Spheres and Globes

The universe is depicted as a celestial sphere, usually as a frame encompassed by a band with signs of the Zodiac. John Guillim provides an illustration of a celestial sphere with the Earth contained in its centre. This reveals the conundrum faced in designing and creating celestial spheres: the view they represent is for someone in their centre, looking out. For an observer looking at the outer surface, all is back to front - flipped East to West.

The armillary sphere features more often than the celestial globe. The difference is that the armillary sphere focuses on how the sky works, while the celestial globe shows where the stars are, as an inverted map of the night sky. An armillary sphere is depicted as a series of interlocking rings representing celestial circles, such as the equator, ecliptic, and meridians. It is a common symbol in Portuguese heraldry, featuring in both the national coat of arms and flag. It was also associated with Brazil but has been replaced in their national flag with a celestial globe, as revealed in the arrangement of the stars of the Southern Cross and surrounding constellations. The stars appear as seen from the heart of the globe - an interesting perspective as Brazil hosts The Earthshot Prize 2025.

In heraldry, celestial and terrestrial globes, and spheres, feature more often in crests than on shields. In James Fairbairn’s Book of Crests of the Families of Great Britain and Ireland, first published in 1859, a crest described simply as “Two Globes” is shown. It’s quite the dog’s bollocks - this impressive crest depicts nothing less than the heavens and the earth. Land masses can be made out on the first. A band encircling the second confirms its celestial character.

Terrestrial and Celestial Globes, as in Fairbairn’s Book of Crests, by Vadym Burla ACWS

The “Two Globes” crest is given by Fairbairn for Ormsby, Ireland and Spottiswoode of Dunipace in Scotland. However, the crest granted in 1758 to James Spottiswoode of Dunipace, has a different blazon in the Public Register: The Southern and Northern Hemispheres.

Celestial Sphere from Fairbairn’s “Book of Crests of the Families of Great Britain and Ireland”, 1859, republished 1905 (archive.org)

A highly unusual example of a celestial sphere in a stand is depicted for the crest of “Peeris” in Elven’s Book of Family Crests, first published in 1839. This representation of the cosmos lies between two polar stars:
A celestial sphere in a stand, above it on the dexter side an etoile, and below it on the sinister the same

Celestial Sphere between two estoiles from Elven’s “Book of Family Crests” (1839) (archive.org)

Although this crest might be considered fine for ‘paper heraldry’, the original intention of crests to be worn above the helm should not be forgotten. Would the polar stars be suspended on wires? This crest bears similarities to the arms of Erasmus Dryden, which features an armillary sphere between estoiles on his shield. The armillary sphere is also present in Dryden’s crest, but without stars and sustained in the paw of a lion.

In 1558 the British astronomer John Field (c.1525-1587) was granted a crest:

A dexter Arm issuing out of clouds fesswise proper habited Gules, holding in the hand also proper an Armillary Sphere Or

This crest was awarded for “his services to the science of navigation”. Had John Field been invited to ride at one of the Elizabethan tournaments, this crest upon his helm, would the sphere have revealed what Field believed lay at its centre? Even as paper heraldry, his armillary sphere carried profound symbolic weight and shows great courage.

John Field was the first English astronomer to recognise and assert the principles of the Copernican philosophy, which placed the Sun at the centre of the universe rather than the Earth. His crest was granted at a time when the heliocentric model was not only radical but directly challenged religious doctrine, both Catholic and Protestant. That such an emblem was officially granted, in acknowledgment of his scientific achievements published in 1557 and 1558 and during the reign of Queen Mary, speaks not only to Field’s own boldness but also to the willingness of the College of Arms to sanction, if not endorse, a symbol tied to a highly controversial scientific revolution. Did they truly understand the implications or was the design deliberately ambiguous, a sphere with no clear centre? The hand emerging from clouds and presenting the sphere symbolises divine guidance, but the heliocentric model was still regarded as heresy 75 years later when Galileo Galilei was placed under house arrest.

Alexander Deuchar’s British Crests, published in 1817, is a key source and inspiration for Elven and Fairbairn’s later publications. Deuchar describes the crest of Ormsby, Ireland as two globes, proper but emblazons this crest as two spheres. There are spheres and then there are spheres. Deuchar gives the crest for Peeres, Westdown, Kent as a sphere, Or, at the north and south pole an etoile of the last. This armillary sphere, depicted in the plates without the etoiles, appears to show at its centre a terrestrial globe, making sense of the alignment of the polar stars. The contrast between this and John Field’s sphere is not immediately obvious. Deuchar’s emblazonment for ‘Feld, Yorkshire’ discreetly hides what lies within the sphere, yet it is fundamentally different and the sun has no polar stars.

Feld, Yorkshire, a dexter arm fessways issuing out of a cloud, proper, vested, gules, holding a sphere, or; from Deuchar’s “British Crests” (1817) (archive.org)

In the Visitation of Yorkshire, 1585 there is no mention of a cloud, and the arm is vested gules, ruffled proper. Was Deuchar not in favour of ruffles, even the ruffled men’s shirts of Regency fashion? Fairbairn, also with a cloud, wraps the arm in armour and presents us with an armillary sphere but not what lies at its core.

Field of East Ardesley, Yorkshire from Fairbairn’s “Book of Crests” (1859) (archive.org)

James Pont, in his Collections of the Blazons of the Nobility and Gentry in Scotland, 1624 has the following blazon for Pont of Shires Mill:

Argent, a rainbow proper, between two stars in chief Gules, and a galley ship in base Sable
Crest: a sphere Azure, beautified with six of the celestial signs, environing the terrestrial globe, all proper

Deuchar has the same emblazonment of the sphere for both ‘Pont of Shyrs Mill’ and ‘Peeres, Westdown, Kent’.

The crest of Pont of Shires Mill by Vadym Burla

This crest, reflecting the deep interest in astrology of Reverend Robert Pont of Shiresmill (1524-1606), is equally fitting for his second son, Reverend Timothy Pont (c.1564-c.1614), one of Scotland’s greatest mapmakers. The maps he created, based on original surveys undertaken in the 1590s, are “the earliest surviving detailed maps of Scotland” and among the National Library of Scotland’s greatest treasures. These maps were not published during Timothy Pont’s lifetime. They remained within the family until they were bought by the antiquary and historian Sir James Balfour of Denmilne (1600-57), Lord Lyon King of Arms.

Terrestrial globes were prized possessions aboard ship for early voyages of discovery and in the libraries of scholarly landlubbers. Drake’s crest features a globe with his ship ‘Golden Hind’ balancing upon it (the ship was itself named after a heraldic crest). Captain John Martin, who sailed with Drake in 1585-86, had a celestial globe in his crest. Emery Molyneux (d.1598) created the earliest known globes made in England, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. The globes he produced in 1592 were financed by the merchant William Sanderson, who was rewarded with a new crest by Royal command “with an addition of a Globe Terrestriall, affixed to the Sun in Lustre, proper”

The first documented grant of a terrestrial globe was in the crest of Juan Sebastián Elcano (1476–1526). He was the navigator on Magellan’s circumnavigation who led the group of 18 survivors back to Spain. His arms and crest were granted by King Charles I of Spain in 1523. The crest features a globe and a scroll with the words “Primus circumdedisti me”, you first encircled me.

Heraldic achievement of Juan Sebastián Elcano (Wikimedia: Heralder)

Sir William Herschel (1738-1822) was granted a demi-globe in his crest. Herschel was an astronomer who discovered the planet Uranus with a telescope of his own design, observing from the garden of his home in Bath. His shield features a 40-foot reflecting telescope with its apparatus and “the astronomical symbol of Uranus” on a chief. Herschel’s reflecting telescope also appears on the seal of the Royal Astronomical Society. The blazon for Herschel’s crest is:

A demi terrestrial sphere proper thereon an eagle wings elevated Or

Crest of Sir William Herschel by Vadym Burla

Arms of Sir William Herschel (Wikimedia: MostEpic, restyled)

The Earls of Hopetoun, including the 7th Earl, who was the first Governor General of Australia, have a symbol of ‘hope’ that suggests the worst has already happened:
A broken terrestrial globe, surmounted by a rainbow with clouds at each end all proper

Crest of the Earls of Hopetoun and the Chief

 of Clan Hope by Vadym Burla

Terrestrial globes appear in the posthumous arms of Captain James Cook, the historical emblem of the Royal Geographical Society, insignia of the Royal Marines, crests of The Royal Society of Arts and The Royal Company of Merchants of The City of Edinburgh, and in the corporate arms of the B.B.C. The crest for Manchester City Council, granted 1842, symbolises the worldwide trade of the city and its identity as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution with: a Terrestrial Globe semée of Bees* volant all proper

* For an introduction to the fascinating subject of bees in heraldry, see The Journey of the Bee in The Herald.

French Naval Officer Hyacinthe Yves Philippe Potentien, Baron de Bougainville added a globe to his arms and those of his father Louis-Antoine de Bougainville, a famous navigator after whom the Bougainvillea was named, as well as several places across the Pacific.

An exceptional example of the globe in modern heraldry is its use as the compartment in the armorial achievement of the former Governor General of Canada, Julie Payette, where, along with her unique helm, the compartment reinforces her identity as an astronaut.

Rather than a globe, the emblem of the United Nations depicts a world map framed by two olive branches. The map is based on an unusual projection, an azimuthal equidistant projection centred on the North Pole, extending to 60 degrees south latitude. It shows the landmasses of both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, with the exception of Antarctica (“all inhabited continents”). This projection was chosen for its symbolic perspective - “to represent the equal status of all nations” - not for its cartographic accuracy.

Flag of the United Nations (Public Domain)

The Mercator projection, developed by Gerardus Mercator (1512-1594) for his 1569 world map, became the standard map projection for navigation in the 18th century due to its property of representing rhumb lines as straight lines. The map’s title was: “Nova et Aucta Orbis Terrae Descriptio ad Usum Navigantium Emendata”, A new and augmented description of Earth corrected for the use of sailors.

Portrait of Gerardus Mercator by Hendrick Goltzius (attributed), after Frans Hogenberg, 1574, Rijksmuseum

There were two problems preventing its immediate application: the impossibility of determining the longitude at sea with adequate accuracy and the fact that magnetic directions, instead of geographical directions, were used in navigation. Mercator understood and tried to address these issues. In 1554 he presented his ideas in “Declaratio insigniorum utilitatum quae sunt in globo terrestri : coelesti, et annulo astronomico”, A description of the most important applications of the terrestrial and celestial globes and the astronomical ring, observing that magnetic compasses are attracted to a single pole, the North Magnetic Pole, which inconveniently is not at the Geographic North Pole, and which also moves about over time. Mercator demonstrated how to calculate its position by measuring the deviation at two positions on the earth. This is the deviation between true north, as identified by astronomical observations, and the reading of a compass. Mercator calculated that the North Magnetic Pole was then located at latitude 73° 2' and longitude 169° 34'. Only in the middle of the 18th century, after the marine chronometer was invented and the spatial distribution of magnetic declination was known, could the Mercator projection be fully adopted by navigators. Today “Web Mercator Projection” is the de facto standard for web mapping applications.

The Royal Navy gave Scottish naval officer John Ross (1777-1856) command of an Arctic expedition in 1818 to attempt to answer the question of a North West Passage. The expedition was unsuccessful, Ross misled by a mirage that appeared to show mountains at the end of a strait. In 1829 he set off on a private mission to Baffin Bay together with his nephew James Clark Ross (1800-1862). In 1831, with their ship caught in the ice, James Clark Ross crossed the Boothia Peninsula and became the first European to reach the North Magnetic Pole. The success of this expedition, which earned Sir John Ross a knighthood, was likely due to his willingness to befriend and learn from Inuit. James Clark Ross went on to explore the Arctic and Antarctic. He was one of the principal participants in the British Magnetic Survey and was knighted in 1844.

The original arms of John Ross, not recorded in the Public Register in Scotland, are given as: Gules, three estoiles in chevron between as many lions rampant Argent.

Initial arms of John Ross (1777-1856), Royal Navy Officer and Arctic Explorer (lion Wikimedia: David Liuzzo)

In addition to his knighthood, Sir John Ross was granted an augmentation of honour by the College of Arms with a blazon that must have had the calligrapher cursing as the letters patent were prepared:
A chief Or, thereon a portion of the terrestrial globe Proper the true meridian described thereon by a line passing from north to south Sable with the Arctic circle Azure within which the place of the magnetic pole in latitude 70° 5′ 17″ and longitude 96° 46′ 45″ West, designated by an inescutcheon Gules charged with a lion passant guardant of the first; the magnetic meridian shown by a line of the fourth passing through the inescutcheon with a correspondent circle, also Gules to denote more particularly the said place of the magnetic pole; the words following inscribed on the chief, viz., “Arctæos Numine Fines” (by the will of God, the North Pole)

Arms of Sir John Ross (1777-1856), Royal Navy Officer and Arctic Explorer (lion Wikimedia: David Liuzzo)

James Parker, in A Glossary of Terms used in Heraldry (1894), describes this as “A remarkable example of late heraldic invention, and one of the worst.” In order to illustrate or emblazon this detailed and specific chief, the heraldic artist needs the skills of a cartographer. An example of the John Ross heraldic achievement is included in Heraldry: A Pictorial Archive for Artists & Designers by Arthur Charles Fox-Davies but it fails in the detail. Besides showing the position of the magnetic pole somewhere north of Iceland rather than at the stated latitude and longitude, Fox-Davies depicts both the true meridian and the magnetic meridian passing through the Geographical North Pole. The point of the magnetic meridian is precisely that it does not pass through the Geographical North Pole. Navigators need to calculate its angular variation (magnetic declination) to correct their headings from compass bearings. The true meridian is shown as a straight vertical line between the poles and the position of the observer. The magnetic meridian is at an angle, an arc tracing the curve of the magnetic field through the North Magnetic Pole and the position of the observer.

Detail of the chief showing the position of the North Magnetic Pole in 1831, with the Magnetic Meridian and True Meridian and a circle within the inescutcheon

The design of this augmentation serves partly to demonstrate the principle and surely presented a challenge for the Herald Painter of the College of Arms. The terrestrial globe proper was undoubtedly simplified on the letters patent. Here it uses satellite imagery from Esri.

The inescutcheon and circle appear to provide levels of detail, like mapping at different scales. The location of the North Magnetic Pole is initially identified by the shield with the lion passant guardant. On closer inspection, the circle at the centre of the lion provides a more precise position on the globe. The tincture of the meridian line is ‘of the fourth’, which would be Azure if ‘proper’ is counted as the second. Presumably it is not, otherwise the line would be lost in the Arctic circle and fail to contrast with the natural colours of the earth. The next, Gules, the fourth specified tincture, works well for the line and ‘circle, also Gules’. In modern blazons a repetition of the tincture is preferred for clarity and precision, rather than referencing ’the first’, ‘the fourth’ or ‘of the last’.

Now, I must ask, by what sorcery does the Marquess of Lansdowne manage to point magnetic needles to polar stars?

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