Crozier (Period)

Archepiscopal staff (Period), shepherd’s crook (Period)

A crozier, or crosier, is a bishop’s staff, a highly ornamented depiction of a shepherd’s crook.  It’s a period charge, frequently found in the arms of bishoprics, but not exclusively:  e.g., the arms of di Spiciani, mid-15^th C. [Triv 338].  The crozier is palewise by default, with its opening to dexter.

Similar to the crozier is the “archepiscopal staff”, with a cross formy at the end, found in the arms of the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1514 [HCE xxx].  Finally, there’s the “crook” or “shepherd’s crook”, the simple herder’s staff on which the crozier was based, found in the canting arms of Crook, c.1285 [ANA2 308].

For related charges, see crook of Basel.

Nicholas Abbas de l’Eau Vivante bears:  Argent, a crozier azure and a ford proper.

Thora Olafsdottir bears:  Quarterly azure and vert, in saltire two shepherd’s crooks Or.

Wolfram von Nürnberg bears:  Or, a wolf rampant azure maintaining an archepiscopal staff sable within an orle of wolf’s pawprints azure.