England
Willoughby of Parham — standard baronial achievement and cadet designation
- Family / house
- Willoughby; Willoughby of Parham; Willoughby de Eresby
- Family / cadet branch
- Willoughby of Parham, Suffolk; cadet branch of Willoughby de Eresby
- Armiger / bearer
- Barons Willoughby of Parham
- Entity type
- family
- Social rank / class
- peer
- Heraldic authority
- College of Arms tradition as reported by Cracroft's Peerage; Complete Peerage
- Record basis
- ancient_usage
- Issued / first recorded
- 1300
- Until / superseded
- 1779
- Historical period
- Medieval arms continued through the Tudor, Stuart and Georgian periods
- Grant / record reference
- Barony created by letters patent 20 February 1546/7; the arms predate the barony and are associated with the wider Willoughby family
- Blazon
- Or, fretty Azure. Crest: A Saracen's head affrontée couped at the shoulders Proper, ducally crowned Or. Supporters: Dexter, an ostrich Argent holding in the beak a horseshoe Or; sinister, a savage wreathed about the temples and loins with ivy, all Proper. Motto: VÉRITÉ SANS PEUR.
- Plain-English description
- A gold shield covered by an interlaced blue lattice. The recorded full achievement has a crowned Saracen's head as crest, an ostrich holding a golden horseshoe and a savage as supporters, with the motto 'Truth without fear.' Later depictions associated with particular holders may show different crest or supporter forms.
- Tinctures
- Or; Azure; Proper; Argent
- Charges / ordinaries
- fretty; Saracen's head; ducally crown; ostrich; horseshoe; savage; ivy
- Crest
- A Saracen's head affrontée couped at the shoulders Proper, ducally crowned Or.
- Motto
- VÉRITÉ SANS PEUR
- Exterior ornaments
- An achievement appropriate to a baron of the Peerage of England; historic presentations may vary in crest and supporters.
- Difference / variant
- The shield remains the ancient Willoughby coat. Cracroft reports a Saracen's-head crest and ostrich-and-savage supporters, whereas some later or holder-specific depictions, including those associated with Francis Willoughby, use a lion's-head crest. These should be retained as separate achievement variants rather than silently harmonised.
- Source reference
- Cracroft's Peerage, Willoughby of Parham, Baron (E, 1547–1779)
- Source
- Open source
Genealogical context
Documented depiction
Notes / sources
The shield is not a newly granted cadet coat in the modern sense; the territorial designation and barony distinguish the branch, while the shield derives from the ancient Willoughby arms.