Granted by Letters Patent dated 10th December, 1963.
Gules three Seaxes in pale cutting edges upwards Argent Pomels and
Hilts to the dexter Or in chief an open Book proper edged and bound
with seven clasps Or, and for the Crest On a Wreath of the Colours a
Wyvern statant Argent upon two Branches of Oak raguly leaved fructed
in saltire proper enfiled through an Annulet Argent.
Motto: Thought the harder, heart the keener.
Shield: The shield consists of the ancient arms attributed to the
Kingdom of the East Saxons and granted to the Essex County Council in
1932, with the addition of a book representing the University. The
Essex arms show three seaxes or Saxon swords upon a red ground. The
book has an illuminated initial E, gold edges and binding, and, like
various other books in University arms, has seven clasps representing
the mediaeval 'quadrivium' and 'trivium' comprehending all the known
studies of the time.
Crest: Above the shield is the closed helm
proper to impersonal arms, with its crest- wreath and decorative
mantling in the official liveries of the arms, red and white, which
are the colours of Essex and Colchester. Upon the helm is the crest,
which is a symbolisation of the University's situation. At the base
are two branches of oak which suggest the parkland of Wivenhoe and the
ancient Forest of Essex. They are shaped like the branches of the
Colchester ragged cross, and bear fruit. The branches pass through a
ring or 'annulet' representing a letter O; this, with the wyvern or
two-legged dragon gives an heraldic rebus or word-play ('wyvern-O')
upon the name.
Motto: The motto is adapted from
the East Saxon poem 'The Battle of Maldon'.
