U.S. Heraldic Registry
Registration of contemporary and historical American heraldry
Quincy House, Harvard University
Registration number 20060927L
This certifies that the heraldic arms of Quincy House, Harvard University in honor of President Josiah Quincy are registered and described by the blazon below
Source
Joo-Hee Chung, "What are the meanings of the house and graduate school shields?", Harvard Crimson 11/01/2001
Design rationale
Quincy’s first master, Professor John M. Bullitt, chose the Quincy House coat-of-arms after consulting with Professor Mark DeWolfe Howe, a lineal descendent of President Josiah Quincy. The Quincy shield consists of a red background with seven mascles (lozenges) in gold. The term mascle is from Latin “maculus” meaning “spot,” which in this context means a mesh in chain-mail. The term mail is not approved by heraldic experts because it leaves some ambiguity as to whether the lozenges are hollow or filled. However, second House Master Charles W. Dunn noted that, “members of Quincy House, cheerfully undisturbed by this detail, have appropriated the term as the title of the House journal and have even used it at times in reference to members of House teams.”
Registered by
Michael Swanson
Categories
Roll of Arms
Policies
