole as butler to King Edward III . In 1383, it is recorded that a member of the butlery staff, having selected a pipe of wine for the King's use, " signo regio capiti sagitte consimili signavit " ("marked it with the royal sign like an arrowhead"). In 1386, Thomas Stokes

6048-407: The bearer's coat of arms , or had a more or less direct reference to such a charge. More often, badges commemorated some remarkable exploit, illustrated a family or feudal alliance, or indicated some territorial rights or pretensions. Some badges are rebuses , making a pun or play-on-words of the owner's name. It was not uncommon for the same personage or family to use more than one badge; and, on

6160-596: The bishops of Dôle and Reims had, " contra morem " (contrary to custom), sent their letters to him unsealed. The custom of bishops possessing seals may from this date be assumed to have been pretty general. In the British Museum collection the earliest bishop's seals preserved are those of William de St-Calais , Bishop of Durham (1081–96) and of St. Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury (1093–1109). Seals are also affixed on architectural or engineering construction documents, or land survey drawings, to certify

6272-620: The broad arrow mark commenced in earnest in 1691 with the Massachusetts Charter , which contained a Mast Preservation Clause specifying, in part: ... for better providing and furnishing of Masts for our Royal Navy wee do hereby reserve to us ... ALL trees of the diameter of 24 inches and upward at 12 inches from the ground, growing upon any soils or tracts of land within our said Province or Territory not heretofore granted to any private person. We...forbid all persons whatsoever from felling, cutting or destroying any such trees without

6384-523: The broad arrow symbol in its masthead , and described as "A Paper for the Services", was published from 1833. Its title was later extended to include The Naval and Military Gazette . During the First World War it was printed by W. H. Smith & Son . It later became The Army, Navy and Air Force Gazette: incorporating "The Broad Arrow" and "Naval and Military Gazette" . In 1936, it merged with

6496-420: The case of important transactions or agreements, the seals of all parties to the arrangement as well as of witnesses might be attached to the document, and so once executed it would carry several seals. Most governments still attach pendent seals to letters patent . Applied seals, by contrast, were originally used to seal a document closed: that is to say, the document would be folded and the seal applied in such

6608-426: The characters represented on the seal are difficult for untrained readers to identify. Seal engravers are considered artists, and, in the past, several famous calligraphers also became famous as engravers. Some seals, carved by famous engravers, or owned by famous artists or political leaders, have become valuable as historical works of art. Because seals are commissioned by individuals and carved by artists, every seal

6720-542: The completed letter, pour wax over the joint formed by the top of the page, and then impress a ring or other seal matrix. Governments sometimes sent letters to citizens under the governmental seal for their eyes only, known as letters secret. Wax seals might also be used with letterlocking techniques to ensure that only the intended recipient would read the message. In general, seals are no longer used in these ways except for ceremonial purposes. However, applied seals also came to be used on legal instruments applied directly to

6832-554: The court records shows few prosecutions, but by the end of Henry's reign liveried retainers do seem to have ceased to be a major problem. While the badges of the nobility were carefully restricted, the royal badges of the Tudors, most famously the Tudor rose that signified the union of the Lancastrian and Yorkist dynasties, were used more widely than ever before, for example being added freely to King's College Chapel, Cambridge when

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6944-788: The crown, both the French and the Spanish were in the market for mast trees as well and would pay a much better price. Acts of Parliament in 1711, 1722 and 1772 ( Timber for the Navy Act 1772 ) extended protection finally to 12-inch-diameter (300 mm) trees and resulted in the Pine Tree Riot that same year. This was one of the first acts of rebellion by the American colonists leading to the American Revolution in 1775, and

7056-498: The direct supervision of, a licensed professional engineer, and assures the document's recipient that the work meets the standards expected of experienced professionals who take personal responsibility for their judgments and decisions. In old English law , a cocket was a custom house seal; or a certified document given to a shipper as a warrant that his goods have been duly entered and have paid duty. Hence, in Scotland , there

7168-415: The earliest is a gold double-sided matrix found near Postwick , Norfolk, and dated to the late 7th century; the next oldest is a mid-9th-century matrix of a Bishop Ethilwald (probably Æthelwold, Bishop of East Anglia). The practice of sealing in wax gradually moved down the social hierarchy from monarchs and bishops to great magnates, to petty knights by the end of the 12th century, and to ordinary freemen by

7280-448: The face of the document, so that there was no need to break them, and this use continues. Historically, the majority of seals were circular in design, although ovals, triangles, shield-shapes and other patterns are also known. The design generally comprised a graphic emblem (sometimes, but not always, incorporating heraldic devices ), surrounded by a text (the legend ) running around the perimeter. The legend most often consisted merely of

7392-900: The first major collector according to Pliny the Elder . His collection fell as booty to Pompey the Great , who deposited it in a temple in Rome. Engraved gems continued to be produced and collected until the 19th century. Pliny also explained the significance of the signet ring, and how over time this ring was worn on the little finger. Known as yinzhang ( Chinese : 印章 ) in Greater China , injang in Korea , inshō in Japan , ấn triện (or ấn chương ) in Vietnam , seals have been used in East Asia as

7504-533: The flat surface) and therefore the design on the impressions made is in relief (raised above the surface). The design on the impression will reverse (be a mirror-image of) that of the matrix, which is especially important when script is included in the design, as it very often is. This will not be the case if paper is embossed from behind, where the matrix and impression read the same way, and both matrix and impression are in relief. However engraved gems were often carved in relief, called cameo in this context, giving

7616-542: The following distinction: "A BROAD ARROW and a PHEON are represented similarly, except that the Pheon has its inner edges jagged, or engrailed." Parker's Glossary of Terms Used in Heraldry (1894) likewise states, "A broad arrow differs somewhat ... and resembles a pheon, except in the omission of the jagged edge on the inside of the barbs." However, A. C. Fox-Davies , in his Complete Guide to Heraldry (1909), comments: "This

7728-515: The general sale they should bee soulde away. A letter sent by Thomas Gresham to the Privy Council in 1554, relating to the shipment of 50 cases of Spanish reals (coins) from Seville to England, explained that each case was "marked with the broad arrow and numbered from 1 to 50". A proclamation of Charles I issued in 1627 ordered that tobacco imported to England from non-English plantations should be sealed with "a seale engraven with

7840-416: The identity of the licensed professional who supervised the development. Depending on the authority having jurisdiction for the project, these seals may be embossed and signed, stamped and signed, or in certain situations a computer generated facsimile of the original seal validated by a digital certificate owned by the professional may be attached to a security protected computer file. The identities on

7952-580: The impression is to read correctly. Rings have been used since antiquity as spy identification and in espionage. During World War II, US Air Force personnel would privately purchase signet rings with a hidden compartment that would hold a small compass or hidden message. MI9 purchased a number of signet rings from Regent Street jewelers that were used to conceal compasses. In modern use, seals are used to tamper-proof equipment. For example, to prevent gas and electricity meters from being interfered with to show lower chargeable readings, they may be sealed with

8064-470: The king (now Henry IV) to issue badges, and only to those ranking as esquires and above, who were only to wear them in his presence. In the end it took a determined campaign by Henry VII to largely stamp out the use of livery badges by others than the king, and reduce them to things normally worn only by household servants in the case of the aristocracy. Livery badges issues by guilds and corporations, and mayors, were exempt, and these continued in use until

8176-519: The large number of badges of various liveries recovered from the Thames in London were perhaps discarded hurriedly by retainers who found themselves impoliticly dressed at various times. Apparently beginning relatively harmlessly under Edward III in a context of tournaments and courtly celebrations, by the reign of his successor Richard II the badges had become seen as a social menace, and were "one of

8288-761: The late Middle Ages, particularly in England. They could be made of base metal, cloth or other materials and worn on the clothing of the followers of the person in question; grander forms would be worn by important persons, with the Dunstable Swan Jewel in enamelled gold a rare survivor. Livery collars were also given to important persons, often with the badge as a pendant. The badge would also be embroidered or appliqued on standards , horse trappings, livery uniforms, and other belongings. Many medieval badges survive in English pub names . Badges with "a distinctly heraldic character" in England date to about

8400-605: The later sixteenth century, allegorical badges called impresa were adopted by individuals as part of an overall programme of theatrical disguise for a specific event or series of events, such as the fancy dress jousts of the Elizabethan era typified by the Accession Day tilts . The device spread far beyond the aristocracy as part of the craze for wittily enigmatic constructions in which combinations of pictures and texts were intended to be read together to generate

8512-410: The law, unless covered by a specific royal licence. A well-known story, first told by Francis Bacon but unsupported in the remaining records, has Henry visiting his principal military commander John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford at Hedingham Castle , who at his departure lined the king's exit route with liveried retainers, for which Henry fined him 15,000 marks. In fact modern historical analysis of

8624-410: The mayor of a town): such a counter-seal might be carried on the person (perhaps secured by a chain or cord), or later, take the form of a signet ring, and so would be necessarily smaller. Other pendent seals were double-sided, with elaborate and equally-sized obverses and reverses. The impression would be formed by pressing a "sandwich" of matrices and wax firmly together by means of rollers or, later,

8736-527: The middle of the 13th century. They also came to be used by a variety of corporate bodies, including cathedral chapters , municipalities, monasteries etc., to validate the acts executed in their name. Traditional wax seals continue to be used on certain high-status and ceremonial documents, but in the 20th century they were gradually superseded in many other contexts by inked or dry embossed seals and by rubber stamps . While many instruments formerly required seals for validity (e.g. deeds or covenants ) it

8848-414: The most protracted controversies of Richard's reign", as they were used to denote the small private armies of retainers kept by lords, largely for the purpose of enforcing their lord's will on the less powerful in his area. Though they were surely a symptom rather than a cause of both local baronial bullying and the disputes between the king and his uncles and other lords, Parliament repeatedly tried to curb

8960-402: The names of the people or organizations represented, but they can also bear poems or personal mottoes. Sometimes both types of seals, or large seals that bear both names and mottoes, are used to authenticate official documents. Seals are so important in East Asia that foreigners who frequently conduct business there also commission the engraving of personal seals. East Asian seals are carved from

9072-612: The oldness or newness of their arrival,) all daubed over with broad arrows, P.B.s, C.B.s, and various numerals in black, white, and red". In 1859, Caroline Leakey , writing under the pen-name "Oliné Keese", published a fictionalised account of the convict experience entitled The Broad Arrow: Being Passages from the History of Maida Gwynnham, a Lifer . The device was used in Colonial India , and continues to be used in modern India on military vehicle registration plates , although

9184-515: The other hand, two or more badges were often borne in combination, to form a single compound device. Livery badges were especially common in England from the mid-fourteenth century until about the end of the fifteenth century, a period of intense factional conflict which saw the deposition of Richard II and the Wars of the Roses . A lavish badge like the Dunstable Swan Jewel would only have been worn by

9296-630: The owner, or (in the case of ecclesiastical seals) of a saint. Medieval townspeople used a wide variety of different emblems but some had seals that included an image relating to their work. Sealing wax was naturally yellowish or pale brownish in tone, but could also be artificially colored red or green (with many intermediary variations). In some medieval royal chanceries, different colours of wax were customarily used for different functions or departments of state, or to distinguish grants and decrees made in perpetuity from more ephemeral documents. The matrices for pendent seals were sometimes accompanied by

9408-517: The person whose device was represented, members of his family or important supporters, and possibly servants who were in regular very close contact with him. However the jewel lacks the ultimate luxury of being set with gems, for example having ruby eyes, like the lion pendants worn by Sir John Donne and his wife and several examples listed on the 1397 treasure roll of King Richard II . In the Wilton Diptych , Richard's own badge has pearls on

9520-590: The pheon in the arms of the Sidney family, through the influence either of Sir Philip Sidney , who served as Joint Master-General of the Ordnance in 1585–6; or that of his great-nephew, Henry Sydney, 1st Earl of Romney , who served as Master-General from 1693 to 1702. However, as noted by the Oxford English Dictionary , "this is not supported by the evidence", as the use of the device predates

9632-474: The presence of all by Master Robert Avenel." Matthew Paris gives a similar description of the breaking of the seal of William of Trumpington, Abbot of St Albans , in 1235. The practice is less widely attested in the case of medieval laypeople, but certainly occurred on occasion, particularly in the 13th and 14th centuries. Silver seal matrices have been found in the graves of some of the 12th-century queens of France. These were probably deliberately buried as

9744-724: The principal Officers and Commissioners of His Majesties Navy, to whom the care thereof is committed. An Order in Council of 1664, relating to the requisitioning of merchant ships for naval use, similarly authorised the Commissioners of the Navy "to put the broad arrow on any ship in the River they had a mind to hire, and fit them out for sea"; while the Embezzlement of Public Stores Act 1697 ( 9 Will. 3 . c. 41) sought to prevent

9856-679: The professional seals determine legal responsibility for any errors or omissions, and in some cases financial responsibility for their correction as well as the territory of their responsibility, e.g.: "State of Minnesota". In some jurisdictions, especially in Canada, it is a legal requirement for a professional engineer to seal documents in accordance with the Engineering Profession Act and Regulations. Professional engineers may also be legally entitled to seal any document they prepare. The seal identifies work performed by, or under

9968-405: The property of, an individual, family or corporate body. Medieval forms are usually called a livery badge , and also a cognizance . They are para-heraldic, not necessarily using elements from the coat of arms of the person or family they represent, though many do, often taking the crest or supporters. Their use is more flexible than that of arms proper. Badges worn on clothing were common in

10080-469: The rank of esquire wear them. The issue was apparently quiet for a few years, but from 1397 Richard issued increasingly large numbers of badges to retainers who misbehaved (his " Cheshire archers " being especially notorious), and in the Parliament of 1399, after his deposition, several of his leading supporters were forbidden from issuing "badges of signes" again, and a statute was passed allowing only

10192-408: The reign (1327–1377) of King Edward III . In the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth centuries, the followers, retainers, dependants, and partisans of famous and powerful personages and houses bore well-known badges – precisely because they were known and recognised. (In contrast, the coat of arms was used exclusively by the individual to whom it belonged.) Badges occasionally imitated a charge in

10304-402: The reverse of the one-dollar bill ; and several of the seals of the U.S. states appear on their respective state flags . In Europe, although coats of arms and heraldic badges may well feature in such contexts as well as on seals, the seal design in its entirety rarely appears as a graphical emblem and is used mainly as originally intended: as an impression on documents. The study of seals

10416-568: The royal license from us. Initially England imported its mast trees from the Baltic states, but it was an expensive, lengthy and politically treacherous proposition. Much of British naval policy at the time revolved around keeping the trade route to the Baltics open. With Baltic timber becoming less appealing to use, the Admiralty's eye turned towards the Colonies. Colonists paid little attention to

10528-446: The same Great Seal matrix, fairly crudely adapted – possibly quite deliberately, in order to demonstrate the continuity of government. A signet ring is a ring bearing on its flat top surface the equivalent of a seal. A typical signet ring has a design, often a family or personal crest , created in intaglio so that it will leave a raised ( relief ) impression of the design when the ring is pressed onto liquid sealing wax . The design

10640-457: The seal may be attached to a narrow strip of the material of the document (again, in this case, usually parchment), sliced and folded down, as a tail or tongue , but not detached. The object in all cases is to help ensure authenticity by maintaining the integrity of the relationship between document and seal, and to prevent the seal's reuse. If a forger tries to remove an applied seal from its document, it will almost certainly break. A pendent seal

10752-488: The seal") to be the legal equivalent of, i.e. , an equally effective substitute for, a seal. In the United States, the word "seal" is sometimes assigned to a facsimile of the seal design (in monochrome or color), which may be used in a variety of contexts including architectural settings, on flags , or on official letterheads . Thus, for example, the Great Seal of the United States , among other uses, appears on

10864-507: The sides. Although it is a utilitarian instrument of daily business in East Asia, westerners and other non-Asians seldom see Asian seals except on Asian paintings and calligraphic art. All traditional paintings in China , Japan , Korea , and the rest of East Asia are watercolor paintings on silk, paper, or some other surface to which the red ink from seals can adhere. East Asian paintings often bear multiple seals, including one or two seals from

10976-416: The surrounding countryside ... and it is certainly the boldness inspired by these badges that makes them unafraid to do these things". Richard offered to give up his own badges, to the delight of the House of Commons of England , but the House of Lords refused to give up theirs, and the matter was put off. In 1390 it was ordered that no one below the rank of banneret should issue badges, and no one below

11088-443: The symbol now employed is a standard typographical upward-pointing arrow rather than a true broad arrow. Multi-cylinder internal combustion engines have their cylinder banks arranged in different ways. If there are just two, they may be in-line, opposed or at an angle, the latter often described as a Vee (or V) arrangement. When there are more than two cylinders, they are either arranged radially, in-line or in in-line groups. Thus

11200-627: The theft of military and naval property by prohibiting anyone other than official contractors from marking "any Stores of War or Naval Stores whatsoever, with the Marks usually used to and marked upon His Majesties said Warlike and Naval or Ordnance Stores; ... [including] any other Stores with the Broad Arrow by Stamp Brand or otherwise". From the eighteenth to twentieth centuries, the broad arrow regularly appeared on military boxes and equipment such as canteens, bayonets and rifles. The prisons built by

11312-458: The titles of pursuivants in the College of Arms ), and there is now a general badge of the House of Windsor . Heraldic badges were revived in 1906 by the College of Arms under Alfred Scott-Gatty , and have since then often been included in new grants of arms, in addition to the traditional grant of the coat of arms . Whether or not they are so granted is at the option of the grantee, who pays

11424-406: The unlicensed cutting of protected trees. This process was open to abuse, and the British monopoly was very unpopular with colonists. Part of the reason was that many protected trees were on either town-owned or privately owned lands. Colonists could only sell mast trees to the British, but were substantially underpaid for the lumber. Even though it was illegal for the colonists to sell to enemies of

11536-422: The use of livery badges. The issuing of badges by lords was attacked in the Parliament of 1384, and in 1388 they made the startling request that "all liveries called badges [ signes ], as well of our lord the king as of other lords ... shall be abolished", because "those who wear them are flown with such insolent arrogance that they do not shrink from practising with reckless effrontery various kinds of extortion in

11648-616: The vessel during the great gale of the 28th ult." Topped with a horizontal line, the broad arrow was widely used on Ordnance Survey benchmarks . Broad arrow marks were also used by Commonwealth countries on their ordnance. The Board of Ordnance was absorbed into the War Department in 1855, but the broad arrow continued to be used by its successor bodies: the War Department 1855–57, the War Office 1857–1964, and by

11760-459: The words "The seal of [the name of the owner]", either in Latin or in the local vernacular language: the Latin word Sigillum was frequently abbreviated to a simple S: . Occasionally, the legend took the form of a motto . In the Middle Ages it became customary for the seals of women and of ecclesiastics to be given a vesica (pointed oval) shape. The central emblem was often a standing figure of

11872-552: The wrong badge in the wrong place could lead to personal danger. In 1483 King Richard III ordered 13,000 badges in fustian cloth with his emblem of a white boar for the investiture of his son Edward as Prince of Wales, a huge number given the population at the time. Other grades of boar badges that have survived are in lead, silver, and gilded copper relief, the last found at Richard's home of Middleham Castle in Yorkshire, and very likely worn by one of his household when he

11984-493: Was Duke of York . The British Museum also has a swan badge in flat lead, typical of the cheap metal badges which were similar to the pilgrim badges that were also common in the period. In 1377, during a period when the young Richard's uncle John of Gaunt as Regent was highly unpopular in London, one of his more than 200 retainers, the Scottish knight Sir John Swinton , unwisely rode through London wearing Gaunt's badge on

12096-570: Was a factor in the emergence of hereditary heraldry in western Europe in the 12th century. Ecclesiastical seals are frequently mandorla -shaped, as in the shape of an almond , also known as vesica -shaped. The use of a seal by men of wealth and position was common before the Christian era, but high functionaries of the Church adopted the habit. An incidental allusion in one of St. Augustine 's letters (217 to Victorinus) indicates that he used

12208-514: Was also used on survey markers. It can still be seen on some Australian military property. The broad arrow brand is also still used to mark trees as the property of the Crown, and is protected against unauthorised use. In Victoria, Australia for example, Part 4 of the Forests (Licences and Permits) Regulations 2009 states that "an authorised officer may use the broad arrow brand ... to mark trees in

12320-472: Was an officer called the clerk of the cocket . It may have given its name to cocket bread , which was perhaps stamped as though with a seal. The importance of the seal as a means of authentication necessitated that when authority passed into new hands the old seal should be destroyed and a new one made. When the pope dies it is the first duty of the Cardinal Camerlengo to obtain possession of

12432-453: Was condemned to stand in the pillory by the Court of Aldermen of London for the offence of having impersonated an officer of the royal household, in which role he had commandeered several barrels of ale from brewers, marking them with a symbol referred to as an "arewehead". The device was also used in the 15th and 16th centuries as an assay mark for pewter and tin . An alternative theory

12544-550: Was not widely used for convict clothing in Australia during the early period of transportation , as government-issued uniforms were rare. The Board of Ordnance took over supply in the 1820s, and uniforms from this period onwards were generally marked with the broad arrow, including so-called " magpie " uniforms. In an account published in 1827, Peter Miller Cunningham described Australian convicts as wearing "white woollen Paramatta frocks and trowsers, or grey and yellow jackets with duck overalls, (the different styles of dress denoting

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