Quote:
Originally Posted by AGDee
We have a helmet at the top of our coat of arms but our Canadian chapters are not allowed to utilize a helmet in the coat of arms because it depicts royalty and their history with Britain and the Queen prohibits it. So, our Canadian chapters have a slightly different version.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Elephant Walk
I think it's obvious, but to my knowledge that's the case with most fraternities/sororities in Canada.
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Actually, it's not.
The issue is not use of a helmet
per se, but the kind of helmet used. Traditionally, the style and position of the helmet on a coat-of-arms indicates the rank of the bearer of the arms. Alpha Gamma Delta's armorial bearings use a gold, barred helmet facing forward, which is traditionally reserved to the sovereign. (This is why it is seen in the arms of some American states, to indicate the state's sovereignty.) In Britain and Canada, no one but the queen and other royalty use this kind of helmet.
(Sigma Nu and Alpha Xi Delta also use barred or open helmets facing foward, but they are not gold. SAE and APO also use use royal helmets, but I don't think either has chapters in Canada, do they?)
By contrast, TKE. Lambda Chi, Theta Chi, Theta Xi, Pike and probably others that I'm not thinking of use a barred or closed helmet turned to the side, a sign of nobility but not sovereignty. These don't raise the same issue.
My guess is also that unless Alpha Gamma Delta's armorial bearing are registered with the Canadian Heraldic Authority, the decision not to use the helmet in Canada is one of propriety, not legality.
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