MUNICIPAL ACTIVITIES OF LEICESTER 79 
In the year 1919 their present Majesties King George and Queen Mary 
officially visited the city, and in commemoration of that occasion by 
Royal Warrant restored to the city their civic title, and in 1928 by Royal 
Warrant the title of Lord Mayor was conferred upon its Chief Magistrate. 
Leicester is proud of its ancient history, and it may be fitting to con- 
clude with a short description of the Arms of the City. 
The Arms of the City of Leicester are held by prescription and not by 
grant, and date back earlier than the College of Heralds itself. ‘The 
circumstances attending the user of portions of the Arms are lost in the 
mysteries of the past. The cinquefoil, forming the centre-piece, probably 
takes its origin from the following circumstances. 
After the Conquest, the Norman earls controlled the small centres of 
population, which then constituted the boroughs, and the townsmen were 
the earl’s men who followed him, each using the device effected by their 
respective lords. The cinquefoil was the device adopted by Robert 
de Beaumont, first Earl of Leicester, and used by Fitz Parnel, one of his 
successors. It was commonly used and adopted at that time by the 
burgesses as their device. Its origin is uncertain. 
The Wyvern, which appears as the crest upon the helmet, is derived 
from Thomas, Earl of Lancaster and Leicester. It appears upon his seal 
in 1301. Itis described in Boutell’s English Heraldry Book as ‘ a fabulous 
creature, being a species of dragon with two legs and represented with its 
tail nowed, that is to say, coiled in a knot as a snake.’ It would appear 
probable, that the Wyvern was used by the men of Leicester from the 
earliest times. It is recorded in the early days of the Wars of the Roses, 
that the followers of each lord were led to the field under distinctive 
banners, which were emblazoned with well-known crests or heraldic 
emblems. The townsmen played a conspicuous part in the battle of 
Towton Moor on the Yorkists’ side, and it is recorded that they met 
under their various banners: the Black Ram of Coventry, the Ship of 
Bristol, the Dragon of Gloucester and the Griffin of Leicester. ‘The 
Griffin is the Wyvern referred to. 
The Arms of the City were confirmed in 1681, in the reign of Charles II, 
and upon the charter already referred to, granted by his present Majesty, 
restoring the title of the civic dignity to the city, the College of Heralds 
granted supporters—‘ on either side a lion reguardant Gules gorged with 
a Ducal Coronet suspended therefrom by a Chain or a Cinquefoil ermine 
pierced Gules.’ 
