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A System of Maltese Heraldry Issued by the Office of the Chief Herald of Arms of Malta

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A System of Maltese Heraldry Issued by the Office of the Chief Herald of Arms of Malta 1 A system of Maltese heraldry issued by The Office of the Chief Herald of Arms of Malta Introduction Heraldry is a broad term, encompassing the design, display, and study of armorial bearings or coats of arms. Such Arms may be personal and hereditary or impersonal and non-hereditary, examples of the latter are the Arms of banks, colleges, corporations etc. But whatever else they may be, coats of arms are essentially insignia of identification. There is a custom in Malta for members of different branches of a family to use identical Arms, without any attempt at differencing them i.e., modifying them for each branch of the family. This rather defeats the whole object of heraldry which is one of specific personal identification. The main reference work for people who wish to find "a coat of arms for their surname" is Stemmi Maltesi, an extensive black-and-white work published anonymously in the 19th century in folio form and out of print for many years, although Dr. Charles A. Gauci, currently Chief herald of Arms of Malta, produced a facsimile edition of this book in full colour, now, alas, also out of print (1) A number of the illustrations in Stemmi Maltesi seem to have been invented by the author(s) themselves as the Arms found in old manuscripts, on tombstones, in churches etc. often differ considerably from the ones shown in that work. Malta has a rich European tradition of heraldry which abounds everywhere. Coats of arms in Malta are those belonging to Knights of the Order of St. John, to various churches and religious institutions as well as to Maltese families. The latter are broadly grouped into those families belonging to the nobility or allied to the nobility by marriage and those belonging to families not connected to the nobility. The armorial bearings of most Maltese families have never been registered anywhere, until now, 2 but have been handed down through the centuries. The Arms of the old titled families have remained virtually unchanged except for occasional artistic license on their ornate tombstones. There are many works which deal with the coats of arms of the Knights of St. John in Malta and anyone interested in this particular field is advised to refer to them. (2) Dr. Gauci has dealt with the coats of arms of the nobility in Malta and of their associated families in several books, (3) however, in Malta, interest in heraldry is certainly not confined to the nobility. Thus, “Heraldry abounds on the island in that everybody freely uses coats of arms on signet rings, tombstones and even on the sides of lorries!” (4) The spelling of surnames was sometimes changed by the newly- ennobled, as a gesture of one-upmanship. Thus, Bonnici became Bonici, Zammit became Zamitt, Azzopardi became Azopardi, Carabott became Carbott, Gatt became Gatto and so on. In several cases hitherto widely used family Arms were changed, to show that this particular branch should no longer be considered as “common” and was now, one cut above the rest. The Arms of prominent and invariably well-heeled but non-noble families who married into the nobility were often quartered by their noble offspring, becoming incorporated into the armorial bearings of successive title-holders and are still in use today. In some cases, Arms were sometimes granted along with a (foreign) title of nobility. In the majority of cases, coats of arms were simply assumed and became de facto with the passage of time. Most of the 'prominent' families belong to this group. (5) In March 2019, the Office of the Chief Herald of Arms of Malta, was established by Heritage Malta upon the recommendation of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet Secretary at the Office of The Prime Minister. Count Dr. Charles A. Gauci was subsequently appointed Malta’s first-ever Chief Herald of Arms. (6) The Office of the Chief Herald of Arms of Malta is based at the historic Fort St. Elmo in Valletta. This Fort witnessed fierce hand-to-hand fighting in the Great Siege of 1565 and also played its part in defending the Grand Harbour in World War Two against the might of the Luftwaffe. The Arms used by the Office of the Chief Herald of Arms of Malta were approved by the Malta Cabinet Office on 3 June 2019. (7) The appointment of the Chief Herald of Arms of Malta was gazetted in the Malta Government Gazette on 25 June 2019 (Notice no. 729). (8) Dr. Gauci’s appointment as Chief Herald of Arms of Malta was furthermore confirmed by Dr. J. Herrera, Minister for National Heritage, Arts and Local Government on 22nd July 2020. (9) 3 The Chief Herald of Arms of Malta has the power to devise and grant new Arms, both personal and corporate, to register Arms which have already been in use locally for many years as well as to register Arms previously granted by appropriate foreign authorities. All Arms granted or registered by the Chief Herald of Arms of Malta are recognized by the State while being protected against copying. (6) It is a misconception to think that it is only realms which have heraldic institutions. Several republics also have their own state-appointed heraldic offices. Another common misconception is that heraldry is the prerogative of the nobility. Nothing could be further from the truth. All citizens of Malta are entitled to apply for a grant of arms and many have already done so. Foreigners can also apply for Arms in Malta at the Chief Herald's discretion. (5) Indeed, several foreigners have already successfully applied for Arms. The scope of this paper is to review the basic rules of heraldry and highlight how they are now being applied to Malta by the Office of the Chief Herald of Arms of Malta. The British system is used as standard but it has been modified to allow for the unique history, customs and traditions of the Maltese islands. Blazon Blazon is the language of heraldry. It enables people interested in the subject to communicate without having to draw sketches of the arms in question. In the English-speaking world, blazon is a mixture of Norman- French and English. French construction of sentences is used in that adjectives follow the nouns they describe. The Office of the Chief Herald of Arms of Malta uses the “English” form of blazon when compiling its Letters Patent. Appendix 1 of this paper is written specifically for those with a very limited knowledge of heraldry. It is a much-simplified description of a very complex subject. In addition, the opportunity is also taken to clarify the use of helms and coronets by the Office of the Chief Herald of Arms of Malta. Many references work on coats of arms describe Arms entirely in blazon and contain few, if any, illustrations. A working knowledge of blazon enables the student of heraldry to make sense of these texts. Proficiency in "English" blazon allows anyone with a basic knowledge of Italian, French and Spanish to interpret heraldic texts in these languages since the basic rules are essentially the same in all countries. (10) 4 Process of applying for Arms 1. Registration of Arms: Arms already formally granted and/or registered by other recognised heraldic authorities can be registered at the Office of the Chief Herald of Arms. “Recognised” refers to heraldic institutions recognised by the State in which they are situated. It shall be the sole decision of the Chief Herald of Arms to determine which particular institutions are to be recognised. 2. New creations of personal Arms. Based on the founding principles of the Republic of Malta, all citizens of Malta are entitled to apply for a grant of Arms. However, a grant of Arms should be considered as a singular honour, issued at the discretion of the Chief Herald of Arms and based on the following criteria: a. Any honours received (local of foreign) b. Involvement of the applicant in public life together with other merits and activities c. Professional qualifications held by the applicant d. Membership of an Order of Chivalry. Citizens of other countries also have the right to apply for a grant of Arms, based on the above criteria at the complete discretion of the Chief Herald of Arms of Malta. Should an applicant be considered a suitable candidate for a grant of Arms, the Chief Herald would discuss with the applicant, ideas, including the incorporation of any already ‘established’ family Arms as displayed in Stemmi Maltesi or in other sources. Thus: a. Abela’s “Della Descrittione di Malta” is the oldest known formally published (1647) compilation of armorial bearings used by Maltese families. (see Lib. IV Not. III, p. 445 et seq). Later Arms and augmentations are also recorded in another equally reliable source viz., Ciantar’s sequel to Abela’s work, “Malta Illustrata” published in 1772, 1780 (see Lib. IV. Not. III p. 380 et seq). b. Several Maltese family arms are recorded in various anonymous manuscripts to be found at the National Library of Malta. The authorship and basis for many of these Arms remains unknown. (3) c. Such already ‘established’ family Arms may be considered as the basis of the applicant’s grant of Arms but would need to be suitably differenced so as to show that the applicant (and his/her descendants) are the sole proprietors and users of the particular Arms in question. In addition, such Arms may need to be adjusted so as to ensure that they conform to the basic rules of heraldry. 5 The display of any local or foreign award or honour within a Coat of Arms ceases with the death of the holder of that award or honour.
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