Three, two and one: Godfrey V, Count of Anjou. Geoffrey Plantagenet. Yñigo-Genio, Elias. Coat of arms of Elias

Godfrey V, Count of Anjou

And Count of Touraine and Maine, Duke of Normandy, and founder of the Plantagenet dynasty.

Azure, six lions rampant Or, 3, 2 and 1.

Escudo de azur, seis leones rampantes de oro, 3, 2 y 1.

Existing armories interpreted by me as follows: the shield's shape is pointed; the field has been enameled in flat azure; the 6 lions are illuminated; and the entire composition has a watercolor finish.

When blazoning these 6 lions, considering that in heraldry the natural arrangement of elements is from more in chief to fewer in base, it would suffice to specify nothing more than «or and rampant». However, adding their arrangement «3, 2, and 1» can aid the reader, as done by [Avilés, J.; 1725b; page 124] and [Avilés, J.; 1780b; page 142] when blazoning the arms of Alfonso Enrique de Vick, writing «sable, and six bezants or, three, two, and one», meaning 6 ordered elements. In these sequences of number arrangements, I prefer to write Arabic numerals rather than words because, at times, the sequences can be long.

Blazon keywords: Without divisions, Azure, Six, Lion, Or, Rampant and Three, two and one.

Style keywords: Pointed, Illuminated, Outlined in the field tincture and Watercolor.

Classification: Interpreted, Personal, Coat of arms and House of Plantagenet.

Bearer: Godfrey V, Count of Anjou.

Geoffrey Plantagenet

Azure, six lions rampant Or, 3, 2 and 1.

Escudo de azur, seis leones rampantes de oro, 3, 2 y 1.

Existing armories interpreted by me as follows: the shape of the shield is pointed; the field has been enameled in flat azure; the 6 lions are illuminated and cast shadows on the field; and the entire composition has a hammered metal finish.

The shield of Geoffrey V, Count of Anjou is considered the first documented coat of arms in history, dated to 1127, when Henry I of England gifted it to him on the occasion of his marriage to his daughter Matilda of England [The Heraldry Society; 2013].

There is no direct evidence that Henry I possessed a coat of arms, nor that it featured a rampant lion [Humphery-Smith, C.; 1983], but the gift of a shield with 6 lions to his future son-in-law could be an indication of such.

Geoffrey is buried in the Cathedral of Saint Julian in Le Mans, and his tomb is decorated with an enamel depicting him with his shield, where of his 6 lions: 4 are fully visible, and 2 are suggested by their claws.

However, it is possible that both the wedding gift narrative and the enamel on the tomb are from years after his death in 1151, so [Pastoureau, M.; Garvie, F.; 1997; page 18] asserts that «this account was written after Geoffrey's death... and his funerary enamel commissioned by his widow Matilda between 1155 and 1160... therefore it is possible that Geoffrey Plantagenet never had a coat of arms».

Blazon keywords: Without divisions, Azure, Six, Lion, Or, Rampant and Three, two and one.

Style keywords: Pointed, Illuminated, Shaded, Outlined in the field tincture and Metal beaten.

Classification: Interpreted, Personal, Coat of arms and House of Plantagenet.

Bearer: Godfrey V, Count of Anjou.