THE COMMONWEALTH HALL COAT OF ARMS(5)
*The Significance Of the Parts*
As already stated, the Commonwealth Hall Coat of Arms has the following parts:
1. *Crest*
2. *Wreath* or *Torse*
3. *Helmet* or *Helm*
4. *Mantling*
5. *Shield* or *Escutcheon*
6. *Motto*
What is a Coat of Arms? During the Middle Ages in Western Europe(1000-1450), a Coat of Arms was strongly associated with fighting on the battlefield and also with tournaments by knights. It was a symbol used to distinguish one knight from another on a battlefield. Today, a Coat of Arms is a symbol that represents and identifies a particular individual, family, an institution, an organization, a profession, etc. Commonwealth Hall and the other Halls have individual Coats of Arms. In what follows, the significance of the parts making up the Commonwealth Hall Coat of Arms is discussed.
1. The *Crest*
The *Crest* is right on top of the Coat of Arms.
It consists of a walking *Leopard* whose head rests on a *Golden Sun.*
The *Sun* is described as an emblem of glory, wholesomeness,light, life, energy, warmth, knowledge, etc. Yes, the light of knowledge dispels the darkness of ignorance. And light is life.
The Leopard is said to stand for adaptability, strength, agility, stealth, elusiveness, self-reliance, rare beauty, perception, string vision, great hearing power, etc.
2. The *Wreath* or *Torse*
The *Wreath* or *Torse* is a twisted roll of fabric or cloth and put on top of the helmet and the base of the Crest. It has the dual purpose of concealing the join between the helmet and the crest and of holding the mantling in place. Our Wreath has three kinds of cloth, red, blue, and gold.
3. The *Helmet*
The *Helmet* is situated above the shield and bears the Wreath and the Crest.
The Helmet has always been part of war. It is meant to protect the head against injury.
In our particular context, the students are not literally going to war. But symbolically, students need to protect the head, an important part of the body that houses the five human senses, including the brain which students need in their quest for knowledge. It also symbolically reminds us of the Coat of Arms having once been associated with actual fighting on the battlefield.
4. The *Mantling*
The *Mantling* was linen-made cloth tied to the Helmet above the Shield. The Mantling served two main purposes,namely, to shield the soldier from the rays of the sun and to deflect sword cuts. In fact, if a soldier returned from battle with his Mantling slashed or fagged by enemy weapons, it was indisputably a record of his fighting. The Mantling in the Hall's Coat of Arms appears to have been.slashed, evidence that the wearer was in the thick of
battle.
5. The *Shield* or *Escutcheon*
The *Shield* is said to be the Centre of the design of any Coat of Arms. Indeed, the point is that, without a Shield, there can be no Coat of Arms. In actual fighting, the Shield was meant to protect the soldier against enemy weapons like the sword, the spear and arrows. In civilian use, it serves to make a statement about the owner. (What the Shield shows and represents has already been dealt with in the description by the College of Arms). Human beings need protection against all kinds of harm, do they not? The Shield is the symbol of protection.
6. The *Motto*
The *Truth* is not always easy to get hold of. Sometimes,it takes patience and persistence to arrive at it. It can be an uphill task, like trying to get to Commonwealth Hall.
*To be concluded.*
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