XIII. NOTICES OF GRANTS OF AN AUGMENTATION TO THE ARMS OF ARCHBISHOP PARKER, AND OF A CREST TO HIS SON JOHN PARKER. BY THOMAS WILLIAM KING, Esq., YORK HERALD, F.S.A. THE first of the two documents now printed is the grant of an augmentation to the arms of Matthew Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury, by Sir Gilbert Dethick, Garter, dated November 28th, 1559. The grant is surrounded by a floriated border. In the centre is introduced the Tudor rose surrounded by the garter and surmounted by the imperial crown; on either side is a fleur-de-lis or. The initial letter contains the figure of Garter in his official tabard holding a wand pointing to the shield. The original arms of the Archbishop were gules a chevron between three keys argent, to which coat the augmentation of three stars gules was by this instrument assigned. The shield is surmounted by a mitre, having upon the fillet a portion of the Archbishop's motto, "Mundus transit." This is the only instance I have seen of a motto so placed. The entire motto was this: "Mundus transit et concupiscentia ejus." It may be here remarked that the mitre is not encircled with the ducal coronet which of late years has been introduced, erroneously, in representations of the mitre of an archbishop. Two seals were originally appended to this document, but one only now remains, being the official seal; whilst the other was, as was generally usual at the period when grants of this nature were made, the personal seal of the King of Arms. The arms on the seal now extant being A cross of St. George, in the dexter canton a dove; on a chief, between a lion of England on the dexter and a fleur-de-lis of France on the sinister, a crown within a garter. Legend: s⚫ OFFICII. GARTERII REGIS ARMORVM SANCTI GEORGII. The second document, being the grant of a crest to John Parker (afterwards Sir John Parker, knight, eldest son of the Archbishop) is also surrounded by an ornamental border; the Tudor rose being in the centre, having on each side a gold fleur-de-lis. This grant was by Robert Cooke, Clarenceux, and is dated May 28th, 1572. The initial letter contains, as in the former case, the figure of the King of Arms. Both seals are here preserved. The first has the arms of the office of Clarenceux: A cross of St. George, in the dexter canton a fleur-de-lis, on a chief a lion of England. On either side of the shield a cross-crosslet fitché, and above the shield a lion rampant. Legend: PT • SOFFICII CLARENCIEVLX REGIS ᎪᎡᎷᎾᎡᏙᎷ ' AVSTRAL. The second, or personal seal, has the arms of Cooke A cinquefoil pierced ermine in an orle of cross-crosslets fitché. Legend: SIG ROBERTI ⚫ COOKE CLARENCIEVLX • REGIS ARMORVM. It is to the kindness of W. Sandys, Esq., F.S.A., their present possessor, that the Surrey Archæological Society is indebted for permission to print these two grants. |