revised November 2006
Heraldry has flourished in South Africa for three and a half centuries. It followed Dutch, and later British, practice and style until the 1970s, when the country's new heraldic authority - the Bureau of Heraldry - began to introduce new features, in order to create a distinctive South African heraldic idiom.
This page highlights those innovations. There may well be others too: any additional information will be welcome.
Charges
In addition to the wide range of charges found in European heraldry, South Africa has adapted many indigenous creatures, plants, and traditional African items, to heraldic use. They include: animals, birds, fish, flowers and plants, trees, African beadwork, huts, rock art, and weapons.
Coronets
Coronets are popular in crests and, to a lesser extent, as charges in arms. In addition to the range of coronets found in British and European heraldry, e.g. the ancient crown, astral crown, ducal coronet, and naval crown, there are several SA designs, most of them unique. They include the fir-twig coronet, the protea coronet, and a coronet of four fleurs de lis alternating with four pearls, which doesn't seem to have acquired a definitive name as yet.
Crosses
In addition to the range of traditional heraldic crosses which have been transplanted from Europe, SA has the Huguenot cross (d), and four crosses devised by the Bureau of Heraldry: (a) the bow and arrow cross, (b) the fir-twigged cross, (c) the gable cross, and (e) the protea cross.
Family Association Arms
A number of families have formed associations, some of which have registered arms. Since 1966, the standard design for family association arms has been the shield of the historical family arms (or a new coat) with the addition of a blank chief. Members of the association may display the arms, e.g. on plaques, and those who want to adopt personal arms for themselves and their descendants can simply place some suitable marks of difference on the chief, and add a crest if they wish. The differenced arms can be registered and matriculated.
Lines
The Bureau of Heraldry has modified some of the traditional European lines to create new effects, usually suggesting landscape, e.g. "broad fitchy couped", "dancetty the points embattled", and "embattled in the form of minedumps".
The Bureau has also developed some new lines, inspired by South African architecture and scenery, such as "cupolaed", "gably", and "nowy of a Karoo gable".
Mural Crowns
The mural crown is widely used in municipal arms. Sometimes it forms part of a crest, but more often than not it takes the place of the crest. There are nine South African patterns.
School and College Arms
The Bureau has devised basic patterns for the arms of special schools, technical colleges, and technikons.
The arms of special schools (for mentally handicapped children) are characterised by fields divided "per chevron the peak ensigned with a potent". Those of technical colleges feature a demi-cogwheel, usually with trefly teeth. And the last few technikon arms that were designed were divided "per fess nowy of a trimount to base".
Trefly lines, trefoils, trimounts, and triquetras appear in many school and college arms, to represent the trio of learner, teacher, and parent.
Shields
The "heater" shape shield is the norm, but since the early 1970s African shield shapes have also been used when appropriate. Several dozen arms, mostly municipal and corporate, which use African shields, have been registered. The most widely used African shield is the oval Nguni (Xhosa or Zulu) shield. The others are the irregularly-shaped Sotho and Tswana shields.
It might be argued that the use of these shields is not a South African innovation because the College of Arms used them when designing national arms for some newly independent African countries in the 1960s. However, I've included them because they have become an integral part of modern South African heraldry, and their use covers four major categories of arms: personal, corporate, official and municipal.
Tinctures
South Africa uses the standard armorial palette transplanted from Europe, together with a few colours which are usually described in British books as "stains", and one (ochre), which appears to be original. Furs are relatively scarce, and those that are used from time to time are ermine, ermines, and vair.
— "Finnish Influence on SA Heraldic Design" in Arma 116 (1986)
Bureau of Heraldry Database
