Blazon
A blazon is the formal language of heraldry, a codified descriptive system that allows a coat of arms to be reconstructed anywhere in the world from text alone. Each term specifies color, form, arrangement, and relationship of elements with technical precision.
English
Argent in pale a tetrahedron Azure pierced in bend by a sword Or with pommel and cross piece of the Second. Upon a helm befitting his degree with mantling Azure and doubled Or is set for crest, upon a wreath of the liveries a martlet Sable.
Maltese
Lewn il-Fidda in Pale tetrahedron lewn Ikħal minfud b'sejf In Bend lewn id-Deheb u bil-maqbad u s-salib tiegħu ta' lewn Ikħal. Fuq elmu li jixraq il-grad tiegħu bid-drappeġġ Ikħal u lewn id-Deheb hemm bħala Kresta fuq girlanda tal-istess ilwien ħuttafa ta' lewn Iswed.
Design Origins
Three central design elements have specific personal origins. The tetrahedron represents my career as a mathematician. The sword is drawn from the seal of the City of Cincinnati. The martlet is an allusion to a legendary descent from Thomas Arundell of Wardour, whose arms were Sable, six martlets Argent. The Letters Patent themselves carefully describe that descent as alleged but not firmly proven; the martlet is an allusion to the tradition, not evidence that establishes it.
I do not assign a separate symbolic program to the tinctures. I chose the silver, blue, gold, and black color scheme because I liked it.
Motto
For a motto, I chose “Ir-rieda biss tmexxi l-qalb,” rendered here consistently as “Only the will leads the heart.” The phrase emphasizes discipline over impulse and resolve over sentiment, underscoring the guiding principle behind the arms.
Count Gauci remarked that this was the first Maltese-language motto he had encountered during his term of office.
Canonical Emblazonment
Crest
The Letters Patent expressly grant a martlet Sable upon a wreath of the livery colors as the crest. The martlet alludes to the legendary descent from Thomas Arundell of Wardour described above; the grant itself notes that the descent is alleged but not firmly proven.
The design shown here was drawn by Quentin Peacock and follows the stylistic conventions of Fairbairn’s Book of Crests, one of the most influential heraldic reference works of the 19th and early 20th centuries. First published in 1859 and continually expanded thereafter, Fairbairn’s compilation became a de facto visual standard for how British and colonial crests should be illustrated: compact, crisp, and uniform in treatment, with an emphasis on legibility and heraldic clarity. The illustrations are often set without background, with consistent line work, minimal shading, and a careful focus on the recognizable outline of each charge. In this style, the martlet appears as a clean black silhouette on a simple torse, a deliberate homage to Fairbairn’s aesthetic and its influence on modern armorial presentation.
During the design process, Quentin and I informally named the martlet Eckbert. That nickname is personal and is not part of the blazon.
The blazon of the crest reads:
Upon a wreath of the liveries a martlet Sable
The torse repeats the blue and gold liveries. The crest may appear with the full achievement or on its own when a compact personal emblem is useful.