Geoffrey Plantagenet

Azure, six lions rampant Or, 3, 2 and 1.

Escudo de azur, seis leones rampantes de oro, 3, 2 y 1.

Existing armories interpreted by me as follows: the shape of the shield is pointed; the field has been enameled in flat azure; the 6 lions are illuminated and cast shadows on the field; and the entire composition has a hammered metal finish.

The shield of Geoffrey V, Count of Anjou is considered the first documented coat of arms in history, dated to 1127, when Henry I of England gifted it to him on the occasion of his marriage to his daughter Matilda of England [The Heraldry Society; 2013].

There is no direct evidence that Henry I possessed a coat of arms, nor that it featured a rampant lion [Humphery-Smith, C.; 1983], but the gift of a shield with 6 lions to his future son-in-law could be an indication of such.

Geoffrey is buried in the Cathedral of Saint Julian in Le Mans, and his tomb is decorated with an enamel depicting him with his shield, where of his 6 lions: 4 are fully visible, and 2 are suggested by their claws.

However, it is possible that both the wedding gift narrative and the enamel on the tomb are from years after his death in 1151, so [Pastoureau, M.; Garvie, F.; 1997; page 18] asserts that «this account was written after Geoffrey's death... and his funerary enamel commissioned by his widow Matilda between 1155 and 1160... therefore it is possible that Geoffrey Plantagenet never had a coat of arms».

---

Blazon keywords: Without divisions, Azure, Six, Lion, Or, Rampant and Three, two and one.

Style keywords: Pointed, Illuminated, Shaded, Outlined in the field tincture and Metal beaten.

Classification: Interpreted, Personal, Coat of arms and House of Plantagenet.

Bearer: Godfrey V, Count of Anjou.

José de Avilés e Iturbide, Marquis of Aviles, member of the Supreme Council of War, «Ciencia heroyca, reducida a las leyes heráldicas del blasón: Ilustrada con exemplares de todas las piezas, figuras y ornamentos de que puede componerse un escudo de armas interior y exteriormente, Volume II», dedicated to Juan Bautista de Orendyn (Juan Bautista de Orendáin y Azpilicueta) of His Majesty's Council, printed by Juan Piferrer of the Ángel's Square, 404 pages, Barcelona, 1725.

---

I also usually consult Volume I of the edition [Avilés, J.; 1780b].

Contents of Volume Two

• Cover page.
• To the reader.
• Errata sheet for each of the treatises.
• Summary of the price.
• Table of the treatises.
• Plate index.
• Warnings.
• 319 pages for its 4 treatises: Treatise I with 6 chapters, Treatise II with 3 chapters, Treatise III with 4 chapters, and Treatise IV with 13 chapters.
• 25 plates with hundreds of coats of arms and illustrative figures arranged at the end of each treatise, as follows: Plates 1 to 16 at the end of Treatise I, Plates 17 to 19 at the end of Treatise II, Plates 20 to 24 at the end of Treatise III, and Plate 25 at the end of Treatise IV.
• Index of terms, words, and figures specific to blazonry.
• Index of cities, titles, and families with coats of arms blazoned in this second volume.

Crown of count

---

Bibliographical reference of century XVIII.

Classification: In black and white and Castilian language.

The author is Avilés e Iturbide, José.

Here are the articles quoting this reference:

• Criteria used by its title
• Godfrey V, Count of Anjou

External resources:

• Valencian Digital Library, records for the Volumes I and II.
• Valencian Digital Library, content of Volume II.

Internal resources: AvilesJ1725.Tomo.II.pdf.

Cecil Humphery-Smith, FHS - Fellow of The Heraldry Society, «Why three Leopards?», Coat of Arms, COA, An Heraldic Quarterly Magazine, issue 126, The Heraldry Society, Baldock, Hertfordshire, summer of 1983.

---

The coat of arms illustrating this bibliographic reference is that of the Kingdom of England, which was also that of the queen of Castile Leonor Plantagenet.

---

Bibliographical reference of century XX.

Author: Humphery-Smith, Cecil.

The following articles cite this bibliographic reference:

• Geoffrey Plantagenet
• Leonor Plantagenet

External resource:

• The Heraldry Society.

Internal resources: HumpherySmithC1983.3Leopards.docx.

As far as possible, in Blason.es I use the heraldic laws of the coat of arms by Jose de Aviles and Iturbide, marquis of Aviles, in his books in 2 volumes [Avilés, J.; 1725a] and [Avilés, J.; 1725b].

But in some cases, for example: a) when I do not find the criteria in these volumes and I have to consult other authors to whom I refer in the bibliography or b) when the doubt is not so much heraldic as of style, artistic technique, historical, linguistic, etc. After studying the case, I then establish my own criteria or I choose the one that seems to me the best reasoned of other authors and heralds and I leave it here written.

Naturally, I am open and grateful to all possible criticisms to these heraldic criteria, that can be sent to , and to review these criteria always with a spirit of improvement.

~ C ~

• Castilian heraldry

~ E ~

• Empresa, conjunto de cargas sobre el campo
• Enterprise, set of charges on the field

~ G ~

• Governance heraldry

~ H ~

• Heraldic classification

~ I ~

• Imaginary heraldry
• Invected and engrailed

~ M ~

• Military heraldry

~ P ~

• Personal Heraldry

~ R ~

• Religious heraldry

~ S ~

• Socioeconomic heraldry
• Supporters with human forms from the city of Ubeda

Michel Pastoureau and Francisca Garvie, «Heraldry: Its Origins and Meaning», New Horizons collection, edited by Thames and Hudson, London, 1997.

---

Bibliographical reference of century XX.

Authors: Pastoureau, Michel and Garvie, Francisca.

Bibliographical reference mentioned in the following article:

• Geoffrey Plantagenet

The Heraldry Society, «Education Pack, A brief explanation of Heraldry for teachers together with explanatory sheets and templates for students», Baldock, Hertfordshire, 2013.

---

This bibliographical reference is illustrated with the quartered coat of arms of The Heraldry Society.

---

Bibliographical reference of century XXI.

The author is The Heraldry Society.

The following articles cite this bibliographic reference:

• Drawing the arcs of a pointed coat of arms
• Geoffrey Plantagenet

External link:

• The Heraldry Society.

Internal resources: TheHeraldrySociety2013.EducationPack.pdf.

I am:

• heraldic artist member of the Society of Heraldic Arts,
• member of The Heraldry Society,
• honoured member of The International Heraldry Society,
• heraldic artist member of Heralds International,
• correspondent fellow of the Asturian Academy of Heraldry and Genealogy,
• correspondent fellow of the Institute of Historical Research Bances y Valdés, Principality of Asturias,
• correspondent fellow of the Academia de Letras e Artes da Guiné-Bissau, and
• honorary pursuivant of arms extraordinary of the Heraldry Society of Africa.

Sigue por: Location map.