The Arms of William Clopton of Virginia

The arms of William Clopton of Virginia are those of the Cloptons of Suffolk, England. The heraldic description is: sable, a bend argent, cotised indented, or (cotised indented is probably more correctly called dancette' in modern heraldry). According to the evidence provided on William's tombstone, he also bore a mullett (probably sable) on the bend in chief for difference. A few writers have stated that he mullet indicated that William was a third son. However, from the genealogical evidence, its seems certain that he was the only son and heir of his father, Rev. William Clopton of Boxted and Eastwood, Essex.

The confusion concerning the arms of William Clopton caused by the mullet he bore is the result of misunderstanding of marks of difference and marks of cadency. In the history of heraldry, marks of cadency are a relatively modern innovation and are employed to denote the birth order of male children. In the rigidly structured system of mark of cadency, the first son and heir bears a label upon his father's arms, the first son then being the eldest male member of the senior line of the family. The second son bears a crescent on his father's arms, and the third son a mullet; the fourth son a martlet; and fifth son an annulet; etc. The younger sons continue to display their father's arms with their mark of cadency until such time as as they establish their own families. At that time the arms of their father are differenced to denote the new family line and the normal practice would be to abandon the mark of cadency.

Unlike marks of cadency, differencing arms is an ancient practice and has no rigid structure of rules. Arms may be differenced by changing the color of the shield, the ordinary, or subordinary. A subordinary or a border could be added. The incorporation of the arms of the father of an heiress (the wife in a new family) would have the same effect.

The mullet displayed upon the arms of William Clopton of Virginia is a mark of difference and has nothing to do with marks of cadency. The arms were probably those of his father, and William would have borne the same arms with a label during his father's lifetime. William's arms were those of his great-great grandfather, Richard Clopton of Fore Hall in Melford. The evidence of this can be viewed in the Great Church of the Holy Trinity in Long Melford. By the south wall of the chancel is the recumbent of Sir William Cordell of Melford, Master of the Rolls to Queen Elizabeth I. Sir William married Mary Clopton, daughter and heiress of Richard Clopton of Fore Hall by his first wife, Mary Bozun of Lincolnshire. By virtue of his marriage to the Clopton heiress, Sir William would have impaled the arms of his wife's father. Displayed at the side of the tomb are the Clopton arms bearing a mullet on the bend in chief for difference. This is no doubt the mark of difference of Richard Clopton of Fore Hall in Melford, second son of Wiliam Clopton, Lord of Kentwell, by Thomasine Knyvet.

The placement of a subordinary on the bend for difference cannot be considered an unusual practice of the Cloptons of Suffolk. There are a couple of additional examples which can be viewed in the windows in the Kentwell (north) side of the church. Sir Thomas de Cloptone of Wickambrook, who married Katherine Mylde, through which marriage the family inherited the manor of Kentwell, bore an ermine spot on the bend in base which can be seen on the mantle of the depiction of his wife Katherine. Sir Thomas de Clopton's nephew, Sir Walter de of Toppesfield Manor, second son of Sir William Clopton of Wickhambrook by Amite de Gray, bore two gemmell rings, sable, for difference. This can be seen on the mantle of the depiction of Sir Walter's wife Elizabeth, daughter of Sir John Pygot.

Definitions:
sable: black, the color of the background of the shield
a bend: the wide diagonal band
bend in chief: part of the diagonal band at the top third of the shield
argent: silver
cotised: between two lines or narrow bands
dancette': zigzagged
or: gold
mullet: star

Contributed by :

Jeffrey B. Clopton
JClopton@Cedar-Rapids.Net
from CFA Newsletter, Vol. 5, #1, December 1990