My first guess at a blazon: Per chevron Gules and Argent, in dexter chief the emblem of St. Bernardine of Siena (a bezant charged with the monogram of Christ-IHS Sable), in sinister chief the emblem of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (a bezant charged with the monogram IHM Sable above a heart Gules), in base five gouttes de sang one, three, one.
http://tegraves.home.comcast.net/images/alvernia.jpg
Quote:
The College Shield, rich in the symbolism of Franciscan heritage, projects the ideals and traditions of Alvernia. The apex on the lower portion of the shield represents Mount Alvernia, the place where Saint Francis of Assisi received the Stigmata, or Sacred Wounds, of Christ. This mystical favor is indicated by five drops of blood arranged in the form of a cross.
The circular plate in the upper left of the shield bears the monogram of Christ-IHS. This is the popular symbol of Saint Bernardine of Siena, Champion of the Holy Name of Jesus, and titular patron of the Bernardine Sisters who sponsor Alvernia College.
In the upper right, the monogram of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, IHM, serves as a reminder of the Blessed Virgin, patroness of the Franciscan Order of which the Bernardines are a part. The crown, used as the crest of the shield, is taken from the coat of arms of Reading, Berkshire County, England, after which Reading, Pennsylvania, the location of Alvernia College, was named.
The torches at either side of the shield represent the ideal of service in education to which the faculty of Alvernia College is dedicated. The College colors are maroon and gold. Maroon, a deep red color, represents charity to all, with which a loyal Alvernian should be imbued. Gold, the ancient symbol of royalty and strength represents courage to uphold truth, beauty, goodness and faith in God and country.
The spiel about the college states that the college colours are maroon and gold. This would then mean that your blazon of the field of the college should be murrey. You have also blazoned the representation of Mount Avernia as argent. Surely as the colours of the college are maroon and gold, Mount Avernia should be or?
M85324 wrote:
The spiel about the college states that the college colours are maroon and gold. This would then mean that your blazon of the field of the college should be murrey. You have also blazoned the representation of Mount Avernia as argent. Surely as the colours of the college are maroon and gold, Mount Avernia should be or?
I’d agree; I think the representation above is a misguided attempt at "monochromatic" representation.
I doubt it. There are lots of academic arms that specify Gules when the livery colors of the school are anywhere from rose to burgundy to maroon. This looks like a very professionally drawn rendering, and I think that if the designer hatched it gules, we have to assume he meant it to be gules. Keeping in mind that the precise shade of a tincture used in a rendering is subject to wide artistic (and customer) discretion. Official renderings of the US national arms show the chief anywhere from sky blue (the President’s arms) to navy blue (the Vice President’s arms and the arms placed above the entrances to US embassies), but they’re all azure.
It seems perfectly reasonable to me that the arms of Alvernia would be Gules, Argent, and Or—the Or appearing in the bezants in chief.
