The coat of arms of York is the official symbol of City of York Council, the local government of the City of York,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The borough has been extended a number of times from the original city contained within the city walls. However, the arms have remained the same throughout all these changes to the borough.

Description

The

shield A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry or projectiles such as arrows, by means of a ...

, argent, bears St George's Cross upon which are five lions Passant Guardant. The variations depicting the Monarch's recognition of the City's powers of self-government are represented by a Civic Sword and Mace crossed behind the shield. The

Chapeau A chapeau is a flat-topped hat once worn by senior clerics. In heraldry In European ecclesiastical heraldry, it is used as a mark of ecclesiastical dignity, especially that of cardinals, where it is called the ''red chapeau''. It is worn over th ...

(reversed from usual heraldic orientation - see Cap of maintenance) symbolises the office of Mayor who has the right to bear the Sword and Mace.

History

The use of St George's Cross shows the strong English influences and the former importance of the city of York when

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

made it the capital during the fighting against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. The five lions represent acknowledgement of the City's strong support for the monarchy. It is thought that it was during the reign of Edward III that the coat of arms was first granted, although

Francis Drake Sir Francis Drake ( – 28 January 1596) was an English explorer, sea captain, privateer, slave trader, naval officer, and politician. Drake is best known for his circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition, from 1577 to 1580 (t ...

, in his history of the city, claims that the coat of arms is much older, originally consisting of only the cross of St George to which the five lions were added in the reign of

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...

in recognition of the five magistrates who defended the city against him in 1070. The crossed sword and mace with the cap of maintenance refer to the creation of the office of Lord Mayor of York in the 14th century by King Richard II. The king had presented a sword to the city in 1387 to be used in civic ceremonies and, in 1397, the right to also carry the mace was ensconced in a royal charter. The cap was presented to the city by King Richard II in 1393. These symbols have been in use since the 18th century. The arms were recorded without

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

(that is without colours) at the heraldic visitation of Yorkshire of 1584. 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; f ...

and replaced by York City Council, the arms were transferred to the new authority. The arms were formally transferred to the present

unitary authority A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...

by order in council in 1997. A banner of the arms is flown as the city's flag.

References

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

Culture in York History of York