Arms of Jean Delisle
Arms of Jean Delisle
Blazon
Per pale Argent and Gules on a saltire a bendlet and a bendlet sinister in saltire interlaced with three annulets in bend all counterchanged;
Symbolism
The saltire evokes an hourglass as well as the spokes of a wheel, symbols of time and movement, both of which convey Dr. Delisle’s interest in history, genealogy and translation. The saltire also symbolizes the Roman numeral X and thus indicates that he is the tenth generation of his family in Canada. Red and white are the colours of the Royal Society of Canada, of which he is a Fellow. The use of alternating colours on either side of the division line alludes to his work in the field of translation, an activity that involves a shift from one side of a linguistic divide to another. The three rings represent his children, Christian, Isabelle and Jean-Philippe. The interlaced diagonal strips, similar to the warp and weft of a fabric, refer to the texts on which Dr. Delisle has laboured as a translator, academic and author, the word “text” originating in the Latin term for weaving.
Crest of Jean Delisle
Blazon
A plate charged with the Sumerian symbol for “language” Sable palewise within a bordure per saltire Gules and Argent;
Symbolism
The central symbol corresponds to the logogram – placed vertically – meaning “language” in Sumerian, the oldest known written language. Its shape evokes the heritage baldachin in the church of Neuville, near Quebec City, where the first ancestor of the Delisle family in New France settled in 1669. The edging of red and white segments refers to the insignia of a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.
Motto of Jean Delisle
Blazon
LABOR OMNIA VINCIT;
Symbolism
This Latin phrase means “Work conquers all.”
