1.
Cross
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A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally, a cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is also termed a saltire in heraldic terminology. The word [[wikt, cross|crossded from Old Irish, possibly via Old Norse, ultimately from the Latin crux, stake, the English verb to cross arises from the noun c. 1200, first in the sense to make the sign of the cross, the Latin word was, however, influenced by popular etymology by a native Germanic word reconstructed as*krukjo. This word, by conflation with Latin crux, gave rise to Old French crocier, Latin crux referred to the gibbet where criminals were executed, a stake or pole, but not necessarily to intersecting or cruciform beams. The Latin word derived from the verb crucio to torture, Latin crux originally referred to the tree or stake on which criminals were crucified in the pre-imperial period. This was later specified as crux acuta or crux simplex, the method of execution may have been adopted from the Phoenicians. The addition of a bar, to which the criminal would be fastened with nails or cords. The Latin name of the cross is crux decussata, the heraldic term saltire is introduced only towards the end of the medieval period. The Greek equivalent of Latin crux stake, gibbet is σταυρός stauros stake, the letter Tau was associated with the stauros or crux, while the notion of cruciform shapes, i. e. intersecting lines, were associated with the letter Chi. The Greek term for crossing was χίασμα chiasma, from a verb χιάζω chiázō to shape like the letter Chi, Latin had the comparable decussatus shaped like the numeral ten. Also of prehistoric age are numerous variants of the cross mark, including the crux gammata with curving or angular lines. Speculation of this kind became popular in the mid- to late-19th century in the context of comparative mythology seeking to tie Christian mythology to ancient cosmological myths. Influential works in this vein included G. de Mortillet, L. Müller, W. W. Blake, Ansault, in the European Bronze Age the cross symbol appeared to carry a religious meaning, perhaps as a symbol of consecration, especially pertaining to burial. The cross sign occurs trivially in tally marks, and develops into a number symbol independently in the Roman numerals, the Chinese rod numerals and the Brahmi numerals. In the Phoenician alphabet and derived scripts, the symbol represented the phoneme /t/, i. e. the letter taw. The letter name taw means mark, presumably continuing the Egyptian hieroglyph two crossed sticks, according to W. E. Vines Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, worshippers of Tammuz in Chaldea and thereabouts used the cross as symbol of that god. The shape of the cross, as represented by the letter T, clements contemporary Tertullian rejects the accusation that Christians are crucis religiosi, and returns the accusation by likening the worship of pagan idols to the worship of poles or stakes
2.
Impalement (heraldry)
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An impaled shield is bisected in pale, that is by a vertical line. The husbands arms are shown in the half, being the place of honour. For this purpose alone the two halves of the shield are called baron and femme, from ancient Norman-French usage. The sinister side may thus be divided more than twice in similar fashion where required. The use of impaled arms serves to identify with precision which member of the line of a family is represented, if the identity of his wife is known. Frequently impaled arms appear sculpted on ancient buildings, thus allowing architectural historians to identify the builder, impaled arms also appear frequently on monuments in parish churches, and again facilitate identification of the person for whom erected. Also, is pourtraited kneeling in his robes together with his own match, for same-sex married couples, the College of Arms in 2014 decreed that male couples may impale their arms together but that each individual will have distinguished arms and crests of their own. Slightly different rules applies to couples and heraldic heiresses. Likewise, this extends to senior civic office holders, for example Mayors, Masters of Livery Companies. A rare use of impalement is that where a union is believed to exist between the two parties. Such was the case with King Richard II who had a devotion to the saint King Edward the Confessor. The Confessors arms were shown in the position of honour. A rare form of impalement which allows for the juxtaposition of three armorials is tiercing and this is occasionally used where a man has married twice. The personal arms occupy the place of least honour at sinister whilst the representation of the Body of Christ occupies the place of greatest honour at dexter, shields depicting a pelican in her piety were used by various bishops, for example by Robert Sherborne, by Cranmer and Foxe. The dexter part relates to his first wife Elizabeth the daughter of James Walsh of Alverdiscot in Devon, the sinister part relates to his second wife Elizabeth the daughter of Sir Francis Godolphin of Godolphin in Cornwall, England, UK, and shows the arms of Godolphin. Courtoisie Dimidiation Division of the field
3.
Quartering (heraldry)
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Quartering in heraldry is a method of joining several different coats of arms together in one shield by dividing the shield into equal parts and placing different coats of arms in each division. Typically, a quartering consists of a division into four equal parts, however, in most traditions there is no limit on the number of divisions allowed, and the records of the College of Arms include a shield of 323 quarterings for the family of Lloyd of Stockton. These 323 quarterings include numerous repeated attributed arms assigned to Welsh chieftains from the 9th century or earlier, another example of a shield of many quarterings is the coat of arms of the Powys-Lybbe family, which contains 64 quarterings. Different rules apply in Scottish heraldry, and may apply in other jurisdictions like Canada. The arms of the Queen of the United Kingdom are arms of dominion, however, the vast majority of quarterly coats of arms display arms which are claimed by descent, in other words, they join together coats of arms of the ancestors of the bearer of the arms. Strict rules apply, both as to what arms may be displayed by way of quarterings, and the order in which they may be displayed. An exception is made, however, if the female who breaks the line of descent is a heraldic heiress—a woman who has no brothers. Such a woman is entitled to transmit her fathers arms to her own children, if her father was himself entitled to one or more quarterings, these will pass to his daughters children as quarterings as well. Quarterings are displayed in the order in which they are acquired by a family by marriage, the larger the number of quarterings, the smaller the space available for each coat of arms, so that most families entitled to many quarterings make a selection of those they ordinarily use. The Duke of Norfolk, for example, uses only four quarterings, in Scotland in some cases the plain unquartered coat is the more prized, as entitlement to its use can indicate who is chief of the name and arms and holds the headship of a clan. For example, Flora Fraser, Lady Saltoun of Abernethy has arms as chief of Fraser — the plain coat of azure, the Powys-Lybbe family appear, likewise, to usually use only the quarterings of Powys and Lybbe. Division of the field Ottfried Neubecker
4.
Dexter and sinister
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Dexter and sinister are terms used in heraldry to refer to specific locations in an escutcheon bearing a coat of arms, and to the other elements of an achievement. Dexter means to the right from the viewpoint of the bearer of the shield, i. e. the bearers proper right, sinister means to the left from the viewpoint of the bearer, the bearers proper left, to the right from that of the viewer. The dexter side is considered the side of honour, for example when impaling two arms. Thus, by tradition, a husbands arms occupy the dexter half of his shield, the shield of a bishop shows the arms of his see in the dexter half, his personal arms in the sinister half. King Richard II adopted arms showing the arms of Edward the Confessor in the dexter half. More generally, by ancient tradition, the guest of greatest honour at a banquet sits at the hand of the host. The Bible is replete with passages referring to being at the hand of God. Sinister is used to mark that an ordinary or other charge is turned to the left of the shield. A bend sinister is a bend which runs from the top left to bottom right. As the shield would have carried with the design facing outwards from the bearer. This division is key to dimidiation, a method of joining two coats of arms by placing the dexter half of one coat of arms alongside the sinister half of the other. In the case of marriage, the half of the husbands arms would be placed alongside the sinister half of the wifes. The Great Seal of the United States features an eagle clutching an olive branch in its talon and arrows in its sinister talon. The front of the shield was originally undecorated. Such usage may indeed have descended directly from Roman training techniques that were spread throughout Roman Europe and then continued during the age of chivalry, when heraldry came into use
5.
Red Hand of Ulster
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The Red Hand of Ulster is an Irish symbol used in heraldry to denote the Irish province of Ulster. It is a hand coloured red, with the fingers pointing upwards, the thumb held parallel to the fingers. It is usually shown as a hand, but is sometimes a left hand. The symbol is rooted in Irish Gaelic culture and its origins are attributed to the mythical Irish figure Labraid Lámh Dhearg and it was originally a symbol belonging to the Ulaid before being adopted into the flag of the Norman Earldom of Ulster. More recently, it has also used as an Ulster loyalist symbol. The original meaning of the Red Hand is unclear, the Red Hand has roots as an Irish Gaelic symbol and is believed to date back to pagan times. It was associated with a figure called Labraid Lámderg, or Labhraidh Lámh Dhearg. Labraid is said to be the son of the god Nuada, in Irish mythology, Nuada had his hand cut off in battle, forcing him to give up his position as king of the gods. However, it is replaced with a hand, which then transforms into a real hand. Alternatively, or perhaps later, the Red Hand came to symbolize the Hand of God in Christianity, an example of this motif can be seen on the 10th century Muiredachs High Cross at Monasterboice, County Louth. Another suggestion is that the Red Hand was associated with sovereignty, Gaelic chieftains and kings were elected from among a group of men who shared the same great-grandfather. The palm may represent the great-grandfather with the three jointed divisions of the fingers representing his sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons, there is a popular legend about the origin of the Red Hand, with many local variations, in which it is associated with sovereignty and kingship. According to the legend, the kingdom of Ulster had at one time no rightful heir. Because of this, it is agreed that a race should take place. One potential king so desires the kingship that, upon seeing that he is losing the race, he cuts off his hand, the hand is red to represent the fact that it would have been covered in blood. In some versions of the tale, the king who cuts off his hand belongs to the Uí Néill clan, or is Niall of the Nine Hostages himself, in other versions, the king is Érimón, one of the Milesians. Another tale tells of two fighting each other. One has his hand cut off by the other, and a red imprint of the hand is left on the rocks
6.
Newton St Cyres
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Newton St Cyres is a village and civil parish in Mid Devon, in the English county of Devon, located between Crediton and Exeter. It has a population of 867, reducing to 562 at the 2011 Census, the village is part of the Newbrooke electoral ward. The ward population at the census was 1,520. Almost destroyed by fire in the early 1960s, its point of interest is the Parish Church, built in the 15th century and dedicated to the martyrs St. Cyriac. Most of the church is in early Perpendicular style, built of local reddish trap, a stone from quarries at Posbury, with the exception of the nave pillars. It contains the monument with standing effigy of John Northcote of Hayne, Newton St Cyres railway station serves the Exeter to Barnstaple line. Newton St Cyres is home to two houses, the Crown and Sceptre and the Beer Engine. Traditional cheeses can be bought from the Quickes Farm shop, the village has a recreation ground with two football pitches, a cricket pitch and two tennis courts. Newton St Cyres at DMOZ Media related to Newton St Cyres at Wikimedia Commons
7.
King's Nympton
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The parish exceeds 5,500 acres in area and sits mostly on a promontory above the River Mole which forms nearly half of its parish boundary. Many of the outlying farmhouses date from the 15th and 16th centuries and the village has cottages, nearly all of its 5,540 acres are given over to agriculture with beef, sheep, dairy, arable and egg production forming the bulk of farming activity. Ancient British people settled here in groups on the higher ground. In around 980 AD the Church of St. James was established here by the Saxons, probably on the site of a pagan nymet”, a sanctuary or holy grove. At the time of the Domesday Book of 1086, the manor of Nimetone, in the hundred of Witheridge, belonged to the King. The Northcote family held the manor until 1740 when it was sold to James Buller whose family held it until 1842 when it was purchased by James Tanner, Kings Nympton Park is a Grade I listed building. In 1872 it belonged to James Tanner, Esq. although the lord of the manor of Kings Nympton was H. M. Byne, Esq. An on-site auction sale held by Kivells auctioneers occurred at Park Farm on the Kingsnympton Park Estate on 25 January 2010, which included pedigree North Devon cattle, sheep and machinery. The village gives its name to the Kings Nympton railway station, although the station itself is situated 2.5 miles from the village in the civil parish of Chulmleigh
8.
Sir Hugh Pollard, 2nd Baronet
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Sir Hugh Pollard, 2nd Baronet was an English soldier and MP elected for Bere Alston in 1640, Callington in 1660, and Devon in 1661. He supported the Royalist cause in the English Civil War, Pollard was the eldest son and heir of Sir Lewis Pollard, 1st Baronet of Kings Nympton, Devonshire, by his wife Margaret Berkeley, daughter of Sir Henry Berkeley, Knight, of Bruton, Somerset. He joined the army and by 1639 was a captain engaged in raising troops in Devon for the Scottish wars, the following year he was ordered to Scotland and was probably present at the Battle of Newburn. In November 1640 Pollard was elected Member of Parliament for Bere Alston in the Long Parliament and he became involved in the Royalist army plots of 1641 and, after being found guilty of misprision, was expelled from the House of Commons. He succeeded to the baronetcy that same year, during the Civil war Pollard mainly served with the kings army in Devonshire and Cornwall and in 1645 was made governor of Dartmouth. Fairfaxs Parliamentary troops besieged the town in January 1645/6 and Pollard was captured, in 1653 he was fined £518 for his delinquency. After the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660 Pollard was elected MP for the Cornish seat, no doubt this was due to the Rolle influence exerted by Pollards second wife Mary Stevens, widow of Henry Rolle of Stevenstone. He was appointed a JP, a Deputy Lieutenant, and Vice Admiral of Devon, in 1661 he was elected MP for Devon in the Cavalier Parliament, with as his co-MP Sir John Rolle, KB, the cousin and heir of Henry Rolle. He was appointed in 1661 Governor of Guernsey and in 1662 Comptroller of the Royal Household, Pollard married twice, Firstly to Lady Bridget de Vere, a daughter of Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford and widow of Francis Norris, 1st Earl of Berkshire. By her he left a daughter, Bridget Pollard. William Stevens was the founder of the Devon branch of the influential Stevens family of Vielstone in the parish of Buckland Brewer, of Cross in Little Torrington and of Winscott in Peters Marland. The Cornish seat of Callington was controlled by the Rolle family, Mary Stevens was buried at St Giles in the Wood, the parish church of Stevenstone. Pollard died on 27 November 1666 at Whitehall at the age of about 63 and was buried in Westminster Abbey, on his death without male progeny the baronetcy passed to his younger brother Sir Amyas Pollard, 3rd Baronet, of Abbots Bickington, Devon. Upon the death of Sir Amyas unmarried and without male heir. Helms, M. W. & Ferris, John, the Visitations of the County of Devon, Comprising the Heralds Visitations of 1531,1564 &1620, Exeter,1895, pp. 597–599, Pollard pedigree, p.598 Sir Hugh Pollard, 2nd Bt
9.
Sir John Northcote, 1st Baronet
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Sir John Northcote, 1st Baronet was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1640 and 1676. He supported the Parliamentarian cause in the English Civil War, Northcote was the eldest surviving son of John Northcote of Hayne, Newton St Cyres, near Crediton, Devon, by his second wife Susanna Pollard, daughter of Sir Hugh II Pollard of Kings Nympton. The family of Northcote originated in Devon at the Domesday Book manor of Northcote in the parish of East Down in North Devon, the Heraldic Visitations of Devon lists the founder of the family as Galfridus de Northcote, Miles, living in 1103. The family later in the 16th century made its fortune as cloth merchants at Crediton He matriculated at Exeter College, Oxford on 9 May 1617, in November 1640 he was elected Member of Parliament for the newly re-established borough of Ashburton in the Long Parliament. On 16 July 1641, he was created a baronet, having Presbyterian sympathies, on the outbreak of the Civil War, he declared for Parliament, and used his considerable wealth and influence to aid the cause. In 1642 he provided £450 to finance military action in Ireland and his actions were sufficiently notable for him to be excluded by name from the general pardon issued in November 1642 by King Charles I. In 1643 Sir John was leading a regiment of 1,200 men in Devon, Northcote was kept captive until the autumn of 1644, when he was exchanged, and resumed his Parliamentary seat in May 1645. In the Convention Parliament of 1660 he was elected both for Devon and for Helston, though his return for the latter was ruled void and he subsequently sat also for Barnstaple from 1667 until his death. A manuscript purporting to be the Notebook of Sir John Northcote, however, its authenticity was challenged on the grounds that it covered a period before Sir John had a seat in the House. Northcote married Grace Halswell, a daughter and heiress of Hugh Halswell of Chamberlain Street, Wells, Somerset, by his wife, Hugh was the son of Richard Halswell and Cicely Reeves, and grandson of Robert Halswell of Halswell, Somerset. Northcote had by Grace seven sons and four daughters, Sir Arthur Northcote, 2nd Baronet, eldest son, John Northcote, 2nd son, married Catherine Foljambe. Lewis Northcote, 3rd son, married Jane Copleston Hugh Northcote, apparently died young Halswell Northcote, 4th son and their only son Robert Fortescue, died an infant, whose mural monument exists in Newton St Cyres Church. The daughter from Robert Fortescues first marriage to Grace Grenville, daughter of Sir Bevil Grenville was Grace Fortescue who married Sir Halswell Tynte, 1st Baronet, MP for Bridgwater 1679–1689. Tynte was a cousin of Grace Halswell, being the son of Jane Halswell, Grace I Northcote, died young Elizabeth Northcote, married Thomas Pointingdon
