A coat of arms in medieval times was a coat over his armor on which a knight displayed designs to show his identity. He also wore a helmet on top of which was a three-dimensional model, as a further part of his identity. His followers wore similar but shorter coats with the main element of the knight’s design on them, and would rally behind a flag or banner on which again the main part of his design was drawn, all intended as a means of cementing their part in the ‘team’.
In the same way, a lodge would have a stylized form of coat of arms bearing the distinctive design which the Founders saw as their unique identity. This would be further emphasized in a banner, and with breast jewels as personal forms of the Lodge identity to feel part of the organization.
The quarter on the top left of the Lodge shield, represents New Zealand and is an arrangement of four gold stars in the form of the Southern Cross on a red background. This is present on the old Grand Lodge of New Zealand badge as five stars, changed in 1990 to four stars, to match the New Zealand national flag. The other three quarters in the Grand Lodge of New Zealand badge, itself a representation of the origins of the lodges in the Country, are the three lions of England, the harp of Ireland and the single lion of Scotland. These emblems form part of the UK Royal standard.
The top right quarter is a gold tower on a blue background. The left side of the United Grand Lodge of England coat of arms has three of these in an arrangement the same as the 14th century Mason’s Company of London and used by many Grand Lodges around the world. The diagram in this article shows the arms of the United Grand Lodge of England used unofficially, as it had not been approved by the proper heraldic body, from 1813 to 1919, when a proper coat of arms was approved and given Royal assent. The shape and detail varied over the years as there was no definitive approved design. There is another version at the end of this paper.
The bottom left quarter of the shield has an interesting story. The original design of 1909 shows a right arm with the hand holding a trowel, which is the ancient emblem used in the seals of Irish lodges, though not included in the badge of the Grand Lodge of Ireland. See the diagrams here of the two Irish lodge seals. During the period 1916 to 1918 the trowel was changed to a maul. The reason for this has yet to be found.
The bottom right quarter in the shield is a gold St. Andrew’s cross on a red background. That cross is a well known feature of Scottish symbolism. It appears on the Scottish Grand Lodge certificate as a wooden cross.
The crest on the top of the badge is the arm resting on the wreath. In the original badge the wreath was made of laurel leaves, but when the change was made from the trowel to the maul, the wreath became a twisted roll of cloth. The hand is holding an axe. It is repeated on the Founder’s jewel and is explained further on another page.
The Latin motto on the United Masters badge: ‘Honos habet onus’, is translated as ‘Honour entails responsibility’.