A priori, the concept of "coat of arms of London" would be wrong, since the main city of the Kingdom of Great Britain does not have its own heraldic sign. People who use this term most likely mean the official symbol of the City, which is the administrative-territorial unit of Greater London.
City of london
This, one might say, a city within a city, is considered the historical core of the English capital. Every European city with a long history has a similar place, it is enough to recall the Parisian Cité or the Czech Old Mesto.
The capital of Great Britain stands a little apart in this respect. The city is divided into two parts, one of them is the City, the second consists of 32 counties of Greater London. Both the City and most of the counties acquired their own coats of arms, London as a whole did not.
The first mention of the coat of arms of the City dates back to 1380; it existed on city seals, which were used to fasten official documents. The coat of arms took its current form only by 1957. For the main symbol, two primary colors are used - silver and red; gold paint is also used to decorate a knight's helmet.
The coat of arms is built according to the classical canons and has the following elements:
- a shield in the form of a scarlet cross in the center of the composition;
- supporters in the form of two dragons;
- a ribbon with a motto lying at the base and supporting the dragons;
- knight's helmet with a windbreak, mantles and crest.
The main feature of the drawing on the shield is its double interpretation, that is, it is symbolically associated with the two patrons of London. On the one hand, this is Saint George, then we are talking about the scarlet cross, on the other hand, the Apostle Paul, whose symbol of martyrdom is the sword. Then the pattern on the shield is a symbolic image of this edged weapon.
Shield holders appeared much later; they began to adorn the coat of arms of the City only in the 17th century. But for a long time their use was not officially fixed in any way. And only in 1957 the Heraldic Chamber approved these elements. Dragons in the legends of the ancient Britons symbolized independence and invincibility. Initially, the coat of arms was supported by lions, but the fabulous monsters won in the final.
The dragon's wings are adorned with the same scarlet crosses (swords). Another such pattern appears on the dragon wing that emerges from the knight's helmet. This headpiece is decorated with a windbreak, consisting of two intertwining tubes of scarlet and white color, and basting.
