Galero: Encyclopedia II - Galero - Ecclesiastical Heraldry

Galero - Ecclesiastical Heraldry

The galero (or "ecclesiastical hat") is still in use today in ecclesiastical heraldry as part of the achievement of the coat of arms of an armigerous Roman Catholic cleric. It replaces the helmet and crest because those were considered too warlike for the clerical state. The color of the galero and number of tassels (sometimes termed houppes or fiocchi) indicate the cleric's place in the hierarchy. A bishop's galero is green with six tassels. An archbishop's galero is also green but has ten tassels. Both patriarchs and cardinals have a galero with fifteen tassels, but the patriarch's is green while the cardinal's is red or scarlet. Even a priest uses the galero in his arms, but uses a simple black with two tassels. However, priests who hold additional offices, such as vicar general or abbot, or who have additional honors such as Chaplain of His Holiness gain additional tassels and different colored hats. Popes do not use a galero in their personal arms, rather the Papal Tiara and Keys of Saint Peter are used.

The depiction of the galero in arms can vary greatly, depending on the artist's style. Typically the top of the hat is a flat, and the brim is very wide. However, the brim can also be rendered much narrower, and the top can be domed. Such variants sometimes look like a cappello romano with tassels, but in heraldry it is still considered a galero.

Francis Cardinal George
Cardinal George uses a scarlet galero indicating his office of cardinal.

Cormac Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor
The form of the galero varies in design from priest to priest.

Gaudencio Borbon Rosales
Bishops and archbishops like Rosales use a green galero.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Ecclesiastical Heraldry", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki