ST WILFRID'S THREE ESTOILES (OR)

You might have seen this card before as part of an earlier posting on Ripon. The card was a bit of a mystery to me. I kept working on it and have come up with a solution to half the problem that presented itself to me. It incorporates two heraldic elements: the Three Stars of Saint Wilfrid on the right and the insignia of the Diocese of Ripon and Leeds.

I am awaiting still for more information on the insignia of the Diocese of Ripon and Leeds. It has something to do with St. Peter to be sure.

I still have no idea of the publisher.

But I have had some luck with the Three Stars of Saint Wilfrid. If you look carefully you can see that it is a doctored photographic image. That struck me as strange in itself. I think it is an early form of 'cut and paste'! Where did it come from? It had to be somewhere in Ripon.

The investigation deepened when I went looking for the Three Stars of Wilfrid. I discovered that the Heraldic term for these stars is actually an 'estoile'. My language experience told me that this was an old French form of 'étoile'. The other word for a star in heraldry is a 'mullet'. The difference lies in the wavy arms of the 'estoile'. An 'estoile' normally has six or more arms but in this case there are just five wavy arms.

Different.

Three 'estoiles' or - three golden stars - on a blue shield that looks decidedly Renaissance in form. There are terms for the shield too! In English it is called a 'targe' from the Italian 'scudo a targa' - a Renaissance elaboration with a slit to rest the tilting lance on the side, typical of Germanic countries.

This gave a very general date to the device - the Renaissance!
Not really mediaeval.

Az. three estoiles or.
Three stars of divers rays (or).

These were phrases used by some of the early 19th century guide books to describe the insignia of Wilfrid. But they also told me where to look in Ripon for the three stars. There are three examples in Ripon. One was on a spectacular piece of carving that you can see in the photo of the Choir in my last posting.

It is described thus: "The Bishop's throne was originally occupied by the Archbishops of York. The Jacobean canopy, which succeeded that of the fifteenth century, comprised the space of two stalls, as did also the modern structure by which it was itself succeeded and which is now in the Consistory Court. The present canopy resembles those of the other stalls but is higher and more elaborate. Upon the back of the throne inside is a small mitre. The finial in front consists of an elephant carrying a man in his trunk, and bearing on his back a castle filled with armed soldiery, and in front of the elephant is a centaur (renewed), the shaft under which is again of open-work. The end of this desk displays a large mitre above a shield charged with the three stars of St. Wilfrid and supported by two angels, between whom is a scroll with the date 1494."

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/25800/25800.txt

It took some time to get a photo of the side of the Bishop's Throne but I've added it too at the right. Note the Elephant. 1494! The Elephant and Castle - the name of many an Australian pub.

The first historically recorded elephant in northern Europe, the animal brought by emperor Claudius during the Roman invasion of Britain in AD 43 to the British capital of Colchester.

The Elephant and Castle might be a pun involving the wife of Edward I - La Infanta de Castilla but ..... that is another story.

Any help on the meaning of the Insignia of the Diocese of Ripon and Leeds is most welcome. The colours are red and white.