BLENKINSOPP Coat of Arms

Quote from "Blankenship, Roots, History and Legend of Alabama published
by Bruce & Grace Blankenship in 1978."

    The BLENKINSOPP  Coat of Arms can be found today appearing on the graves
and ruins of buildings belonging to the BLENKINSOPP s of Northumberland,
England. In Heraldry there is a specific way to describe a coat of arms.
However the authors have chosen to try to describe our coat of Arms in
terms that all can understand.
    The crest is that of a Griffin or Gryphon, which has the head, breast,
foreclaws, and wings of an eagle, and the hindquarters and tail of a lion.
It also has the ears of a lion. Standing on one foot in a changing
position, it is referred to in heraldry as "rampant."

    The wreath and mantle have been painted by the artist in the dominant
colors of the coat of arms. The red being the outside and the gold the
underside  of the mantle. The mantle is curved and swirled to suggest its
having been torn and cut in battle.

    The BLENKINSOPP  helmet was of iron. In the painting it is shown with
the visor closed, and is designated as being in profile. This indicates the
rank of "esquire" or gentleman. Thus, the BLENKINSOPP  Clan of England was
probably of the large middle class society.

    The shield has a "principal charge", a gold bar running horizontally
across between the "fese point" and the "naval point" of the shield. There
is a second "charge" of three gold "garbs" or wheat sheaves. One on the
"Dexter Chief" (Upper left), one on the " Sinister Chief" (upper right) and
one at the "Middle Base". The shield, itself, has the dominant color of
"tincture" of red.


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For information on the Coat-of-Arms for the BLENKINSOPP  surname see:
Foster, Joseph, Feudal Coats of Arms (London,  Studio Editions LTD, 1995)
p. 25

Blenkinsopp, Thomas,  (E. III Roll) bore, argent a fess between three garbs
sable; (F.) Jenyns Ordinary. See also incided slab in Pedigree.

Blenkinsopp, Thomas, of Helbeck (E, III Roll) bore, gules, six annulets
3,2,1, or a bordure engrailed argent. Jenyns' Ordinary.

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The importance of the GRIFFIN on the BLENKINSOPP  Coat-of-Arms
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The griffin which appears as the furry animal at the top of the BLENKINSOPP 
Coat-of-Army is a very noble heraldic beast. It a mythological beast
commonly depicted as having the head, forelegs and wings of an eagle, and
the hindquarters, tail and occasionally ears of a lion.  The beast was
a favorite object in decoration both in the Middle East and in ancient
Greece. It was first introduced to heraldry by the crusaders returning from
Palestine. The griffin is also one of the emblems used by the city of
London. Griffins holding shields that bear the City's arms are positioned
to mark the city's boundary. They have been known for centuries as symbols
of strength and vigilance, and have been called "The Hounds of Zeus". In
some mythologies, they represent the wealth of the sun. In others, they are
said to have hoards of fabulous treasure, which they guard endlessly. The
Dictionary of Symbolism quotes Boeckler as offering the following
interpretation of this fabulous animal.

Griffins are portrayed with a lion's body, an eagle's head, long ears, and
an eagle's claws, to indicate that one must combine intelligence and
strength.

        The griffin was a favorite decorative motif in the ancient Near Eastern
and Mediterranean lands, probably originating in Levant in the 2nd
millennium BC and had spread throughout western Asia and Greece by the 14th
century BC The Asiatic griffin had a crested head, whereas the Minoan and
Greek griffin had a main of spiral curls. In Greece the griffin was a
symbol of vigilant strength; Apollo rode one, and griffins guarded the gold
of the Hyperboreans of the far north. The griffin was also an embodiment of
Nemesis, the goddess of retribution, and turned her wheel of fortune. In
legend the creature was a symbol of superbia (arrogant pride), because
Alexander the Great was said to have tried to fly on the backs of griffins
to the edge of the sky.

        The griffin was shown either seated or recumbent or seated on its
haunches, often paired with the sphinx; its function may have been
protective. The griffin appears to have been sacred, appearing frequently
in sanctuary and tomb furnishings.  Even Christ's Ascension came to be
associated with the griffin. The creature appeared as frequently in the
applied arts (tapestries, the work of goldsmiths) as in heraldry. At
first also portrayed as a satanic figure entrapping human souls, the
creature later became (from Dante onward) a symbol of the dual nature
(divine and human) of Jesus Christ, precisely because of its mastery of
earth and sky. The griffin thus also became the adversary of serpents and
basilisks, both of which were seen as embodiments of satanic demons. The
griffin's exact place in cult and legend remains unknown.

        In heraldry, colors are not supposed to overlap and so you are limited to
a metal, silver or gold, and a color.

        There are several spellings for this animal, with the three most common
being gryphon, griffin and griffon.

H E R A L D I C   D E F I N I T I O N   O F   G R I F F I N

The griffin (or gryphon) a quadruped having the tail and hindquarters of a
lion and the eagle's fore limbs, wings and head, to which a pair of ears is
added, is supposed to be of gigantic proportions, the morphology being left
to our own deduction after we have been informed that one claw is the size
of a cow's horn. It is blazoned either as armed or as beaked and
forelegged, and it assumes all the heraldic postures; but when in the
rampant attitude the term segreant is applied. The wings in all positions
are addorsed unless otherwise stated-- which is rare.

The entire griffin is possibly seen less often than is the demi-griffin, or
the griffin's head; and the latter would be indistinguishable from that of
the eagle were it not for the addition of the pair of ears.

The male griffin is without wings, and has rays protruding from every
joint. The origin and meaning of these golden spikes is unknown. The horned
griffin seems to have an existence in theory only; nevertheless he must be
catalogued, together with the word alce, which is accepted (though not
without dissent) as the individual name for the horned griffin.

The griffin is very popular, for it has numerous virtues and apparently no
vices. Notable among the former are vigilance, courage and strength. It is
sharp of eye, keen of ear, and, it is reasonable to assume, faithful as a
dog. Perhaps, when emitting smoke and fire from its nostrils--blazoned,
sometimes, as fumant, although purists maintain that this term should apply
only to such things as brick-kilns--it is in the act of protecting its
master.

A debased griffin, that was evolved in the sixteenth century and named
opinicus, has the limbs of a lion, the tail of a camel, the ear-bedecked
head of an eagle, a neck on which there is a difference of opinion--it is
either that of an eagle, or is scaly, rather snake-like and long--and a
pair of wings giving scholars an opportunity again for disagreement: they
are either those of the eagle, or are not bird-like at all, but membranous,
like the wing of the bat. No blood need be shed in settling these
anatomical problems, as opinici are of little importance, there being
barely a dozen examples.

The griffin, the wyvern, and the dragon, albeit three of a kind, seem to
have preserved their individuality in heraldry, although they are very old
inhabitants of the armorial shield.

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