Arms of James Carman Mainprize

Blazon

Per chevron Azure and Gules, a chevron its upper edge grady Argent between in chief two griffin heads respectant Or beaked Gules and in base a hand in armour Or;

Symbolism

The white steps represent the shape of the Sharon Temple in Sharon, Ontario, the place of worship of the Children of Peace, one of whom was Mr. Mainprize’s ancestor William Mainprize, who came to Canada from Yorkshire in 1830. The triangular space represents the red buildings at Lunenburg harbour, Nova Scotia, an allusion to Mr. Mainprize’s ancestor Johann Christian Ernst, who came to Halifax from Saxony in 1750 and settled in Lunenburg shortly thereafter. The griffin heads serve as a reference to Mr. Mainprize’s wife Virginia, whose Hungarian ancestors named Banffy had griffins in their coats of arms, and whose birthplace of Budapest has a griffin as a supporter to its arms. The gauntlet refers to the name Mainprize, from mainprise, an archaic French word composed of main (“hand”) and prise (“taken”).