- The Governor General of Canada
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Herménégilde Chiasson
Fredericton, New Brunswick
Grant of Arms and Supporters
June 15, 2004
Vol. IV, p. 379
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Blazon
Arms
Azure between four billets Argent a pen and a paintbrush in saltire Or;
Crest
A bear passant Azure charged on the shoulder with a mullet Or, holding in its dexter paw a theatrical mask per pale Azure and Gules;
Supporters
Two sea-Pegasi Argent queued Azure winged, crined and webbed Or, each charged on the shoulder with a purple violet flower proper, issuant from barry wavy Argent and Azure;
Motto
EN TOUTE BONNE FOY;
Symbolism
Arms
The quill pen evokes the writer, and the paintbrush, the artist. The rectangles represent writing, painting, photography and film, activities in which His Honour has a deep interest.
Crest
The blue bear recalls His Honour's immediate family in Saint-Simon, New Brunswick, his birthplace. This family was nicknamed "l'ours" or "the bear" to distinguish them from the other Chiasson families in the same area. The golden star on the bear's shoulder is the symbol of Acadia adopted in 1884. It recalls Guyon Chiasson, a.k.a. Lavallée, born circa 1638, the first Acadian ancestor to settle in this country. The mask held by the bear symbolizes His Honour's writing for the theatre. The two parts of the mask symbolize tragedy and comedy or joie de vivre.
Supporters
The pegasi are an allusion to poetry. Because of the connection Pegasus had with the Muses and the fact that it was said to have created the Spring of Hippocrene with a kick of his hoof, Pegasus is a symbol of poetic inspiration. The supporters therefore evoke His Honour's works of poetry. They have fish tails in reference to New Brunswick's maritime geography. The violets (Viola cuculata) on their shoulders have been New Brunswick's provincial flower since 1936.
Motto
A phrase meaning "In good faith".