Queen's coat of arms is the unique heraldic device assigned to Queen's University by the College of Arms. The official heraldic description of the coat of arms is:
"Or, on a saltire Azure between in chief a fir Tree eradicated, in base a thistle stalked and leaved and in fess a red rose barbed, seeded, stalked and leaved all Proper and a trefoil Vert, an open book of the First, a bordure Gules charged with eight ancient crowns Gold."
The origins of Queen’s crest and motto are murky. Neither the crest nor the motto is mentioned in any of the founding documents of the university. The founding charter simply acknowledges that the nascent college had the right “to have and may use a Common Seal,” and there is evidence of such a seal being bought and used by the early 1850s to validate degrees granted.
Perhaps, the Queen’s crest was just quietly “borrowed” from the University of Edinburgh, from which the young Queen’s drew much inspiration. Queen’s drew many of its original faculty, several of its early principals and even some the books in its start-up library from Edinburgh. So, not surprisingly, Queen’s styled its identity on that university’s 1789 coat of arms with its St. Andrew's cross, castle on a rock, thistle, and open Bible motif. Queen’s, however, Canadianized the crest: the castle was discarded and a pine tree, a rose for the English connection and a shamrock for the Irish connection were added. The bordure, or frame, of the crest contained eight ancient English crowns to connote the tie with the mother country.
![[photo of the Queen's coat of arms]](/encyclopedia/sites/qencwww/files/uploaded_images/c/coatofarms/coatofarms.png "Queen's coat of arms")
The crest consists of a gold shield with red edges divided into four triangular compartments by a blue, diagonal St. Andrew's cross.
The cross of St. Andrew, with an open book at the junction to show that the arms belong to a place of learning, represents the original bond between Queen's and Scottish universities (St. Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland).
In each of the four compartments made by the arms of the cross is an emblem of the university's Canadian and British origins:
- at the top a pine tree for Canada
- on the left a rose for England
- at the bottom a thistle for Scotland
- on the right a shamrock for Ireland
The red colour of the border is a mark of cadency, indicating that Queen's is younger than Edinburgh University. The border is decorated with eight gold crowns, symbolic of Queen Victoria and the university's Royal Charter.
The whole shield is underlined by a banner with Queen's motto: Sapienta et Doctrina Stabilitas (Wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times).
Queen’s motto has similarly hazy origins. Queen’s motto – Sapienta et Doctrina Stabilitas – emerges out of the Book of Isaiah, Chapter 33, verse 6: “And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times and strength of salvation.” However, there’s no official record of its adoption. Queen’s archivist Deirdre Bryden has pointed to its first appearance on the frontispiece of the college’s Prize List and Course of Study catalogue in 1846.
[Since then, two Queen’s faculties have adopted their own mottos: Soit Droit Fait (let right be done) for law and Manu et Corde Medicus (a doctor works by hand and heart) for medicine.]
The coat of arms appeared as early as 1850, but use of the crest was not regularized. It was mostly used by students to denote their identity on sports uniforms. It wasn’t until the early 1930s that the AMS devised the gold Q for sports and approved the formal crest for use on such apparel as blazers. Finally, in 1953, Queen’s coat of arms was registered with the College of Heraldry in England and in effect locked into its form today. The registration cost $600 and there is a story that the open crowns on the border were chosen in Queen's traditional, cost-conscious manner because they were $50 cheaper than closed crowns.
The coat of arms was registered with the Scottish equivalent of the College of Arms, the Lord Lyon King of Arms, in 1981 and with the Canadian Heraldic Authority during Queen's Sesquicentennial Celebrations in 1991, at a ceremony presided over by Governor General Ramon Hnatyshyn.
In 2000, the Coat of Arms was made part of Queen's Visual Identity.
The coat of arms is now a registered trademark of Queen's University. Prior to use in any manner, permission must be obtained from the Trademark Use Review Board. The Coat of Arms is reserved for official university use only and may not be reproduced in any form or under any circumstances without special permission from the Board.