View source for Coats of arms of the Holy See and Vatican City

{{Short description|National coat of arms}}
{{Infobox coat of arms
|name             = Coat of arms of Vatican City
|image            = Coat of arms of the Vatican City.svg
|image_width      = 200
|year_adopted     = 7 June 1929
|shield           = The Fundamental Law of Vatican City State describes the shield as ''chiavi decussate sormontate del Triregno in campo rosso'' (keys in saltire surmounted by the [[papal tiara]] on a red field) and depicts the keys as two, one silver ([[argent]]) in [[bend (heraldry)|bend]] and one gold ([[or (heraldry)|or]]) in [[bend sinister (heraldry)|bend sinister]], interlaced at their intersection with a red ([[gules]]) cord. The tiara is represented as white with golden crowns.<ref name=official>{{cite web|url=http://www.uniroma2.it/didattica/Ecclesiastico/deposito/Leggi_Vaticane.pdf|title=Appendix B ("All. B. Stemma Ufficiale dello Stato della Città del Vaticano") of the Fundamental Law of Vatican City State, 7 June 1929|website=uniroma2.it|access-date=7 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131217230421/http://www.uniroma2.it/didattica/Ecclesiastico/deposito/Leggi_Vaticane.pdf|archive-date=17 December 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>
}}
{{Infobox coat of arms
|name             = Coat of arms of the Holy See
|image            = Coat of arms Holy See.svg
|image_width      = 200
|armiger          = [[Holy See]]
|year_adopted     = Late 14th century<ref name=Galbreath1/><ref name=Araldica/>
|use              = Discontinued by mid-1980s; flags of Holy See and Vatican City unified since then<ref>[http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2015/09/21/united_nations_to_raise_holy_see_flag_on_september_25/1173557 Radio Vaticana]</ref>
}}
{{Vatican City sidebar}}
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]] have origins attested from the 14th century.<ref name=Galbreath1>"A red shield bearing two white crossed keys, and surmounted by the tiara, is to be seen in a window of [[Bourges Cathedral|the cathedral of Bourges]] accompanying the achievements of the [[anti-pope]]s [[Clement VII]] and [[Antipope Benedict XIII|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]], 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." [https://books.google.com/books?id=zLBnynmMp_oC&q=%22surmounted+by+the+tiara,+is+to+be+seen+in+a+window%22&dq=%22surmounted+by+the+tiara,+is+to+be+seen+in+a+window%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=z3T6Uo7qHo3Q7AbP74DYDQ&redir_esc=y Donald Lindsay Galbreath, ''A Treatise on Ecclesiastical Heraldry'' (W. Heffer and Sons, 1930)].</ref><ref name=MP/> The combination of one gold and one silver key is a somewhat later development.<ref name=MP/><ref name=Galbreath2>[https://books.google.com/books?id=zLBnynmMp_oC&q=%22present+usage+of+placing+a+gold+key%22&dq=%22present+usage+of+placing+a+gold+key%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=XHX6UvrnL-HD7Aby_4HoDw&redir_esc=y Donald Lindsay Galbreath, ''A Treatise on Ecclesiastical Heraldry'' (W. Heffer and Sons, 1930), p. 9].</ref>

The coat of arms of [[Vatican City]], a [[Sovereign country|sovereign]] entity established by the [[Lateran Treaty]] of 11 February 1929, was adopted by the [[Fundamental Law of Vatican City|Fundamental Law]] of the new state on 7 June 1929,<ref name=official/> and has its coat of arms defined by law as having the silver key [[Bend (heraldry)#In bend|in bend]] and the gold key [[bend sinister (heraldry)|in bend sinister]].<ref name="vatican.va">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</ref>

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 [[Apostolic Nunciature|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,<ref name="doc.noticias24.com">{{Cite web |url=http://doc.noticias24.com/0901/n2xc.jpg |title=Archived copy |access-date=2015-01-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150218184056/http://doc.noticias24.com/0901/n2xc.jpg |archive-date=2015-02-18 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="upload.wikimedia.org">http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/Nunciatura_apostolica_BSB_01.jpg {{Bare URL image|date=March 2022}}</ref><ref name="pamelaho.files.wordpress.com">https://pamelaho.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/vatican-city-flag.jpg {{Bare URL image|date=March 2022}}</ref><ref name="blogs.reuters.com">[https://web.archive.org/web/20150218181832/http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/files/2009/05/dome-and-vatican-flag.jpg Reuters]</ref><ref name="ReferenceA">http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/USA_and_Vatican_flag.jpg {{Bare URL image|date=March 2022}}</ref><ref name="traditioninaction.org">http://traditioninaction.org/religious/religiousimages/F017_WhiteHouse.jpg {{Bare URL image|date=March 2022}}</ref> and the Vatican now only uses the Holy See's coat of arms in [[monochrome]],<ref name="vatican.va"/> which renders it, in practice, one and the same as the coat of arms of [[Vatican City]].

==Origins and background==
[[Ecclesiastical heraldry]] 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 [[Seal (device)#Ecclesiastical seals|seals]], nearly all [[vesica piscis|vesica]]-shaped.<ref>
Arthur Charles Fox-Davies in  ''[[Catholic Encyclopedia]]'' (1910) {{CathEncy | wstitle=Ecclesiastical Heraldry | short=yes}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://oce.catholic.com/oce/browse-page-scans.php?id=dc013cb5997fb53cc04095551d3b9e33|title=Scanned reproduction of the article, with illustrations|website=catholic.com|access-date=7 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140224021607/http://oce.catholic.com/oce/browse-page-scans.php?id=dc013cb5997fb53cc04095551d3b9e33|archive-date=24 February 2014|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

When [[Pope Gregory IX]] waged war against [[Emperor Frederick II]] in 1228, papal troops were described by [[Richard of San Germano]] 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]].<ref>{{citation |author=G. A. Loud |authorlink=Graham Loud |chapter=The Papal ‘Crusade’ against Frederick II in 1228–1230 |title=The Papacy and the Crusades |editor=Michel Balard |publisher=Routledge |year=2016}}, pp. 92, 98; {{citation |author=Brett Edward Whalen |title=The Two Powers: The Papacy, the Empire, and the Struggle for Sovereignty in the Thirteenth Century |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |year=2019}}, p. 36.</ref>

=== Keys and their arrangement ===
The earliest [[blazon]]ing of the arms of the Holy See is that found in [[Froissart's Chronicles]] of 1353, which describes them as "gules two keys in saltire argent".<ref>""Froissart, in his Chronicles referring to the events of the year 1383, is the first to blazon the arms of the Church: faisait Vevesque de Mordwich porter devant lui les armes de l'Eglise, la bannière de St. Pierre, de gueules à deux clefs d'argent en sautoir, comme Gonfanonnier du Pape Urbain." [https://books.google.com/books?id=zLBnynmMp_oC&q=%22is+the+first+to+blazon+the+arms+of+the+Church%22&dq=%22is+the+first+to+blazon+the+arms+of+the+Church%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=t3L6Up69DavX7AaPooCQDQ&redir_esc=y Donald Lindsay gules, ''A Treatise on Ecclesiastical Heraldry'' (W. Heffer and Sons, 1930)]</ref> 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 (heraldry)|bend]] and a silver in [[bend sinister]], but sometimes with both keys or (gold), less often both keys silver, as described by Froissart.<ref name=MP>"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" ([https://books.google.com/books?id=7VDcmDeLuV4C&pg=PA891 Michel Pastoureau, "Keys" in Philippe Levillain, ''The Papacy: An Encyclopedia''] (Routledge 2002 {{ISBN|9780415922302}}), vol. 2, p. 891).</ref>

The practice by which the gold key is placed in bend and the silver in bend sinister was slow in establishing itself,<ref name=Galbreath2 /> and only from the time of [[Pope Pius II]] 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)."<ref>[http://archive.catholicherald.co.uk/article/1st-june-1956/4/the-sovereign-pontiff-has-the-oldest-coat-of-arms John A. Goodall, "The Sovereign Pontiff has the oldest coat of arms" in ''The Catholic Herald'', 1 June 1956]</ref>

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")].".<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=l4weAQAAMAAJ&q=%22key+or+in+bend+above%22&dq=%22key+or+in+bend+above%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=2XX6UsaqMeuy7Aaoh4DQAQ&sqi=2&redir_esc=y The Heraldry Society, ''Coat of Arms'' 1952–53, vol. 2, p. 254]</ref> In his 1978 book, ''Heraldry in the Catholic Church'', Archbishop [[Bruno Heim]] described the same arrangement.<ref name=Heim/>

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 [[Apostolic Nunciature|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.<ref name="doc.noticias24.com"/><ref name="upload.wikimedia.org"/><ref name="pamelaho.files.wordpress.com"/><ref name="blogs.reuters.com"/><ref name="ReferenceA"/><ref name="traditioninaction.org"/>

The Vatican itself now only uses the Holy See coat of arms in [[monochrome]],<ref name="vatican.va"/> which makes it indistinguishable from the coat of arms of [[Vatican City]].

===''Sede vacante''===
[[Image:Sede vacante.svg|thumb|150px|The ''sede vacante'' emblem]]
The gold key is placed in bend also in the ''[[sede vacante]]'' emblem, with the tiara replaced by an ''[[umbraculum]]'' (umbrella) said to represent the absence of a pope and the temporary governance of the [[Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church]] over the temporal affairs of the Holy See,<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B5JVthemvvwC&q=Coat+of+arms+Holy+See&pg=PA64|title=The Next Pope|first=Anura|last=Guruge|date=16 February 2010|publisher=Anura Guruge|isbn=9780615353722|access-date=7 March 2019|via=Google Books}}</ref> and in the arms of the Papal States.

=== Tiara ===
By the end of Froissart's 14th century the [[papal tiara]] was included in the coat of arms of the Holy See according to Galbreath<ref name=Galbreath1/> and ''Insegne e simboli: araldica pubblica e privata medievale e moderna''.<ref name=Araldica>[https://books.google.com/books?ei=oJsEU5i1GaeP7AbZoYDAAg&id=w3QWAQAAIAAJ&dq=%22Insegne+e+Simboli%3A+Araldica+Pubblica+e+Privata%2C+Medievale+e+Moderna%22&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=Araldiche+della+Chiesa 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, {{ISBN|978-88-7125159-2}}), p. 337</ref> 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]] (1417–1431).<ref name=Ceresa>[http://www.lucisullest.it/dett_news_print.php?id=3823 Claudio Ceresa, "Una sintesi di simboli ispirati alla Scrittura"] on ''[[L'Osservatore Romano]]'', 10 August 2008  {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130218091006/http://www.lucisullest.it/dett_news_print.php?id=3823 |date=18 February 2013 }}</ref>

==Papal States==
[[File:Coat of arms of Federico and Guidobaldo da Montefeltro.svg|thumb|150px|The Montefeltro family arms with the addition of the papal insignia acquired by [[Federico da Montefeltro|Federico III]] as [[Gonfalonier of the Church]].]]
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]]."<ref>Galbreath 1930, p. 25</ref> This statement is quoted with approval by Heim.<ref>Heim 1978, p. 101</ref>

The arms of the Papal States differed in having the [[umbraculum]] (the emblem of the Pope's temporal powers) in place of the tiara, and were incorporated as the first [[quartering (heraldry)|quartering]] of the royal coat of arms of the [[Napoleon]]ic [[Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic)|Kingdom of Italy]] (1805–1814).<ref>[http://www.archivi.beniculturali.it/dga/uploads/documents/Sussidi/8_SussXI_t_745_1064.pdf Giacomo P. Bascapè, Marcello Del Piazzo, ''Insegne e simboli. Araldica pubblica e privata medievale e moderna. Parte Terza: Araldica Napoleonica in Italia'' (Ministero per i beni culturali e ambientali, 1983), p. 770]</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.heraldica.org/topics/pope.htm|title=Papal Heraldry|website=www.heraldica.org|access-date=7 March 2019}}</ref> 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]] was entitled to include in his own arms the same design of the crossed keys and umbraculum on a red field.

==Vatican City State==
{{further|Fundamental Law of 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,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/vatican_city_state/legislation/documents/scv_doc_20001126_legge-fondamentale-scv_it.html|title=La nuova legge fondamentale dello Stato della Città del Vaticano|website=vatican.va|access-date=7 March 2019}}</ref> which repeats the contents of article 19 of the original Fundamental Law of Vatican City State adopted on 7 June 1929 with immediate effect.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/content/pius-xi/it/motu_proprio/documents/hf_p-xi_motu-proprio_19290607_moto-proprio.html|title=Motu Proprio Di nostro moto proprio che contiene la Legge Fondamentale della Città del Vaticano (7 giugno 1929) - PIO XI|website=w2.vatican.va|access-date=7 March 2019}}</ref> 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 [[papal tiara]] on a red field") and is accompanied by an illustration that depicts the keys as two in number, one white ([[argent]]) in [[bend (heraldry)|bend]] and one golden ([[or (heraldry)|or]]) in [[bend sinister (heraldry)|bend sinister]], interlaced at their intersection with a red ([[gules]]) cord. The tiara is represented as white with golden crowns.<ref name=official/>

==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]] (1431–1447), included it in the design of a silver coin.<ref name=Ceresa/>{{dead link|date=February 2014}} Galbreath and ''Insegne e simboli: araldica pubblica e privata medievale e moderna'' say it is attested from the previous century.<ref name=Galbreath1/><ref name=Araldica/>

===The keys===
The keys refer to the promise of [[Jesus Christ]] 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."<ref>{{bibleverse||Matthew|16:19}}</ref> They are a symbol of the power the Catholic Church believes that Christ gave to Saint Peter and his successors,<ref name=Montezemolo/> 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.<ref name=Heim>"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 (heraldry)|or]]), the other of silver ([[argent]]). The golden key, which points upwards on the [[Dexter and sinister|dexter]] side, signifies the power that extends even to Heaven. The silver key, which must point up to the [[Dexter and sinister|sinister]] side, symbolizes the power over all the faithful on earth. The two are often linked by a cordon [[Gules (heraldry)|Gules]] 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 {{ISBN|9780391008731}}), p. 54</ref>

===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 [[Papal States]]. In 1301, [[Boniface VIII]], at that time in conflict with [[Philip IV of France]], added a second crown to indicate that his spiritual authority was superior to any civil power. In 1342, [[Benedict XII]] 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 [[holy orders|priest]], ruler and [[magisterium|teacher]].<ref name=Montezemolo>{{cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/elezione/stemma-benedict-xvi_en.html|title=Andrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo, "Coat of Arms of His Holiness Benedict XVI"|website=vatican.va|access-date=7 March 2019}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Flag of Vatican City]]
* [[Fundamental Law of Vatican City State]]
* [[Holy See]]
* [[Vatican City]]
* [[Index of Vatican City-related articles]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* Donald L. Galbreath: ''Papal Heraldry''. Cambridge, 1930; Heffer and Sons.
* Bruno Bernhard Heim: ''Heraldry in the Catholic Church: Its Origins, Customs and Laws''. Gerrards Cross: Van Duren, 1978.
* Baron du Roure de Paulin: ''L'Héraldique Ecclésiastique''. Paris, 1911; H. Daragon.

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Coats of arms of the Vatican City}}
* [https://www.vatican.va/news_services/press/documentazione/documents/sp_ss_scv/insigne/sp_ss_scv_stemma-bandiera-sigillo_en.html Holy See Press Office—State of Vatican City Flag, Coat of Arms and Seal (''official site'')]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20131217230421/http://www.uniroma2.it/didattica/Ecclesiastico/deposito/Leggi_Vaticane.pdf Text of the Fundamental Law of Vatican City State, including a reproduction of Annex B depicting the coat of arms of the state]
* [http://www.heraldica.org/topics/pope.htm#pope Papal Heraldry]

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{{Vatican City topics}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coats Of Arms Of The Holy See And Vatican City}}
[[Category:Government of Vatican City]]
[[Category:National symbols of the Vatican City| ]]
[[Category:National coats of arms|Vatican City]]
[[Category:Vatican heraldry]]
[[Category:Coats of arms with keys|Holy See]]
[[Category:Coats of arms with mitres|Holy See]]
[[Category:Coats of arms with crosses|Holy See]]
[[Category:Christian symbols]]
[[Category:Holy See]]