Belknap / Belnap Coat of Arms

In 1965, through the assistance of Dr. Howard K. Belnap, the Belnap Family Organization commissioned the creation of a “Belnap” coat of arms, with the shield based on that used by members of the “early” or untitled “noble” Belknap family in England descended through Sir Robert Belknap (about 1330-1401) and the crest adapted from one used by the “last” untitled noble Belknap, Sir Edward Belknap (about 1471-1521), great grandson of Sir Robert Belknap.  This Belnap Family Organization version was adopted by family officers as the official “emblem” of the Belnap Family Organization.  It has been used in the years since in a number of ways, including in official publications as well as on banners, name tags, t-shirts, silk ties, balloons, key chains, refrigerator magnets, frisbees, and even matchbook covers.  Artist of the Belnap coat of arms was Emilie Ward.  (The seal for the Belnap Family Organization combines within a circle a stylized representation of the Organization’s official emblem (the Belnap coat of arms) and the Organization’s official motto (“Love, Unity, Solidarity”) with additional elements.  Information on the Organization’s seal is available here.)

NOTE:  The Belnap Coat of Arms is a trademark of the Belnap Family Organization!  All unauthorized use is prohibited!

Belknap Heraldic Achievement

In heraldry, an “achievement” is the full display or depiction of all the heraldic components to which the bearer of a coat of arms is entitled.  It comprises not only the arms displayed on the escutcheon or shield, the central element, but also other elements surrounding it.  Identified historical elements of the Belknap heraldic achievement include:

  • Shield Blazon:  “Azure three eagles in bend between two cottises argent”
    • Above heraldic description in plain English:  blue “field” (meaning the background color of the “shield” or “escutcheon”) on which appears a “charge” (an emblem) consisting of an “ordinary” (a geometrical figure of straight lines) in the shape of a silver “bend” (a band or strap running from the upper “dexter” (the bearer’s right side and the viewer’s left) corner of the “shield” to the lower “sinister” (the bearer’s left side, and the viewer’s right)) on either side of which appear silver “cottises” (pairs of narrow bands adjacent and parallel to an “ordinary”), with three eagles on the bend.  Note that the historical shape of the Belknap shield was likely a “heater shield”; the Belnap Coat of Arms shield used today is more of a “French” shield or inverted Tudor arch shield with a “French base” and slightly curved top.  In heraldic art, the oldest and most common manner of depicting an eagle is in “displayed” attitude, a direct imitation of Roman iconography.  A displayed eagle is upright with both wings, both legs, and tail feathers outstretched.  In English heraldry the wings are usually depicted “expanded” or “elevated” (i.e., pointing upward).  The eagle’s body is depicted facing forward with lateral symmetry, but with its head is facing the dexter side.
  • Crest:  “Wingless dragon statant azure gorged with a coronet attached thereto a leash reflexed over the back or”
    • Above heraldic description in plain English:  decorative “device” (image borne on top of the “helm”) consisting of a wingless dragon in the “tincture” or color of “azure” or blue (not “vert” or green, with wings, as depicted in the Belnap Coat of Arms Crest) in the “attitude” (position of the image) “statant” or “standing” (a predatory beast image in profile toward “dexter” or viewer’s left) with all four feet on the ground (and usually depicted with the forepaws together); the dragon is “gorged” or wears as a collar around its neck a “coronet” (a small, non-arched crown) to which is attached a leash or chain “reflexed” or extending over the dragon’s back; both the coronet and leash are “or” (meaning gold).  In some sources, the dragon is “langued gules” (meaning red-tongued).  As noted below, the crest beast has been described as a dragon, a lizard, or a griffin.  It has been tinctured both green and blue, with and without wings, with tail “nowed” (meaning knotted) or not indicated.  (A legendary winged dragon-like creature that has only two legs and which is often used in English heraldry–either as a charge, supporter, or crest–is a wyvern.  The wyvern in heraldry is rarely fire-breathing, unlike four-legged dragons.  Occasionally, a wyvern is depicted as wingless and with its tail nowed (knotted).)
    • An additional element sometimes depicted in the crest is a flaming beacon or, more precisely, a cresset–a metal cup or basket, often mounted to or suspended from a pole, containing oil, pitch, a rope steeped in rosin (also known as colophony or Greek pitch, a solid form of resin), or something flammable, burned as a light or beacon.  The Belknap crest beacon or cresset includes a step ladder leading to a flaming cauldron atop a pole.  It seems quite probable that this crest beacon could refer to a local stone landmark near Burton Dassett known as “The Beacon,” a focal point of the Burton Dassett Hills that likely served as a signaling tower from which the light of a cresset signaled times of emergency.  Edward Belknap, who lived at nearby Weston-under-Wetherley, Warwickshire, is credited with building the Beacon Tower, which is now a national monument, that almost certainly replaced earlier, less permanent beacon towers.  It is important to note that the de Sudeley family, once prominent in the Burton Dassett area, also had a cresset in their crest and that Edward Belknap was a descendant of the de Sudeley family through his father Henry, then Joan Boteler (wife of Hamon Belknap), then Thomas le Boteler, then Joan de Sudeley (Edward’s great great grandmother).  For further information about a beacon in the crest of Edward Belknap, see the extensive quote further below by Prof. Ward in “Some Observations on the Antiquity and Use of Beacons, More Particularly Here in England,” Archaeologia: Or Miscellaneous Tracts, Relating to Antiquity, vol. 1 (1770).  King Henry V (reigned 1413-1422) used as a personal badge a beacon very similar in appearance to the beacon depicted on Edward Belknap’s crest.  (Davenport, Cyril. British Heraldry (1921), pp. 58, 60.)  “Previously to the reign of King Edward III., the English sometimes used as beacons stacks of wood, on high places; or . . . on large hearths formed of stones . . .; but in the same reign, pitch boxes (i.e. posts with cressets at the top, ascended by ladders or jagged poles) came into use.”  (Britton, John. A Dictionary of the Architecture and Archaeology of The Middle Ages: Including Words Used by Ancient and Modern Authors in Treating of Architectural and Other Antiquities (1838), p. 40.)  From an article about beacons in Kent, where Sir Robert Belknap (great grandfather of Edward Belknap) held extensive landholdings and was ultimately interred:  “The early form was just a bon-fire of brushwood lighted on a hill, but in the reign of Edward III, orders were given
      that, as Lambarde describes it, beacons should be ‘high standards with their pitch pots.’  Illustrations of such beacons are to be found in the coats of arms of the Dauntre, Beltnap [sic–evidently a misreading or alternate spelling of Belknap; see description below of “Badge”] and other families, and we have very graphic representations of them, including the flames, in a MS. map of the coast of Dorset of sixteenth century date.  Here the beacon is seen to consist of an upright timber, evidently a roughly squared tree, let into the ground and supported on all sides by struts.  On its top it has a circular iron brazier, which is reached, for lighting and refueling, by a rough ladder, formed of a single pole, sloping against the main upright, with rungs nailed to it. . . .  [I]n Archdeacon Battery’s Antiquitates Rutupinae are two bird’s-eye views of the Isle of Thanet [where Sir Robert Belknap performed some official activities] in which several neatly drawn beacons are to be seen, which conform to the pattern of those on the Dorset coast. In the West and North where stone is plentiful, stone towers, some of which remain, were used to carry the beacon fire, and act as shelter for the watchers at the same time.”  (White, H. T. “The Beacon System in Kent,” Archaeologia Cantiana, vol. 46 (1934), p. 92.)  By English common law, no person but the king could erect beacons.  A tax called beaconage was in early times paid for the maintenance of beacons.   According to Arthur Charles Fox-Davies (A Complete Guide to Heraldry (1909), p. 284):  “Examples of Beacons (Fig. 507) are furnished by the achievements of the family of Compton and of the town of Wolverhampton.  A fire chest occurs in the arms of Critchett.”  One highly intriguing potential connection concerning the use of a beacon in the Belknap crest might be with “Belas Knap,” a Neolithic chambered long barrow or ancient burial site hill in Gloucestershire, England that has also been proposed as a possible candidate of a place that might have given rise to the surname Belknap.  Reputable sources on ancient prehistoric British stone circles,  henges, hill forts, burial chambers, and barrows note that the name “Belas Knap”, rather than having merely a strong etymological connection with “Belknap,” is also a medieval term that means “Beacon Mound.”  Additional information on the origin on the Belknap surname is available here.
  • Badge:  A heraldic badge (also known as an emblem, impresa, or device) indicates allegiance to, or the property of, an individual, family or corporate body.  Medieval forms are usually called a “livery badge” or “cognizance.”  They are considered “para-heraldic,” meaning they do not necessarily use elements from the coat of arms of the person or family they represent, though many do, often serving as the crest or achievement supporters.  Their use was less formalized than that of the arms proper and was not the subject of a grant from the Crown as were heraldic standards or flags.  Over time, the words “badge” and “crest” cam to be used interchangeably.  In a list of badges compiled by Arthur Charles Fox-Davies (Heraldic Badges (1907), p. 78), the author describes two known badges belonging to Edward “Beltnap”: (note the similarity of these descriptions to the information below under Edward Belknap’s coat of arms):
    • “Beltnap, Sir Edward, Kt.  Colours—or and gules.  Badge—on a stand, a fire-beacon or, flames gules, and in front of the beacon, and also on the stand, a lizard, tail nowed vert, ducally gorged and chained or [Standard —MS. I . 2, Coll. Arms].”
    • “Beltnap, Edward.  Colours—white.  Badge—a lizard, tail nowed vert, ducally gorged and lined or [Standard—MS. I . 2, Coll . Arms].”
  • Helm:  Situated above the shield, the helm or helmet bears the torse and crest.  The helm is borne of right, and forms no part of a grant of arms; it may be assumed without authority by anyone entitled to bear arms (together with mantling and whatever motto the armiger–the person entitled to heraldic arms–might desire).  The style of helmet displayed varies according to rank and social status.  Open-visored or barred helmets are typically reserved to the highest ranks of nobility, while lesser nobility and burghers typically assume closed helms.  The helm used today in the Belnap Coat of Arms is a closed steel helmet, typically reserved for ranks below a knight of esquire (meaning a knight bearing a shield) or gentleman, facing in the position or “attitude” of “dexter” (meaning to the viewer’s left).  Because Sir Robert Belknap and other early Belknaps were knighted but were not members of royalty or the titled peerage, the correct helm should perhaps be an open steel helmet shown in the attitude of “affronté” (facing the observer) used to designate knights as well as baronets.
  • Mantling:  “Azure” (blue) and “argent” (silver)–derived from the two primary tinctures of the shield, they are place on either side of the cloth consisting of one color and one metal; refers to the drapery tied to the helmet above the shield intended to depict the protective cloth covering worn by knights from their helmets to stave off the elements, and, secondarily, to decrease the effects of sword-blows against the helmet in battle, from which it is usually shown tattered or cut to shreds.  The mantling is held in place by the “torse” or wreath–a twisted roll of the mantling fabric laid about the top of the helmet and the base of the crest.
  • Motto:  In heraldry, a motto is often found below the shield in a banderole.  In English heraldry, mottos are not granted with armorial bearings, and may be adopted and changed at will.  One version of a motto for the Belknap Arms is said to be the Latin phrase “Prudentis et animis deo juvante,” purportedly meaning “Foresight and courage with God’s aid (or ‘with the help of God’).”  (This motto is partly close to a motto used by the Ochterlony family:  “Prudentia et animo” (“By prudence and courage”).)  However, in 1997 a Latin expert at the College of Arms in London reviewed the motto above and suggested it should instead be “Et Prudentis Animi Deo Juvante,” meaning  “And of a Prudent Disposition God Helping (Me).”  (Since at least 1967, the Belnap Family Organization has used the motto “Love, Unity, Solidarity”–which could be translated into Latin as “Caritas, Unitatis, Coniunctionis”.)

Outline History of Known Authorized (and Unauthorized) Uses of the Belknap Coat of Arms

  • Elizabeth Belknap (abt 1424-1471):  Granddaughter of Sir Robert Belknap through Hamon; married William de Ferrers, 6th Baron Ferrers of Chartley.  Possible uses of Belknap Arms:
    • Dugdale, William. The Antiquities of Warwickshire Illustrated; From Records, Leiger-Books, Manuscripts, Charters, Evidences, Tombes, and Armes: Beautified With Maps, Prospects, and Portraictures, vol. II, 2nd ed. (1730), p. 905:  Arms in the windows of Guild of the Holy Cross, Birmingham, Warwickshire, England: Ferrers impaling Belknap–presumably showing Ferrers arms of Elizabeth Belknap’s husband’s in the dexter half (viewer’s left), with Elizabeth’s (wife’s) paternal arms in the sinister half.
    • Royal Collection Trust, Wenceslaus Hollar (1607-1677), Collection “Coats of Arms in Stained Glass Windows at Birmingham,” First published 1656, RCIN 804781 (same as above; used in Dugdale’s Antiquities of Warwickshire):
    • Dugdale, William. The Antiquities of Warwickshire Illustrated; From Records, Leiger-Books, Manuscripts, Charters, Evidences, Tombes, and Armes: Beautified With Maps, Prospects, and Portraictures, vol. II, 2nd ed. (1730), p. 887:  Arms in the window of Castle Bromwich:  Ferrers impaling Belknap.
    • Royal Collection Trust, Wenceslaus Hollar (1607-1677), Collection “Coats of Arms in Stained Glass Windows at Birmingham,” First published 1656, RCIN 804781 (same as above; used in Dugdale’s Antiquities of Warwickshire):
    • Dugdale, William. The Antiquities of Warwickshire Illustrated; From Records, Leiger-Books, Manuscripts, Charters, Evidences, Tombes, and Armes: Beautified With Maps, Prospects, and Portraictures, vol. II, 2nd ed. (1730), p. 1043:  Arms in the south window of the chancel of Church of Saint Giles, Nether Whitacre, Warwickshire, England: Belknap, next to Ferrers.
    • Royal Collection Trust, Wenceslaus Hollar (1607-1677), Collection “Nether Whitacre (Ferrers of Chartley family),” RCIN 804893 (same as above; used in Dugdale’s Antiquities of Warwickshire):
  • Henry Finch (abt 1445-abt 1494):  Married Alice Belknap, great granddaughter of Sir Robert Belknap through Hamon then Philip.  Known uses of Belknap Arms:
    • 1756:  Collins, Arthur. The Peerage of England; Containing a Genealogical and Historical Account of All the Peers of England, Now Existing, Either by Tenure, Summons or Creations, vol. II, 3rd ed. (1756), pp. 303-04:  Upon marriage to Alice Belknap, Henry Finch and his posterity acquired the right of quartering the following arms:  1. Belknap, 2. Butler of Wem, 3. Pantulph, 4. Sudeley, 5. Montfort, 6. De la Plaunche, 7. Haversham.  Belknap blazon:  “Azure, a bend of the same charged with three falcons flying or, the bend cotised arg.”
    • 1876:  Howard, Joseph Jackson, ed. Miscellanea Genealogica et Heraldica, vol. II (1876), pp. 324-337:
      • Page 324:  Finch Quartered Arms (showing Belknap in 5th quartering).
      • Page 333:  Blazon of Finch Arms impaling quarterly of eight (four and four):  1. Belknap, 2. Butler, 3. Pantulf, 4. Sudeley, 5. Montfort, 6. De la Plaunche, 7. Haversham, 8. Belknap.  Belknap blazon:  “azure three eagles displayed between two bendlets argent, in chief a crescent or.” 
  • Edward Belknap (abt 1471-1521):  Great grandson of Sir Robert Belknap through Hamon then Henry:  Privy Councillor for both Henry VII and Henry VIII.  Known uses of Belknap Arms:
    • College of Arms, Book of Standards, MS I2.71:  Standard of Edward Belknap shows a strange beast which would appear to be a wingless dragon statant azure gorged with a coronet attached thereto a leash reflexed over the back Or.  The shield quarters the Arms of Belknap, Boteler, Sudeley, and Montfort.
    • College of Arms, Book of Standards, MS I2.109:  Sir Edward Belknap, Knight, has the same beast in MS I2.71 standing on a platform in front of a flaming beacon or.  Beside the standard, the quarterings are shown in the order Belknap, Sudeley, Montfort and Boteler.
    • College of Arms, Early Grants of Arms, Vincent 161.15:  Crest of Sir Edward Belknappe appears in a book (of crests only) which belonged to Augustine Vincent who was an Officer of Arms from 1616 to 1626.
    • College of Arms, Early Grants of Arms, 2G4.75:  Arms of Edward Beleknapp are illustrated in a book of gifts of arms of the time of Henry VIII (1509-1547); the Crest is as in MS I2.71; the Arms may be described as:  Azure three Eagles in bend between two cottises Argent.  The shield also quarters the Arms of Boteler, Sudeley, and Montfort.
    • Howard de Walden, Thomas Evelyn Scott-Ellis, Baron. Banners, Standards, and Badges, from a Tudor Manuscript in the College of Arms (1904), p. 170 (possibly same as College of Arms, Book of Standards, MS I2.71):  Edward Belknap:  “White, A a lizard, tail nowed [knotted]   Vert, ducally gorged and lined Or. (Remainder imperfect.)   Arms.—Quarterly, 1. Azure, three eagles in bend between two cottises Argent; 2. Gules, a fess gobony Argent and Sable between six crosses patée fitché in the foot Or; 3. Or, two bends Gules; 4 Barry of ten Or and Azure.”
    • Howard de Walden, Thomas Evelyn Scott-Ellis, Baron. Banners, Standards, and Badges, from a Tudor Manuscript in the College of Arms (1904), p. 235 (possibly same as College of Arms, Book of Standards, MS I2.109):  “Syr Edward Belknap Knyght”:  “Or and Gules, A on a stand a fire beacon Or, flames Gules, and in front of the beacon and also on the stand a lizard, tail nowed Vert, ducally gorged and chained Or. (Remainder imperfect.)   Arms. —Quarterly, 1. Azure, three eaglets in bend between two cotises Argent; 2. Or, two bends Gules; 3. Bendy of ten, Or and Azure; 4. Gules, a fess gobony Argent and Sable between six crosses patée fitché in the foot Or.”
    • Dugdale, William. The Antiquities of Warwickshire Illustrated; From Records, Leiger-Books, Manuscripts, Charters, Evidences, Tombes, and Armes: Beautified With Maps, Prospects, and Portraictures, vol. II, 2nd ed. (1730), p. 961:  Arms in the north window of the chancel of the parish church, Knowle, Warwickshire, England:  quartered arms attached to what appears to be a lit fire beacon reached by a ladder, at the base of which might be a winged dragon (or, as noted below, a green griffin).
    • Dugdale, William. The Antiquities of Warwickshire Illustrated; From Records, Leiger-Books, Manuscripts, Charters, Evidences, Tombes, and Armes: Beautified With Maps, Prospects, and Portraictures, vol. II, 2nd ed. (1730), p. Index B: Captioned “Of the Names of the Families mentioned in this Book, with their Coats of Arms blazoned”–“Belknap, azure on a bend cotized arg. three Eaglets displayed of the same 887, 1043. with a fiery beacon proper or, on a griffin vert, for crest”.
    • Dugdale, William. The Antiquities of Warwickshire Illustrated; From Records, Leiger-Books, Manuscripts, Charters, Evidences, Tombes, and Armes: Beautified With Maps, Prospects, and Portraictures, vol. I, 2nd ed. (1730), p. 297:  Sir Edward Belknap, ” being a man of great note, had his residence here [Weston, Warwickshire], and new built the Mannour house, one of the fairest structures of Timber that I have seen, on several parts whereof his Arms are cut in wood, quartering the Coats of Sudley, Mountfort, and Boteler.”
    • Prof. Ward. “Some Observations on the Antiquity and Use of Beacons, More Particularly Here in England,” Archaeologia: Or Miscellaneous Tracts, Relating to Antiquity, vol. 1 (1770), pp. 1 Figure, 1-2, 4-6:  “In the year 1740, as I was viewing, with a friend, the church at Burton Dasset in Warwickshire, we happened to observe a painted board, placed over the entrance into the chancel, but so covered with dust, that neither we nor the sexton, who attended us, knew what to make of it.  But as it seemed to represent something uncommon, we desired we might inspect it something more nearly : And when the sexton had taken it down, and washed it, we perceived it was the picture of a coat of arms, with a Beacon for the crest, as represented in Fig. I. and upon further enquiry we found that by tradition, there had been formerly a Beacon upon the north side of the hill where the church stands, erected by one of the Belknap Family, who was then lord of that manor.  The board which contains this picture, is nineteen inches and a half in height, and fourteen in breadth.  The draught here given of it, is reduced to the size of one fourth of the original. . . .  As the power of erecting Beacons was originally in the king, and continued to be limited by grants from the crown, in the manner here related; it may deserve enquiry, whence it came to pass, that we find them worn as crests to the arms of several families: So they appear in those of Shelly of Michel-Grove in Sussex, Butler, Mountford, Sudley, Belknap, and some others; and I can think of no more probable reason to assign for this, but that it might at first be granted for some remarkable atchievements which had been performed by persons of those families in times of danger, when the Beacons were fired: Unless it may be supposed, they obtained special grants, which empowered them to erect and maintain Beacons at their own expence.
      “The draught belonging to this account, is much the same with those we meet with annexed to coats of arms, consisting of a vessel at the top, supported by a pole, and a ladder placed against the pole to ascend to the vessel.  But tho’, in lord Coke, the vessels which contained the fuel, are called pitch-boxes, and I suppose generally were so; yet I am inclined to think this was made of iron, with holes in the side for the admission of air to ventilate the fire.  And probably in Warwickshire the fuel was not pitch, but the coal of that county, which is large, burns freely, and very bright.
      “Sir William Dugdale has described the arms of the Belknap family as blazoned, “Azure on a bend cotized argent, three Eaglets displayed of the ſame; with a fiery Beacon proper Or, on a Griffin Vert, for a Crest.”  (See Index of Families, with their arms blazoned, subjoined to his history of Warwickshire).  And he informs us, that the family of Sudley antiently [sic] enjoyed the manor of Dasset or Dercet, which came afterwards into the possession of the Belknaps. (Antiq. of Warwickshire, p. 961.)  He has also given us a draught of the arms of this family, impaled with another coat, and the Beacon crest, upon a Griffin, agreeably to the description above; as they are painted in the North window of the church at Knowle, or Cnolle, in the same county.  And therefore, notwithstanding the arms upon the board at Dasset (which are also impaled) are now very much defaced; yet as the Eaglets remain very apparent, they confirm the tradition, that both they and the crest relate to the family of Belknap.  The animal is likewise of a proper colour, which is a dusky green; but how it came to differ so much in its shape from that at Knowle, and has a chain fastened to the collar, the Painter, I presume, must be answerable.  Unless we may suppose, that this animal was not designed for a Griffin, which is always drawn with wings, but for a Salamander.
      “From these circumstances, it appears very probable, that a Beacon was erected upon this hill at Dasset, which lies in the south part of the county, is very high, and visible at a great distance.  And there is the like tradition at another place in the north west part, about two miles from Knowle, named Bicken-hill, which seems plainly a corruption from Beacon-hill. . . .  The situation of this place appears no less suited for a Beacon, than Burton Dasset; but as no remains of either of them are now extant, he might not think it necessary to take notice of them.  And therefore he only mentions one, which then remained in the parish of Monkskirby, being placed on a Tumulus on the north side of the top, and in the north east part of the county.
      “The position of these three Beacons seems not to have been casual, but designed; being placed in the form of a scalenous triangle, and no two of them at a greater distance from each other, than about twenty two measured miles in a direct line.  By the advantage of this situation, any one of them, being fired in a dark night, might, from those eminencies on which they all stood, have been seen in that open county, in one of the places at least, where the other two were erected; and by that means an alarm given, in a very short time, through the whole county.  Besides, Warwickshire lying so much in the heart of the kingdom, those Beacons, when all lighted, would at the same time convey notice to six other adjacent counties; that at Burton-Dasset into Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire; that at Beckenhill into Staffordshire and Worcestershire; and that in Monkskirby parish into Leicestershire and Northamptonshire.  All which counties are as near at least to one or other of those Beacons, as these are to each other.”
  • Nicholas Wotton (abt 1497-1567):  Great great grandson of Sir Robert Belknap through Hamon then Henry then Anne:  first post-Reformation Dean of Canterbury and later Dean of York, was an English diplomatic and ambassador.  Having helped to draw up the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion (the historically defining statements of doctrines and practices of the Church of England with respect to the controversies of the English Reformation), he arranged in 1539 the marriage between King Henry VIII and Anne of Cleves.  He was buried in Trinity Chapel in Canterbury Cathedral (formally Christchurch Cathedral), one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England and part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Trinity Chapel is famous as the shrine for the relics of Saint Thomas Becket (1119/1120-1170) and became one of the most popular pilgrimage sites in England.  Other significant interments within Trinity Chapel include Edward, the Black Prince (1330-1376), and King Henry IV (1367-1413).  Known uses of Belknap Arms:
  • Anthony Cooke (1501-1576):  Third great grandson of Sir Robert Belknap through Hamon then Henry then Eleanor or Elizabeth then John Cooke:  noted English humanist scholar, he served as tutor to King Edward VI.  Known uses of Belknap Arms:
  • Thomas Wotton (1521-1587):  Third great grandson of Sir Robert Belknap through Hamon then Henry then Anne then Edward Wotton:  at one time committed to Fleet prison, he was later made sheriff of Kent.  In July 1573 he entertained Queen Elizabeth at Boughton Malherbe, when he declined an offer of knighthood, and in 1578–9 again served as sheriff.  He was a person of “great learning, religion, and wealth,” and a patron of learning and Protestantism in others.  Known uses of Belknap Arms:
    • Book Stamp 1 (57mm x 52mm):  Arms Quarterly of nine:  1. A saltire engrailed (Wotton alias Corby); 2. On a chief a lion passant (Bamburgh); 3. Three eagles displayed in bend between two cotises (Belknap); 4. A fess countercompony between six crosses patty fitchy (Botler); 5. Two bends (Sudeley); 6. Bendy of ten (Montfort); 7. On a bend wavy three mallards (Rede); 8. A fess between three boars heads couped (Alphew); 9. A chevron engrailed between three bugle horns stringed (Petit). *  Book Stamp 1 Sources:
      • Cheke, John. Hurt of Sedition, How Grievous It Is to a Commonwelth (1569), Christ Church Oxford Library
      • Nowell, A. Reproufe of M. Dorman His Proufe of Certaine Articles in Religion (1566), Clements Collection National Art Library
      • Haddon, W. Lucubrationes Passim Collectae & Editae (1567), British Library
      • Bilson, T. True Difference Betweene Christian Subiection and Vnchristian Rebellion (1585), British Library
      • Demosthenes. Three Orations (1570), Bodleian Library
      • Grafton, R. Brief Treatise Conteinyng Many Proper Tables, and Easie Rules, Verye Necessarye and Nedefull, For the Use and Co[m]moditie of Al[l] People (1576), Folger Shakespeare Library
      • Heywood, J. Play of Love (1566), Bodleian Library
      • La Planche, L. R. de. Legendarie, Containing an Ample Discourse of the Life and Behaviour of Charles Cardinal of Lorraine (1577), Canterbury Cathedral Library
      • Wotton, T. Rent Roll of His Estates, 1579 and 1584 [manuscript], W. E. Moss sale catalogue, Sotheby’s, 9 Mar 1937, lot 1471 (illustrated)
      • Paris, M. Elegans, Illustris, et Facilis Rerum, Præsertim Britannicarum (1567), Parham House Sussex Library
      • Osorio, J. In Gualterum Haddonum Magistrum Libellorum Supplicum (1567), Pierpont Morgan Library; Smith and Benger, p. 53; Ellis catalogue 335 (1936), #213
      • Cambini, A. Two Very Notable Commentaries: The One of the Originall of the Turcks and Empire of the House of Ottomanno, and the Other of the Warres of the Turcke Against George Scanderbeg (1562), Abbey sale at Sotheby’s, 19 Jun 1967, lot 1735
    • Book Stamp 2 (51mm x 48mm):  Arms Quarterly of nine:  1. A saltire engrailed (Wotton alias Corby); 2. On a chief a lion passant (Bamburgh); 3. Three eagles displayed in bend between two cotises (Belknap); 4. A fess countercompony between six crosses patty fitchy (Botler); 5. Two bends (Sudeley); 6. Bendy of ten (Montfort); 7. On a bend wavy three mallards (Rede); 8. A fess between three boars heads couped (Alphew); 9. A chevron engrailed between three bugle horns stringed (Petit). *  Book Stamp 2 Sources:
      • Estienne, C. Dictionarium Historicum et Poeticum Omnia Gentium (1561), Parham House Sussex Library
      • Wilson, T. Arte of Rhetorique (1553), Shirburn Castle (Earls of Macclesfield) auction sale catalogue, pt. 11, at Sotheby’s, 13 Mar 2008, lot 4296 (unidentified), Maggs 2011
  • Moyle Finch (abt 1550-1614):  Fourth great grandson of Sir Robert Belknap through Hamon then Philip then Alice then William Finch then Thomas Finch:  an English nobleman, politician, knight, High Sheriff of Kent, and Member of Parliament; created Baronet, of Eastwell in the County of Kent.  Known uses of Belknap Arms:
    • Book Stamp 1 (25mm x 23mm):  Arms Quarterly of twelve:  1. A chevron between three griffins passant (Finch); 2. A fess between three pelicans in their piety (Passenden); 3. Six lozenges conjoined fessways three and three (Crabbe); 4. Three shovellers (Poplesham); 5. Three eagles displayed in bend between two cotises a mullet for difference (Belknap); 6. A fess compony countercompony between six cross crosslets fitchy (Boteler); 7. Two bends (Sudeley); 8. Four bends (Mountford [or Mountfort?]); 9. A mule statant a mullet for difference (Moyle); 10. A greyhound courant between two bars between three birds on a chief three roundels; 11. ____; 12. ____. *  Book Stamp 1 Sources:
      • Becon, T. New Postil Conteinyng Most Godly and Learned Sermons Vpon All the Sonday Gospelles (1566), University of Durham Library
      • Bible, Old Testament, Psalms [Hebrew] (1608), Cambridge University Library
    • Book Stamp 2 (__mm x __mm):  Arms Quarterly of twelve:  1. A chevron between three griffins passant (Finch); 2. A fess between three pelicans in their piety (Passenden); 3. Six lozenges conjoined fessways three and three (Crabbe); 4. Three shovellers (Poplesham); 5. Three eagles displayed in bend between two cotises a mullet for difference (Belknap); 6. A fess compony countercompony between six cross crosslets fitchy (Boteler); 7. Two bends (Sudeley); 8. Four bends (Mountford [or Mountfort?]); 9. A mule statant a mullet for difference (Moyle); 10. A greyhound courant between two bars between three birds on a chief three roundels; 11. ____; 12. ____. *  Book Stamp 2 Sources:
      • Paul, the Apostle. Επιστολαι (1549), Clements Collection National Art Library
      • Bible, New Testament [Greek] (1549), Parham House Sussex Library
  • 1823: Pedigree of Brodbelt:  “A pedigree of Brodbelt recorded in 1823 showed Belnapp as the 6th of 16 quarters to the Arms.  The Right to the quartering came through the marriage of Francis Rigby Brodbelt to Anne Gardner Penoyre, who was descended from Thom[a]s Penoyre by his wife Elizabeth, coheir of John Dannett, whose ancestor, Gerard Dannett (will dated 30 April, proved 25 May 1520) had married Mary, sister and coheir of Sir Edmund Belknapp, Knight, son of Sir Henry Belknapp, son of Sir Hamon Belknapp, Knight Treasurer of Normandy.  The Arms may be blazoned: Azure three Eagles in bend between two Cottises Argent.  (Norfolk 5.163)” **
  • 1828: Blazon:  Berry, William. Encyclopædia Heraldica; or Complete Dictionary of Heraldry, vol. II, p. BEL-BEL:
    • “BELKNAPPE, [Warwickshire,] az. three eagles in bend betw. two cottises ar.”
  • 1830: Blazon:  Robson, Thomas. The British Herald; Or, Cabinet of Armorial Bearings of the Nobility & Gentry of Great Britain & Ireland, from the Earliest to the Present Time, vol. I (1830), p. BEL-BEL:
    • Belknappe (Warwickshire):  “[A]z. three eagles in bend betw. two cottises ar.”
  • 1843: Pedigree of Guise:  “In a pedigree of Guise, the same Arms [described in the Pedigree of Brodbelt] appear as the 16th of 42 quarters of the Arms of Guise recorded by Sir John Wright Guise, Baronet, in 1843.  (Baronets 5.228)  It would appear from an earlier pedigree recorded in 1783 that the Belknapp quartering came via the marriage of Henry Guise to Mary, daughter and at length coheir of Edward Cooke of Highnam, who died in 1750.  (Baronets 1.12)” **
  • 1844: Blazon:  Burke, John & Burke, John Bernard. Encyclopaedia of Heraldry, Or General Armory of England, Scotland, and Ireland, Comprising a Registry of All Armorial Bearings From the Earliest to the Present Time, Including the Late Grants by the College of Arms, 3rd ed. with Supplement (1844), p. BEL-BEL:
    • Belknappe (Warwickshire):  “Az. three eagles in bend betw. two cottises ar.”
  • 1904: Blazon:  Crozier, William Armstrong, ed. Crozier’s General Armory: A Registry of American Families Entitled to Coat Armor (1904), p. 20 (no image):
    • Abraham Belknap, Lynn, MA, 1637 (Warwickshire):  “Azure, on a bend cotised argent, three eaglets displayed of the first.  CREST-A dragon vert langued gules, gorged with a ducal coronet, a chain or reflexed over the back.”
    • Henry Wyckoff Belknap, New York, NY (same arms as Abraham Belknap)
  • 1964-1995: USS Belknap CG-26:
  • 1965: New Assumption:  The Belnap Family Organization commissioned the creation of a “Belnap” coat of arms, based on the coat of arms used by members of the “early” or untitled “noble” Belknap family in England descended through Sir Robert Belknap.
  • 2008: Belnap Family Organization Tie:  First use of Belnap Coat of Arms on a silk tie; sold at 2008 and later Belnap Family Reunions.:
  • ca. 2020: The American Heraldry Society:

Bishop Family Coat of Arms Compared to Sir Edward Belknap’s Coat of Arms

Elizabeth Belknap (unknown-1569), daughter of Sir Edward Belknap (about 1471-1521) and great great granddaughter of Sir Robert Belknap (about 1330-1401), married, as her second husband, Thomas Bishopp (Bishop, Bisshop/Bisshopp/Bysshopp).  One version of the Bishop coat of arms is described as “Ar. on a bend, cottised, gu. three besants,” with the crest described as “On a ducal coronet or, a griffin, sejant, ar. resting his dexter claw on an escocheon [escutcheon] of the last.”  This Bishop coat of arms and crest bear at least seven distinctive elements that are strongly reminiscent of the coat of arms used by Sir Edward Belknap, including:

  • Arms with an “ordinary” on the shield in the shape of a “bend”.
  • Arms with a “bend” running from upper “dexter” to lower “sinister”.
  • Arms with a “bend” that is “cottised”.
  • Arms with three repetitive elements on the “cottised bend”.
  • Crest with a seated (“sejant”–so partially “statant”) griffin.
  • Crest with a griffin that faces “dexter”.
  • Crest that uses a gold coronet.

Citations/Additional Sources

* British Armorial Bindings:  “Under the sponsorship of The Bibliographical Society of London in conjunction with the University of Toronto Library, the British Armorial Binding database [is] a comprehensive catalogue of all the coats of arms, crests, and other heraldic devices that have been stamped by British owners on the outer covers of their books, together with the bibliographical sources of the stamps.”

** Letter from William G. Hunt, Portcullis Pursuivant of Arms, College of Arms, to Brent J. Belnap, 30 Jun 1997

 

Last update:  29 Aug 2024

2 Comments

  • Logan says:
    December 22, 2021 at 2:34 am

    “wingless dragon in the “tincture” or color of “azure” or blue (not “vert” or green as depicted in the Belnap Coat of Arms Crest)”

    Am I to understand that the dragon can be accurately represented in either blue or green?

    Reply

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