Kitley Heritage - Heraldry Plantagenet impaling Hainault

1/ Quarterly 1 & 4 Azure powdered with fleur de lys or 2 & 3 Gules three lions passant guardant or Impaling Or four lions 1 & 4 sable 2 & 3 gules – Plantagenet impaling Hainault

This is the first of the four shields above the main entrance, with which the heraldic display in the hallway, and the various lines of descent as intended to be viewed by onlookers, as designed to begin. For, as will be revealed in the notes which follow, the shields are not haphazardly placed, but conform to an overall pattern, hence the order which has been chosen for their discussion in this guide – the accompanying outline heraldic “tree” also demonstrates this point.

The marriage signified by this first impalement is that of Kind Edward III to Phillippa of Hainault in 1328. This particular royal coat of arms, displaying France quartering England, was only adopted by the English monarchy upon the accession of Edward III to the throne the year before his marriage. The royal name itself originates from the marriage of Matilda, daughter of King Henry I, last of the Norman Kings of England, to Geoffrey, Count of Anjou – Geoffrey d’Anjou wore as his insignia a sprig of the broom flower, the “planta genista”, in his lapel. Their son was to become King Henry II, the first of the Plantagenet Kings. During this period the Plantagenets were the most powerful dynasty in Western Europe, ruling an Angevin Empire – so named from their power base in Anjou – which stretched from the Cheviots to the Pyrenees, and their influence stretched far beyond these frontiers. They are related to all of the ancient royal blood lines of Europe, and were to rule England for 331 years.

The significance of this shield to the Bastard ancestry will be revealed anon.