The Shield of the Trinity or Scutum Fidei (Latin for "shield of faith") is a traditional Christian visual symbol which expresses many aspects of the doctrine of the Trinity, summarizing the first part of the Athanasian Creed in a compact diagram. In late medieval Europe, this emblem was considered to be the heraldic arms of God, and of the Trinity.
This diagram consists of four nodes, generally circular in shape, interconnected by six links. The three nodes at the edge of the diagram are labelled with the names of the three persons of the Trinity, traditionally the Latin-language names, or scribal abbreviations thereof: The Father ("PATER"), The Son ("FILIUS"), and The Holy Spirit ("SPIRITUS SANCTUS").
The node in the center of the diagram, within the triangle formed by the other three nodes, is labelled God (Latin "DEUS"). The three links connecting the center node with the outer nodes are labelled "is" (Latin "EST"). The three links connecting the outer nodes to each other are labelled "is not" (Latin "NON EST").
The links are non-directional—this is emphasized in one thirteenth-century manuscript[1] by writing the link captions "EST" or "NON EST" twice as many times, going in both directions within each link. It is shown in some modern versions of the diagram by superimposing each occurrence of the "is" / "is not" text on a double-headed arrow ↔ rather than enclosing it within a link. So the following twelve propositions can be read off the diagram:
"The Father is God"
"The Son is God"
"The Holy Spirit is God"
"God is the Father"
"God is the Son"
"God is the Holy Spirit"
"The Father is not the Son"
"The Father is not the Holy Spirit"
"The Son is not the Father"
"The Son is not the Holy Spirit"
"The Holy Spirit is not the Father"
"The Holy Spirit is not the Son"
The Shield of the Trinity is not generally intended to be any kind of schematic diagram of the structure of God, but instead is merely a compact visual device from which the above statements, contained in or implied by the Athanasian Creed can be read off.
History
The earliest attested version of the diagram, from a manuscript of Peter of Poitiers' writings, c. 1210.Petrus Alfonsi's early 12th-century Tetragrammaton-Trinity diagram, a probable precursor to the Shield of the Trinity.From William Peraldus' Summa Vitiorum, c. 1255–1265. Includes e converso ("vice versa") in the link captions to clarify that links are bidirectional.
The precise origin of this diagram is unknown, but it was evidently influenced by 12th-century experiments in symbolizing the Trinity in abstract visual form—mainly by Petrus Alfonsi's Tetragrammaton-Trinity diagram of c. 1109, and possibly also by Joachim of Fiore's different Tetragrammaton-Trinity diagram of three circles, which led to the Borromean rings being used as a symbol of the Trinity,[2] in combination with the Athanasian Creed.
The Shield of the Trinity diagram is attested from as early as a c. 1208–1216 manuscript of Peter of Poitiers' Compendium Historiae in Genealogia Christi. The period of its most widespread use was during the 15th and 16th centuries, when it is in found in a number of English and French manuscripts and books (such as the Sherborne Missal[3]), and as part of stained-glass windows and ornamental carvings in a number of churches, many in East Anglia.
The diagram was used heraldically from the mid-13th century, when a shield-shaped version of the diagram, not actually placed on a shield, was included among the c. 1250 heraldic shields in Matthew Paris' Chronica Majora. The c. 1260 allegorical illustrations of a knight battling the seven deadly sins in a manuscript of William Peraldus' Summa Vitiorum, and of a woman penitent fending off diabolical attacks in the De Quincy Apocalypse, show the diagram placed on a shield. In the 15th century, one form of the Shield of the Trinity was considered to be the coat of arms of God, see discussion below.
The use of the diagram declined in England with the rise of Protestantism. From the 17th century to the early 19th century, it was mainly of interest to historians of heraldry. Beginning in the 19th century it underwent a limited revival as an actively used Christian symbol among English-speaking Christians, partly due to being included in books such as the 1865 Handbook of Christian Symbolism by William James Audsley and George Ashdown Audsley.
Name
The only name for this diagram which was in any regular use during the Middle Ages was "Scutum Fidei", a Latin phrase meaning "Shield of the Faith", taken from the Vulgate of Ephesians verse 6:16. For example, in this c. 1247–1258 manuscript of John of Wallingford's writings, the quote from Ephesians 6:16 is placed directly above the diagram.[1]
The particular phrase "Shield of the Trinity", which is now the most common name for the diagram in English, came into regular use in the 20th century. It is called in Latin Scutum Sancte Trinitatis or "Shield of the Holy Trinity" (where sancte is a medieval form for more classical sanctae) on the font in Crosthwaite Church, near Keswick, Cumbria, England. Other variant names are "Arms of the Trinity", "Shield of the Blessed Trinity", "Emblem of the Trinity", "Arms of the Faith", "Emblem of the Holy and Undivided Trinity", etc.
Variations
Some variations of the Shield of the Trinity diagram are shown in the image below:
Four variants of the "Shield of the Trinity"An 1833 reconstruction of the Agincourt banner of the Trinity
A shield-shaped version of the diagram placed on a red shield (heraldic "gules") was attributed as the arms of God (and of the Trinity) by heralds in 15th-century England and France. The "banner of the Trinity" which Jean Le Fevre, Seigneur of St. Remy, and Jehan de Wavrin attest that Henry V of England displayed at Agincourt would have been the same, but with the emblem on a red flag instead of a red shield. This coat of arms was given the following heraldic blazon in "On Sacred Heraldry" by E.L. Blackburne, attached as Appendix II to Emblems of the Saints, By which they are Distinguished in Works of Art by F. C. Husenbeth, edited by Augustus Jessopp, 3rd.ed. 1882:
Gules, an orle and pall Argent, conjoined and surmounted of four plates, occupying the dexter and sinister chief and the base and fess points respectively; the first inscribed "Pater", the second "Filius", and the third "Spiritus Sanctus", the centre "Deus"; the connecting portions of the orle between them having the words "non est", and those of the pall "est".
Other variant forms of the diagram have the lettering on nodes and links with a yellow background color (instead of white), since "or" (i.e. gold/yellow) is the other heraldic "metal" color. So the arms attributed to St. Faith in late medieval England consist of a diagram with lettering on yellow, placed on a red or blue shield, while the parish of the Forest, Guernsey uses a diagram with lettering on white or yellow nodes and links, placed on a green shield.
In the Middle Ages, the shield-shaped version of the diagram was sometimes imagined as a protective shield wielded by the Archangel Michael, or by an ordinary soul, in the spiritual warfare against dark forces described in Ephesians chapter 6, as in the c. 1260 allegorical illustrations in manuscripts of Peraldus' Summa Vitiorum and the De Quincy Apocalypse.
A symmetrical rounded form of the diagram with one vertex up and two down was popularized in the modern period by the Audsleys' Handbook of Christian Symbolism. This rounded form also occurs with one vertex down and two up. The outer node captions can be reduced to simple initials ("P", "F", and "SS"). On the coat of arms of Trinity Parish, Jersey shown below, all four node captions are reduced to single initials. In some late medieval English church decorations (such as the bench end at Holy Trinity church,[4]Blythburgh, Suffolk and the font at St John the Baptist church,[5]Butley, Suffolk) the four connected circles are intended as a symbol of the Trinity even when all text is omitted.
Many further slight artistic variations can occur in the relative sizes of nodes and links, their exact placement, in lettering styles, in further decorative elaboration, etc. Occasionally one or more of the outer nodes is drawn as a non-circular shape to fit within a space allotted.
The diagram can be color-coded in order to bring out the interrelationships between its elements more clearly. In the version included above, the positive or asserting parts of the diagram are shown in black, while the negative or denying parts of the diagram are in red. This is similar to the version of the Shield of the Trinity present in a 15th-century stained glass window in St. Peter and St. Paul church, Fressingfield, Suffolk, England, where only the positive or asserting parts of the diagram are shown—see link below.
A version of the diagram with translated English-language captions is shown in the illustration above. For simplicity, the definite article could also be left out of the English translations of the outer node captions, as in the next illustration below. In the Middle Ages, Latin was the liturgical language and main language of scholarship of Western Europe, so that Latin captions were then most often used. At least one old rendition of the diagram in another language is attested in the c. 1260 Anglo-Norman French allegorical illustration in the De Quincy Apocalypse.
Orientation of diagram, and placement of outer node captions
As the First Person of the Trinity, the Father is always in the most honorable position in the diagram. So in the form of the diagram with one vertex down, the caption "PATER" or Father is always placed in the top left node, which is heraldically the top right or "dexter chief", when considered from the point of view of someone holding the shield from behind. In the form of the diagram with one vertex up, the caption "PATER" or Father is always placed in the topmost node. The placement of the captions "FILIUS" or Son and "SPIRITUS SANCTUS" or Holy Spirit in the remaining two outer nodes can vary.
In the 13th-century versions of the diagram, the caption "FILIUS" is placed in the bottom node. Often a cross is drawn in the link between the center node and the bottom node, in order to symbolize the idea that the Second Person of the Trinity entered into the world (or that "The Word was made flesh", as is stated in a Latin annotation on the diagram included in Matthew Paris'Chronica Majora which quotes from the Vulgate of John verse 1:14). When this form of the Shield of the Trinity diagram with one vertex down is used after the 13th century, the Son is much more often placed in the top right node, and the Holy Spirit in the bottom node (as shown in the illustrations above).
The diagram below shows the earliest and most recent major variants of the "Shield of the Trinity" diagram: On the left, the form attested in various manuscripts c. 1208–1260 AD, and on the right the form popularized among some English-speaking Protestants in recent years by Paul P. Enns' 1989 book The Moody Handbook of Theology and H. Wayne House's 1992 book Charts of Christian Theology and Doctrine. Note that in the 13th-century manuscripts, the cross is often drawn as a detailed artistic illumination of Christ on the cross, which is not attempted here.
The earliest and most recent major variations of the "Shield of the Trinity" diagram.
A few authors of 20th-century books on Christian symbolism (such as Edward N. West in Outward Signs: The Language of Christian Symbolism, 1989) have been of the opinion that the form of the diagram with one vertex down and the captions "PATER" and "FILIUS" in the two top nodes is more appropriate for Western Christianity with its Filioque. The form of the diagram with one vertex up represents more closely the doctrine of the Trinity in Eastern Christianity (without the Filioque)—though this hyper-refined interpretation does not agree with 13th-century usage, nor with the use of versions of the diagram with one vertex up by modern Catholics and Protestants.
Links to depictions of the Shield of the Trinity diagram
Arms attributed to St. Michael in the 15th century.A full "coat of arms of God" in the Wernigerode Armorial, Southern Germany, c. 1490, with blue shield color, instead of the red used for the coat of arms of God in England.Triangular form of the diagram with one vertex up, as found in an 1896 bookThe modern coat of arms of the Anglican diocese of Trinidad.Coat of arms of Trinity Parish, Jersey, Channel Islands.
Folio 38r of the Abingdon Apocalypse (British Museum additional manuscript 42555, c. 1262) contains a form of the Shield of the Trinity, according to the Michael Evans journal article, without text, and with a superimposed central cross.
The diagrams in Matthew Paris' Chronica Majora and the De Quincy Apocalypse (Lambeth palace ms. 209, folio 53r) are not online, but are shown in the Michael Evans journal article. A full-page color reproduction of the Lambeth Apocalypse illustration is on page 48 of the Rodney Dennys book.
Banner for the first Sunday of Trinity, in seasonal liturgical colors of white and green, with symbols of the three Persons of the Trinity — North Salem Lutheran Church, Sandusky, Ohio
Elaborate stained-glass window with symbolic representations of the three persons of the Trinity filling the three outer nodes — Trinity Episcopal Church, Lawrence, Kansas (photo is contained in PDF file on all the stained-glass windows in the church)
The Eye of Providence or All-Seeing Eye is a symbol depicting an eye, often enclosed in a triangle and surrounded by rays of light or a halo, intended to represent Providence, as the eye watches over the workers of mankind. A well-known example of the Eye of Providence appears on the reverse of the Great Seal of the United States, which is depicted on the United States one-dollar bill.
A wool church is an English church financed primarily by donations from rich merchants and farmers who had benefitted from the medieval wool trade, hoping to ensure a place in heaven due to their largesse.
The Tree of Jesse is a depiction in art of the ancestors of Jesus Christ, shown in a branching tree which rises from Jesse of Bethlehem, the father of King David. It is the original use of the family tree as a schematic representation of a genealogy.
St Machar's Cathedral is a Church of Scotland church in Aberdeen, Scotland, located to the north of the city centre, in the former burgh of Old Aberdeen. Technically, St Machar's is no longer a cathedral but rather a high kirk, as it has not been the seat of a bishop since 1690.
Barsham is a village and civil parish in the East Suffolk district of the English county of Suffolk. It is about 2 miles (3.2 km) west of Beccles, south of the River Waveney on the edge of The Broads National Park. It is spread either side of the B1062 Beccles to Bungay road.
The three hares is a circular motif appearing in sacred sites from East Asia, the Middle East and the churches of Devon, England, and historical synagogues in Europe. It is used as an architectural ornament, a religious symbol, and in other modern works of art or a logo for adornment, jewelry, and a coat of arms on an escutcheon. It is viewed as a puzzle, a visual challenge, and has been rendered as sculpture, drawing, and painting.
Thomas Willement was an English stained glass artist and writer, called "the father of Victorian stained glass", active from 1811 to 1865.
Clayton and Bell was one of the most prolific and proficient British workshops of stained-glass windows during the latter half of the 19th century and early 20th century. The partners were John Richard Clayton (1827–1913) and Alfred Bell (1832–1895). The company was founded in 1855 and continued until 1993. Their windows are found throughout the United Kingdom, in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Christian symbolism is the use of symbols, including archetypes, acts, artwork or events, by Christianity. It invests objects or actions with an inner meaning expressing Christian ideas.
Attributed arms are Western European coats of arms given retrospectively to persons real or fictitious who died before the start of the age of heraldry in the latter half of the 12th century. Once coats of arms were the established fashion of the ruling class, society expected a king to be armigerous. Arms were assigned to the knights of the Round Table, and then to biblical figures, to Roman and Greek heroes, and to kings and popes who had not historically borne arms. Individual authors often attributed different arms for the same person, although the arms for major figures eventually became fixed.
In architecture, flushwork is decorative masonry work which combines on the same flat plane flint and ashlar stone. If the stone projects from a flat flint wall then the term is proudwork, as the stone stands "proud" rather than being "flush" with the wall.
The coat of arms of the Holy See combines two crossed keys and a tiara, used as the official emblem of the Holy See, and by extension the wider Catholic Church. These forms have origins attested from the 14th century. The combination of one gold and one silver key is a somewhat later development.
Paul Vincent Woodroffe was a British book illustrator and stained-glass artist.
Lawrence Stanley Lee was a British stained glass artist whose work spanned the latter half of the 20th century. He was best known for leading the project to create ten windows for the nave of the new Coventry Cathedral. His other work includes windows at Guildford and Southwark Cathedrals as well as a great number of works elsewhere in the UK, and some in Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
The Church of the Holy Trinity is a Grade I listed parish church of the Church of England in Long Melford, Suffolk, England. It is one of 310 medieval English churches dedicated to the Holy Trinity.
St Mary's Church is a Church of England church in Fairford, Gloucestershire, England. It is notable for its complete set of 28 medieval stained-glass windows, one of the best-preserved in England. Part of the tower dates from the early 15th century. The church was rebuilt at the end of the 15th century by John Tame (c.1430–1500), a wealthy local wool merchant. It is a Grade I listed building in the Perpendicular style.
St. James's Church is a Roman Catholic church located in the center of Liège, Belgium. Originally the abbey church of Saint James Abbey, founded in 1015 by Prince-Bishop Balderic II, successor of Notker, it later became Saint James's Collegiate Church, following the destruction of Saint Peter's Collegiate Church. After the Concordat of 1801, Saint James became a parish church. The main cloister of the abbey was transformed into a public park, and the abbey buildings were demolished.
"The Heraldic Imagination" by Rodney Dennys (1975). (Good historic and heraldic references)
"An Illustrated Fragment of Peraldus's Summa of Vice: Harleian MS 3244" by Michael Evans in Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, vol. 45 (1982), pp.14–68. JSTOR750966(Contains descriptions and photos of most known surviving 13th-century diagrams, including experimental attempts to use the basic structure of the diagram for other purposes)
"Church Symbolism: An Explanation of the more Important Symbols of the Old and New Testament, the Primitive, the Mediaeval and the Modern Church" by Frederick Roth Webber (2nd. edition, 1938). OCLC236708(Convenient overview from the point of view of Christian symbolism; also, the earliest attestation of the exact phrase "Shield of the Trinity" that I can find)
"Handbook of Christian Symbolism" by William James Audsley and George Ashdown Audsley (1865). (Probably the earliest significant source for the 19th-century revival of use)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
