Canting arms

A famous example of canting arms are those of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother's paternal family, the Bowes-Lyon family. The arms (pictured below) contain the bows and blue lions that make up the arms of the Bowes and Lyon families.

File:Bowes-Lyon Arms.svg|Bowes-Lyon family: bows and lions

File:Arms of Beatrice of York.svg|Princess Beatrice of York: Beatrice = bee thrice = three bees

File:Rosetti arms.svg|Rosetti family: three roses

File:Quintin Hogg Arms.svg|Quintin Hogg, Baron Hailsham of St Marylebone: three hog's heads

File:Cokborgne blason.png|Cockburn: three red cocks

File:Coat of Arms of John Caspar Crowninshield.svg|Crowninshield family: crown on the shield

File:Blason-argent-3-jumelles-gueules.svg|De Barry family: three bars gemelles

File:Costa.png|Coat of arms of the head of the Portuguese Costa family: costa means "rib" in Latin and Portuguese

File:Coat of Arms of Dwight Eisenhower.svg|President Eisenhower: a blacksmith's anvil, as Eisenhauer is German for "iron-hewer"

File:Flag of Maryland.svg|alt=Flag of Maryland, originally the arms of George Calvert, 1st Lord Baltimore, whose mother's maiden name was Crossland; the latter's arms shows a cross.|Flag of Maryland, originally the arms of George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore, whose mother's maiden name was Crossland; the latter's arms shows a cross.{{cite book|title=Flags|author=Englefield, Eric|date=1979|publisher=Ward Lock|page=104}}

File:Coat of Arms of Theodore Roosevelt.svg|Theodore Roosevelt: roses-fields

File:Blason famille Maus (Gressenich, Namur, Anvers, Bruxelles).svg|Maus family: a mouse in the first and fourth quarters.

File:Anthony Michael Gerard Rota Escutcheon.png|Anthony Rota: rota means "wheel" in Latin

File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Edwin_Forrest.svg|Edwin Forrest: Three trees and a tree crest (forest)

File:De-Saint-Pol-Campdavene.svg|Arms of the Campdavaine branch of the counts of Saint-Pol: a sheaf of oats (Camp d'{{Wikt-lang|fr|avaine}} means field of oats in that family's Picard language [Champ d'avoine in Paris French]).

Municipal coats of arms which interpret the town's name in rebus form are also called canting. Here are a few examples.

File:Coat of Arms of Berwickshire County Council 1890-1975.svg|The arms of Berwickshire, Scotland: Bear and Wych Elm

File:Elmbridge BC Crest of Arms.png|Elmbridge, Surrey (1974): elm tree on bridge. (The toponym is related to bridges but not to elms; the prefix refers to Emel, a former name for the river Mole.{{cite book|author=Room, Adrian|title=Dictionary Of Place Names In The British Isles|url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofplac0000room|url-access=registration|publisher=Bloomsbury|year=1988|page=[https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofplac0000room/page/128 128]|isbn=9780747501701 }})

File:Blason de la ville de Châteaurenard (13).svg|Châteaurenard: Château = castle; Renard = fox

File:DEU Eberbach COA.svg|Eberbach (1976): Eber = boar; Bach = brook (wavy blue fess)

File:Hensbroek.svg|The coat of arms of the village of Hensbroek in North Holland interprets the toponym as "hen-breeches" (the toponym is unrelated to either "hen" or "breeches", deriving from the personal name Hein and the Dutch cognate of "brook", i.e. "Henry's brook".)

File:FEC.png|Freixo de Espada à Cinta (1926): Freixo = ash (tree); de Espada = with sword; à Cinta = at the waist, in Portuguese

File:Falkenberg kommunvapen - Riksarkivet Sverige-vector.svg|Falkenberg (1948): Falken = falcon; Berg = hill, in Swedish

File:Seinäjoki.vaakuna.svg|Seinäjoki (1951): seinä = wall, joki = river, in Finnish

Kontiolahti.vaakuna.svg|Arms of Kontiolahti featuring a bear (kontio in Finnish), carrying a log driving pike pole referring to the importance of forestry in the region's economy{{cite book | title = Suomen kunnallisvaakunat | publisher = Suomen Kunnallisliitto | year = 1982 | page = 139 | isbn = 951-773-085-3 | language = fi}}

File:DEU Berlin COA.svg|Berlin (1954): Bär = bear

CHE Bern COA.svg|City and canton of Bern: Bär = Bear

File:Escudo de Manacor (Islas Baleares).svg|Manacor: man a cor = hand with heart, in Catalan{{cite web|last=Schneider|first=Klaus-Michael|url=http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/es-pm-mc.html|title=Municipality of Manacor|work=Flags of the World|publisher=CRW Flags|access-date=16 October 2013}}

File:Escut de Torrevella (2001).svg|Torrevieja (1829): Torre = tower, vieja = old

File:Coat of Arms of Kryvyi Rih.svg|Kryvyi Rih: Kryvyi = crooked, Rih = horn, in Ukrainian

File:Coat of Arms of Rueda (Valladolid).svg|Rueda (1986): rueda = wheel in Spanish

File:POL Łódź COA.svg|Łódź: Łódź = boat

File:DEU Wolfsburg COA.svg|Wolfsburg: Wolf's Castle

File:Blason ville fr Magenta (Marne).svg|Arms of Magenta, France, feature a bend sinister in magenta, an extremely rare tincture in heraldry

File:Örnsköldsvik vapen.svg|Örnsköldsvik (1894): Örn = Eagle, Sköld = Shield and Vik = Bay.

File:DEU Füssen COA.svg|Füssen: Füße = feet

File:Schaffhausen-coat of arms.svg|Schaffhausen: Schaf = sheep, Haus = house

File:Wappen at steinhaus.png|Steinhaus: Stein = stone, Haus = house

File:AUT Schattendorf COA.svg|Schattendorf: Schatten = shadow, Dorf = village

File:AUT Hadersdorf-Kammern COA.jpg|Hadersdorf-Kammern: Hader = quarrel, Dorf = village

File:Wappendornbirn.svg|The arms of Dornbirn feature pears, Birn in German

File:Kotka.vaakuna.svg|The arms of Kotka feature an eagle (kotka in Finnish)

File:Seal of South Kuching.svg|An example of canting arms outside Europe: the Malaysian city of Kuching features a cat on its municipal coat of arms, kuc(h)ing being the Malay word for cat

File:CoA Roman Catholic Diocese of Lansing.svg|The arms of the Diocese of Lansing: The lances crossed per saltire are a play on the name of the see, the city of Lansing, Michigan.{{cite web|title=Bishop Boyea arms|url=https://www.dioceseoflansing.org/office-bishop/bishop-boyea-coat-arms|website=Diocese of Lansing|publisher=Roman Catholic Diocese of Lansing|access-date=9 May 2017}}

File:CoA Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre.svg|The arms of the Diocese of Rockville Centre: The mounds in the circle at the center of the arms are a play on the name of city in which the diocese is based, Rockville Centre, New York.{{cite web|title=Bishop Barres arms|url=https://www.drvc.org/bishops-history/bishop-barres-coat-of-arms-of-his-excellency.html|website=Diocese of Rockville Centre|publisher=Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre|access-date=26 July 2018|archive-date=27 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180727060040/https://www.drvc.org/bishops-history/bishop-barres-coat-of-arms-of-his-excellency.html|url-status=dead}}

File:Coat of Arms Diocese of Baton Rouge, LA.svg|The arms of the Diocese of Baton Rouge: The shield features a red baton, referencing the city name, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and its literal French meaning.

File:Coat of Arms Diocese of Buffalo, NY.png|The arms of the Diocese of Buffalo: The arms feature an American bison, colloquially called a buffalo, carrying a banner of the Cross of St. George (analogous to the heraldic Lamb of God), referencing the name of city in which the see is based, Buffalo, New York.

File:Coat of Arms Diocese of Brownsville, TX.png|The arms of the Diocese of Brownsville: The tincture of the field, tenné, is depicted as brown, referencing the seat of the diocese, Brownsville, Texas.

File:CoA Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix.svg|The arms of the Diocese of Phoenix: The arms feature a phoenix, the namesake of the diocesan seat, Phoenix, Arizona.

File:Coat of Arms Diocese of Fort Worth, TX.png|The arms of the Diocese of Fort Worth: The arms feature a castle, referencing the fort for which the city, Fort Worth, Texas, was named.

File:Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Anchorage.svg|The arms of the Archdiocese of Anchorage: The anchor references the namesake of the see, Anchorage, Alaska.

File:Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford.svg|The arms of the Archdiocese of Hartford: The arms feature a hart, a male deer, in the midst of flowing water, i.e., fording a body of water, referencing the name of the see, Hartford, Connecticut.

File:Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles.svg|The arms of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles: The arms feature three pairs of wings, denoting three angels, and referencing the namesake of the see, Los Angeles, California, which translates to "the angels."

On the Harry Potter film series, the coat of arms of Ravenclaw house at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry features a raven, which also figures on the arms of the school. On the Harry Potter book series, however, the coat of arms of Ravenclaw depicts an eagle.

• Japanese rebus monogram

{{reflist}}

• Winifred Hall: Canting and Allusive Arms of England and Wales. 1966. {{ISBN|9780900023019}}

• {{Cite web

|url=http://www.heraldica.org/topics/meaning.htm

|title=Meaning of Arms

|work=Heraldica.org

|date=2001-06-20}}

{{Commons category|Canting arms}}

• [https://www.britannica.com/topic/canting-arms Canting arms] (Britannica)
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GQZFSAg9NI Canting arms – 100 armes parlantes] (YouTube)

{{heraldry}}

Category:Heraldry