Fraternity and Sorority Arms, Seals, Flags and other Insignia
 

We have a thread where badges and pins of all kinds are discussed, and the discussion there (and in some other threads) veers to coats of arms from time to time. There are heraldic discussions various places, but it seemed like it might be nice to have a central thread devoted to the non-badge insignia of our organizations.

Within bounds appropriately respectful of the fact that some information about these insignia is public while other information is not, in this thread we can:

• Post pictures of coats of arms, seals, flags and other official insignia of our GLOs (other than badges and pins), both current and historical;
• Discuss and ask questions about the traditional rules and practices of heraldry and related arts (such as seal and flag design);
• Share traditions of our GLOs regarding the use of these emblems (like Psi U's practice of each chapter having its own coat of arms);
• Look at the historical development of these insignia in the Greek world, as well as at designs that predate coats of arms;
• Generally enjoy looking at the variety of insignia in the Greek world.

I'm not really thinking of branding logos falling into the categories discussed in this thread, but I'll leave it to posters to decide what they want to share. Some logos may reflect official insignia more than others. And I am mindful that some organizations do not have coats of arms, but I hope they'll share the insignia that are special to them.

http://www.calpolysigep.com/Images/L...igEp_Heart.gif

Here's the Blackburn Heart. It's only printed in red or gray to denote the warmth of brotherhood. It can't be printed in black because of a ritual reason.

If the image doesn't post, I'll fix it later.

I'm looking forward to seeing this thread grow.

In the meantime, here's a question: according to our official website, the coat-of-arms is a registered trademark. Am I going to get in trouble if I post it here? I love our COA, and want to be sure not to do anything wrong. I don't know nothing about trademark laws.

IIRC, trademarks apply to making a profit off of something. MC?

You aren't claiming it as your own creation, and you aren't making money off it. If you post it, you are covered under a "fair use" law.

*waves @ IrishLake & Vito*

Kappa Alpha Theta Coat-Of-Arms:

https://www.kappaalphatheta.org/img/...atofarms4C.gif



I like that our badge is incorporated into the COA.

And I'll do some research regarding when it was designed.

Love our coat!

Fraternity Coat of Arms

http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:A...pcCjbWYxABEog=

Flag

http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/da...AFKUoAUpSgD//Z

Seal of the Executive Council

http://www.psiu.org/images/execseal.gif

Alpha Omicron Chapter Coat of Arms

http://www.psiu.org/images/coatsm/202.gif

and last but not least, our Founders' Plaque

http://www.psiu.org/images/plaque.gif

Vito, what does your founders plaque say?

Yeah it's a poor image but best I can find. The top line says Founders and 1833 in roman numerals. Underneath that are the names of the 7 Founders of Psi Upsilon. All chapters founded before a certain date have one, and IIRC one of the chapters just had a new mold made, so new copies might be going out, though I don't know for sure.

Very cool COA! Ya know, I've recognized your COA on jewelry, etc. on ebay but I've never noticed that your badge is on it. (I've only seen it tiny.)

Love the plaque!

Ooh I like this thread! I'm always really intrigued by the "other" letters on different GLOs badges or COAs. (Like MFG on Thetas and TDH on DGs)
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...appa_crest.png

Kappa Kappa Gamma's coat of arms. The new member pin is at the top, then Athena, then our badge, then fleur-de-lis, the owl, and our letters. Oh and of course it's in blue and blue!

:) as I am intrigued by symbols like the owl, fleur-de-lis and key on your COA; and on Vito's, the clasped hands - echoes of the ADPi badge. This is going to be so educational.

@Leslie Anne, nudge nudge...

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._2509902_n.jpg

I love our crest and everything on it.

The writing on the bottom is our motto: "Faithful Unto Death."

The Greek at the bottom of mine is our open motto "Unto us has befallen a mighty friendship." And when I first saw the ADPi badge I was struck by the similarities. Both diamond shaped, gold with black fields, with the clasped hands prominent on them.

I, too, never noticed the badge on the Theta COA...how cool!

Here is Delta Gamma's:

http://greeklife.uoregon.edu/upload/...amma_crest.png

Woah, I never noticed how similar the tops our our COAs are! Weird!

Here's Kappa Delta's COA. It doesn't conform to heraldic rules; it's more of a design suited for our ritual. There are interesting things about it that I could point out, but then I'd have to kill you. :p

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...padeltacoa.jpg

I'll have to scan some photos of the original COA and post them. It's pretty funny.


Oh, I forgot to mention that the lettering in the banner is Ta Kala Diokomen which means "let us strive for that which is honorable, beautiful and highest".

This is going to be a verrrrry interesting thread. sotto voce: are you KDs a little bloodthirsty? I'm thinking about that dagger on your badge :p


I have always liked that open motto. I also like TriDelta's motto, and lemme see... there's another one... it'll come to me.

Oh yes! Never cross a KD lady. We're the only NPC with a deadly weapon as our symbol.


Thanks! :)

I've been looking for Delta Nu's crest from Legally Blonde to post next to ours, but I can't seem to find it easily. They show it on Elle's paddle in the opening sequence, and it's pretty much the same although Bruiser's head is in place of the rose :)

Yay on responses!

This.

Here's a question Lucy. I see this coat of arms a lot (being married to a Kappa). Sometimes I see both the area above the chevron (the ^-shape) darker blue while the base (below the chevron) is light blue, and the fluer-de-lis are gold, like this:

http://www.ou.edu/student/greek/kkg/kkg/crest.gif

Other times it's like the image you posted -- both darker blue and light blue fluer-de-lis. Any info on the differences.

I'll try to post about Phi Mu Alpha later today.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...beta_crest.jpg

Gamma Phi Beta Coat of Arms-- I love this image! I think the 3-d is beautiful.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...x-GSSCrest.jpg
Gamma Sigma Sigma Coat of Arms

I found a Delta Gamma web page that discusses it that has a shot (from sort of an angle) of the Delta Nu crest next to Delta Gamma, can't see the top that well and in each branch of the "T" there are three stars rather than one.

http://gwdeltagamma.com/about-us

Randy

Here's our Coat of Arms. I think it's gorgeous. It has a lot of meaning behind it.

MysticCat, you in Big Trouble now. New obsession kindled: COA for fraternities and sororities. Of course nothing will replace the quest for opal badges, but this is definitely a new interest.

@Leslie Anne, if not a dagger, then poison? I spy a skull & crossbones on the KD COA. Man, you guys do not mess around!

I might start an excel sheet or something of the sort that lists the symbols that are shared (eg flowers/stars/hands clasped/griffons etc). Note the use of MIGHT.

Yeah, I've been saying that "might" for months now. :D

Good sleuthing Randy!

Here they are side by side:
"Delta Nu" and Delta Gamma

http://gwdeltagamma.com/uploads/imag...cture_2_2_.jpghttp://orgs.utulsa.edu/deltagamma/pics/crest.jpg

Pretty similar!

I have a pewter COA lavalier (it has letters on the reverse side) that I wear every day. It's generally only other Greeks who notice it and/or know what it is.

You could make a google excel document and then "share" the editing privileges...then everyone could add their own symbols to the tally.

This thread makes me all...
http://panthercs.ibeatyou.com/16286_pet_1210808197.jpg

Anyway, this thread combines two things I'm passionate about - heraldry and Greek History! So I'm going to warn you in advance that these posts will be lengthy, but hopefully fun and informative. Since I have, ahem, a lot to say I'm going to separate this into two posts, Delta Chi pre Coat of Arms and The Evolution of Delta Chi's Arms.

Delta Chi did not have a Coat of Arms until 1899. Before that we used the Emblem as a visual representation of the Fraternity. The Emblem was drawn by Founder Peter Schermerhorn Johnson to be used in the 1891 Cornellian. It represents the Hand of Humanity reaching for the Key of Knowledge.

The crest of AEPhi. The three columns Α, Ε & Φ stand for faculty approval, student esteem, and sorority fidelity. It also incorporates our motto: Multa Corda, Una Causa (Many Hearts, One Purpose).

http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/c...BW_smaller.jpg

I’m intrigued by this thread from the standpoint of a graphics artist.
 

It is very presumptuous of me to refer to myself as an artist of any sort when actually I am a history buff who can stay in the lines. I became interested in the history of my fraternity (never called it a frat, and it’s very unlikely I will ever call it a GLO) when I was fortunate to come across a copy of the history of my fraternity written in 1906. As I read that history I became intrigued with the development of the coat-of-arms and began to study other histories and images from different fraternities.

It is important to note that on this subject a little of the evolution of fraternities and sororities from literary societies to social societies is important. During the 1870’s into the 1890’s most fraternities were loosely controlled organizations. While they had their roots in a small group of founders the growth of these organizations was limited by the necessity to keep their existence a secret from the administration of their various colleges. It being easier to keep a secret among a small group resulted in slow growth in membership in terms of both individuals and chapters. Following the War of Rebellion and the 1870’s began a period of breaking out of their secret existence. As a result there was a growth of expansion with chapters quickly springing up in different geographical areas across the country. With this expansion there was more control at the chapter levels than through what was then a disorganized national leadership. This resulted in different images (most often in the form of steel engravings) of the various organizations reflecting the local image of the individual chapters or charters. These images most always were represented in the college annuals…in fact that was about the only place where an organization’s image appeared. Some of my favorite images came from this era, in the form of elaborate allegorical representations from the various chapters. One of my favorite images was a Sigma Chi image of their badge and motto floating above an island…from that image I created, what I consider to the most beautiful image of the Sigma Chi badge. I have subsequently seen this same allegory with other fraternity’s badges and mottos. However, I digress as this forum is for a discussion of the arms of the fraternities not for badges…nor is it my intent to discuss fraternities different from my own.

Following this period of chapter freedom the National leaders began to see a need to control what today we call “branding” of their organizations…they wanted to be in control of the images of both their badges and coat-of-arms. It was vital that they take this control for jewelers across the country were designing badges however an individual member wanted it done…and they were finding every possible use for the images they were creating…button covers, hat pins, watch fobs, shirt studs as well as adding symbols and colors which was never intended. And the same thing was occurring in the designs of the coat-of-arms and the seals.

During the period of the late 1880’s through the turn of the century many fraternities went about creating specific images which incorporated the rituals, and purpose of their founding. Some just drew up an image which appealed to them, while others took a more pragmatic approach which required that a heraldic description from which to artistically design the coat-of-arms. For those reading who are not familiar with that terms is a cryptic and specific description of a coat-of-arms,,,it follows the ancient symbols in use hundreds of years ago. At that time there were only 5 colors and 2 metals that were used on arms… e.g. horizontal lines symbolized azure in drawings.

The blazon for the “new” (new being over 100 years ago) coat of arms of my fraternity (Phi Delta Theta) reads:

Escutcheon: azure, on a bend argent, between six mullets of the second, a sword or point downward.

Helmet: affrontee, visor closed of the third, mantling of the first and second.

Crest: a dexter arm embowed vambraced of the third, hand carnation hurling a javelin of the third.

Motto: Eis anhr oudeis anhr

After exhausting and painstaking consultation of heraldic authorities The Fraternity, had the blazon completed and since that description accurately described the various elements of the coat-of-arms it was turned over to the engravers to interpret and etch their image into copper sheets from which the steel engravings were produced.

This leads to the interesting saga of the Phi Delta Theta coat-of-arms. The Fraternity had various images submitted which reflected engraver’s interpretation of the blazon. A specific image was chosen and copyrighted in 1899, and an engraver R.B. Lockwood of New York was selected to engrave the new coat-of-arms. When it was completed it was provided to the publishers of the various college annuals. However the final engraving was rejected by the Convention of 1900…Lockwood had further embellished the image by adding different and undesired components. For instance he added a face on the top of the helmet, changed the visor to look more like a mouth, and added crescent to the bottom of the helmet. This last embellishment was offensive to the members as it did not represent their Christian ideology or the tenets of The Fraternity.

The Convention of 1902 ordered that the coat-of-arms should be engraved by Louis Dreka of Philadelphia…a well know engraver who engraved for the U.S. Mint and was responsible for many fraternity and sorority images. Dreka completed his eng4aving in 1903 and his coat-of-arms was accepted and was the frontispiece of The Scroll, October 1903. The chapters across the country were given the assignment of seeing that the publishers of their annuals had the new coat-of-arms. In many cases this did not happen and as a result, for nearly a hundred years the Lockwood design was used by publishers.

At this time the images of most organization were only what was published in the college annuals and a few specialty publications, in almost every case those images were only a few inches tall. The sometime in the 1920’s a Phi Delt artist hand-drew the image which increased the size, but it was drawn from the Lockwood image and as a result nearly every product the licensed vendors create is from that hand-drawn image…the one rejected by The Fraternity.

I have digitally recreated the coat-of-arms, as well as badges of Phi Delta Theta and I am in the process of donating them to The Fraternity. Those designs represent more than 1000 hours of study and design. As I have done with all of my images I have created them as a vector image which results in being able to reduce the image to the size of a postage stamp and enlarge it to billboard size without any distortion or pixilation.

If anyone is interested in seeing some of these images I will try to figure out how to manage the uploading images process and add them to a later post.

Purc

Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia
 

Our Tenth National Convention in 1910 (Ithaca, NY) was a big event for us symbol-wise. That convention standardized the form of our badge, after a decade of a variety of styles. It added gold to red and black as an official color. It adopted the design of our shingle, which is still in use. And it adopted our coat of arms and our flag.

As a little background, it's worth remembering that in 1910, our name was Sinfonia Fraternity (formally, Sinfonia Fraternity of America). We were founded with that name in 1898, but the Greek letters ΦΜΑ were in use at the latest by April 1902. Some forms of our badge included the Greek letters, while others just had the Old English S. In 1908, the Constitution was amended to include the Greek letters, but the name was not legally changed until 1947.

This is our coat of arms:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...foniaCrest.png

As you can see, the design from the center of the badge is the centerpiece of the design. The arms appear on the shingle adopted in 1910 (this one is blank, lacking the name and chapter of the member, the chapter president's signature and the seal):

http://www.sinfoniastore.org/PDGImages/shingle-FULL.jpg

The arms also appear on the official flag:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...Alpha_Flag.png

(Not a great picture; the yellow should be gold and the red should be a little darker, but it shows what the flag looks like.) The flag is usually seen in the form of a banner that hangs from the top and has gold fringe on the bottom and sides. If on a pole, there is no fringe.

A variant of the coat of arms has been seen over the years (although it seems more rare these days), that includes the words "Phi Mu Alpha" on top, but this alternate design has never had official sanction:

http://www.clubs.psu.edu/up/sinfonia...ages/crest.gif

[ETA: Readers may notice that other aspects of this design look different, including the jewels on the badge. In this post down thread, I explain the restoration of the original form of the coat of arms in late 2011.)]

One particular design predates the coat of arms. The Second Convention (1902) adopted this design for chapter charters:

http://www.pmalu.org/images/old_logo.jpg

It was in use until sometime in the 1930s. Look carefully and you'll see the letters ΦΜΑ on the small seal that hangs from the book. You can also see the harp and pan pipes that would later appear on the coat of arms. In recent years, the store at our national HQ has offered a number of items, including tee shirts, that incorporate this old logo. I have a computer mousepad with this design on it.

I couldn't find a picture of our seal. It dates from the early 1900s, and is simple in design. It is circular with the words "SINFONIA FRATERNITY OF AMERICA" around the circumference. The letters ΦΜΑ are in the center. Above the letters is "FOUNDED 1898," and below them is "INCORPORATED 1904." Originally, the seal said "FOUNDED 1901," perhaps because that was the year of our first National Convention. When that seal broke and had to be replaced, it was replaced with one that (correctly) noted the founding year as 1898.

Enough for now, I guess. :D

For figuring out aspects, I suggest the way that the US Patent and Trademark Office does it. Go to http://tess2.uspto.gov/ , search for the name of your GLO in quotes and click search. Find the entry for your GLO that contains your Coat of Arms and then look at the section called Design Search Code. For example for Alpha Phi Omega, the entry contains

01.01.06 - Stars with rays or radiating lines
01.01.13 - Stars - multiple stars with five points
01.15.18 - More than one drop including teardrops or raindrops; multiple drops (rain, tear, etc.); Raindrops (more than a single drop); Teardrops (more than a single drop)
05.05.03 - Fleur-de-lis
13.01.02 - Blow torch; Propane torches; Torches; Welding torch
23.01.01 - Epees; Foils; Rapiers; Sabers; Swords
23.05.01 - Helmets, armor
24.01.02 - Shields or crests with figurative elements contained therein or superimposed thereon
24.01.05 - More than one shield or crest; Shields or crests (more than one)
24.09.07 - Advertising, banners; Banners
24.13.02 - Cross, Greek (equal sides); Greek cross (equal sized lines)
25.01.25 - Borders, ornamental; Other framework and ornamental borders


http://www.muhlenberg.edu/studorgs/apo/coat.jpg

Doesn't Delta Delta Delta have the trident?

Lord knows where my pledge book is (I think I might have hid it to keep my husband from seeing it, but now I can't remember where I hid it!) but I've got some semi-decent images of my sorority's crest. One is from my first pledge paddle, the other is my initiation certificate.

(Please ignore the fact that I'm in my bathrobe and my hair is a mess)
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42...icture0012.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42...icture0013.jpg

and don't forget a Quill Pen can be mighter than any sword!! :D

As far as I know, this one is just a very stylized version. Our official CoA is the one Lucy posted. Personally I am not a fan of the stylized one... there are some blankets as well that have green added, which baffles me because green has nothing to do with KKG.

As an aside, something I didn't notice until a few years into Kappa: Our overall CoA shape is a fleur de lis. When I realized that it made me like the CoA even more for pure awesomeness.

ETA: Here's a pretty cool stylized one on MSU's site. Not official, but fun:
https://www.msu.edu/~kappa/crest.gif

:eek: mind = blown



I'll post more Delta Chi stuff later!