The Pipe Club of Lebanon
The PCoLeb's Shield
We believe that pipe smoking is not only a serious, intellectual activity, but also an honourable and lofty endeavour on both individual and social levels.
Below is the "blazoning" of our shield, its symbolism, and its interpretation (all done according to what we believe are the best heraldic rules).
Blazoning:
"De sable chargé de deux dragons or à pipe de gueules; à chef dentelé de gueules à chateau d’or broché sur le tout."
Symbolism:
Tower or Castle: Grandeur and solidity.
Dragon - A most valiant defender of treasure.
Or, yellow or gold - Generosity.
Sable or black - Constancy, sometimes grief.
Gules or red - Military fortitude and magnanimity.
Interpretation:
Two golden dragons, golden for their generosity, valiantly defend a treasure, that of pipe smoking. Their pipes are red, symbolizing magnanimity. They are on a sable background, meaning the constancy provided by pipe smoking in times of grief. They face each other to show that pipe smoking is a social activity.
Both dragons and their pipes are put under a golden castle which symbolizes the grandeur and solidity achieved by constant, magnanimous, and valiant pipe smokers. The element of fire, essential for pipe smoking, is shown in the indented partition and signifies that the dragons can only reach the castle of solidity through fire.
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