15

A Brief Introduction to Heraldry

Above the entrance of the main building of the Mining Academy in Akademiestrasse 6 the coat of arms of the Elector of Saxony has been chiseled into the sandstone. You will have to use your imagination to add the colours. The coat of arms shows horizontal black and golden bars – there have to be nine – and the arching crancelin of the undifferenced coat of arms of the House of Ascania. Two red electorial swords in the other half are usually depicted on a black-and-white background; they are the swords that mark the famous Meissen porcelain. The Saxon elector held the office of Archimarescallus, an important honour within the electorial college that had the privilege to elect the German king, who traditionally claimed the right to be crowned Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire by the pope.
The elector’s hat – similar in shape to the traditional ducal hat – is a sign of this privilege. It is lined with purple velvet and has a trimming of precious ermine fur and can be depicted as the coronet above or as a charge on the shield of a coat of arms.