Glarus (canton)

Swiss heraldry portal

This page is part of the Swiss heraldry portal	Heraldry of the World
Swiss civic heraldry: National Arms Arms of cantons Arms of cities and towns Swiss heraldic literature Total pages in the Swiss section : 13,314 of which images : 6,896	Other heraldry: Ecclesiastical heraldry Military heraldry Heraldic postcards Heraldic stamps Collector's items Institutional heraldry Educational heraldry Corporate heraldry Personal arms

GLARUS

Official blazon

Origin/meaning

The arms of Glarus show St. Fridolinus, an Irish missionary, who travelled in (present) France and Switzerland. He founded a nunnery on a small island, which was later given by the German King to the city of Glarus. The saint also became the patron saint of the church in Glarus city. As this was for a long time the only church in the area, the saint became the patron saint of the whole district.

The oldest use of the saint in the banners or arms of the district dates from 1352 when Glarus joined the Swiss confederation. Some older seals show Maria and Christ. All later images, seals and arms show St. Fridolinus. The saint is, however, shown in many different shapes, sizes and is sometimes facing left, sometimes facing right, most often with a abbott's stick, but also sometimes with a straight stick. He is always shown with a bible.

The seal from 1319	The seal from 1352-1650
The seal from the late 14th century	The seal from the late 14th century
The seal from the 16th century	The arms in the Wapen- en Vlaggenboek van Gerrit Hesman (1708)

In 1861 the arms were properly described by Ludwig Stanz. He showed the saint with a straight black stick, a red bible with golden lining, a green bag around his shoulders, black sandals with green laces.

The next official drawing dates from 1931 and is basically the same, including the green bag. The latter, for which is no historical evidence, was highly debated. In 1941 the arms were renewed; the stick became gold, the historical colour, the bag became silver as did the shoes.

The arms of Glarus from 1941

The present arms date from 1959 and show a more modern-styled St. Fridolinus, with black shoes and a golden bible, which is in accordance to most historical images. The bag has also disappeared, even though it is seen on many historical images. The hands and face are now officially white, instead of natural colour.