The Baker Coat of Arms

The following data is extracted from Baker Family Records.

A COAT of Arms is an emblem or a device which is displayed by titled persons, persons of royal blood, and their descendants. Coats of 6N Arms were originally used for purposes of identification and recognition on the field of battle as well as in civil life.

It is claimed by some writers that Coats of Arms, in a crude form, were used by Noah's sons after the flood. There are records of other Coats of Arms, in one crude form or another, at different periods of ancient history. Heraldry, however, as we know it today, did not become of much importance until soon after the invasion of England by William the Conqueror, A. D. 1066. Heraldry became of general interest at about the time of the Crusades.

The Baker Coat of Arms shown in the front of this volume is the Arms used by the Bakers of County Kent, England, and by the Baronets. The southern family also uses this Coat of Arms, and Coats of Arms very similar to it are used by numerous branches of the Baker family.

This is the most widely used of all Baker Coats of Arms. It is described in BURKE'S GENERAL ARMORY, BURKE'S LANDED GENTRY, BURKE'S PEERAGE AND BARONETAGE, and other reliable works on heraldry, in some cases accompanied by illustrations. Crozier records it for Thomas Baker who settled in Massachusetts in 1635, and it has been used for generations by his descendants and by many other American branches of the Baker family.

HERALDIC LANGUAGE ENGLISH DESCRIPTION
Arms....... Argent, on a saltire engrailed sable, five escallops of the field, on a chief of the second, a lion passant of the first. A silver shield, bearing, below a silver lion passant on a black field, a black cross on which are five silver shells.
Crest...... A dexter arm embowed, vested azure, cuffed argen, hand proper, grasping an arrow of the last. A right arm in a blue and silver sleeve, the hand grasping a silver arrow
Motto...... Fidea Coticula Crux. (Latin) The Cross is the touchstone of faith.

In heraldry, a saltire or St. Andrew's cross is symbolic of courage, and the reward of those who have scaled the walls of towns. Engrailed lines denote the possession of land. Escallops or shells were granted to those crusaders who were truly noble. The lion has always had a high place in heraldry. The arrow signifies martial readiness.

Sir Bernard Burke, of Heralds College, London, said "Heraldry is prized by all who can show honorable ancestry or wish to found honorable families."

Besides its family significance this Coat of Arms makes an excellent mural decoration and inspires the admiration and comment of all who see it.

It is quite appropriate that members of the Baker family who have a pride in their ancestry should display the family Coat of Arms in proper colors.

Source: Baker Family Records

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