Coat of Arms
The Master’s Badge
Arms were first granted to the Company on 17th May 1476, but the elephant and castle crest was not granted until 1622. The original blazon reads:
‘Gules, three pairs of swords in saltire argent, hilts and pommels or Crest:
An elephant’s head couped gules, armed or’
The elephant is presumed to allude to the ivory employed in the work of hafting swords, knives and other weapons, a costly material only fit for the best of implements.
The motto was originally ‘Pervenir a bonne foy’, which later became ‘Pour Parvenir a bonne foy’ — ‘To succeed through good faith.’