The coat of arms of Jersey is the

heraldic device A heraldic badge, emblem, impresa, device, or personal device worn as a badge indicates allegiance to, or the property of, an individual, family or corporate body. Medieval forms are usually called a livery badge, and also a cognizance. They are ...

consisting of a

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 ...

charged with three gold

leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, a ...

s on a red field. Utilised unofficially before the 20th century, its status as the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

of the Bailiwick of

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...

was formalized in 1907. The escutcheon is featured on the flag of the dependency.

History

The

Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...

were part of the

Duchy of Normandy The Duchy of Normandy grew out of the 911 Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte between King Charles III of West Francia and the Viking leader Rollo. The duchy was named for its inhabitants, the Normans. From 1066 until 1204, as a result of the Norman c ...

until 1204, when the

Kingdom of England The Kingdom of England (, ) was a sovereign state on the island of Great Britain from 12 July 927, when it emerged from various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, until 1 May 1707, when it united with Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain. On 1 ...

lost sovereignty over the duchy but retained control of the islands. These were subsequently split into the bailiwicks of

Guernsey Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency. It is the second largest of the Channel Islands ...

and

later that century. They have been governed by the English Crown ever since, save for five years during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The widespread usage of the

royal arms of England The royal arms of England are the Coat of arms, arms first adopted in a fixed form at the start of the age of heraldry (circa 1200) as Armorial of the House of Plantagenet, personal arms by the House of Plantagenet, Plantagenet kings who ruled ...

on the islands led many residents to consider the arms a symbol of Jersey. The claimed usage by the island of the arms was sanctioned by

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria an ...

in 1907.''The Bailiwick of Jersey'', G.R. Balleine, London 1951 During the

German occupation German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 an ...

in the Second World War, the dependency was allowed to print its own

postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the fa ...

s for the first time given its inability to access supplies from mainland Britain. However, it was barred from utilising the image of the monarch or any reference of Jersey's connection to the United Kingdom. One inhabitant, N. V. L. Rybot, suggested employing the island's coat of arms instead. This design was approved – with the Germans apparently unaware that it was also the royal arms of the monarch – and the stamps were first issued on 1 April 1941. A Royal Warrant was issued on 10 December 1980, appending the coat of arms to the flag of the dependency and topping it with a

Plantagenet The House of Plantagenet () was a royal house which originated from the lands of Anjou in France. The family held the English throne from 1154 (with the accession of Henry II at the end of the Anarchy) to 1485, when Richard III died in ...

crown. This was approved by the

States Assembly The States Assembly (french: Assemblée des États; Jèrriais: ) is the parliament of Jersey, formed of the island's 37 deputies and the Connétable of each of the twelve parishes. The origins of the legislature of Jersey lie in the system o ...

on 7 April of the following year.

Design

Symbolism

The colours and objects on the coat of arms carry cultural, political, and regional meanings. The three gold lions (lions passant guardant) are identical to the royal arms of England. Coupled with the dynastic crown on the flag, this represents the loyalty of the people of Jersey to the

House of Plantagenet The House of Plantagenet () was a royal house which originated from the lands of Anjou in France. The family held the English throne from 1154 (with the accession of Henry II at the end of the Anarchy) to 1485, when Richard III died in b ...

Uses

The shield from the arms features on the flag of Jersey, and on the flag of the dependency's lieutenant governor. It was added to the former in 1980, in order to distinguish the banner from

Saint Patrick's Saltire Saint Patrick's Saltire or Saint Patrick's Cross is a red saltire (X-shaped cross) on a white field. In heraldic language, it may be blazoned "''argent, a saltire gules''". The Saint Patrick's Flag (''Bratach Naomh Pádraig'') is a flag compos ...

References

{{Coats of arms of Europe *

History

Design

Symbolism

Uses

See also

References