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Clive
Sammut, Señor de
Saccaja
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Registered:
The
International Register
of Arms, 5th October
2022. Registration No.
0656 (Vol.4).
Arms:
Quarterly 1st and 4th,
per chevron Azure and
Vert, a chevronel
between in chief two
mullets and in base an
artillery wheel Or; 2nd
and 3rd, Gules, a Roman
breast plate ensigned of
a Centurion’s Galea
helmet Proper. An
escutcheon of pretence
Gules three pales wavy
Or.
Crest:
Upon the coronet of a
Señor, an eagle rising
wings addorsed and
elevated Sable beaked
and legged Or holding in
its beak a belt of Gold.
Motto:
Nosce Te Ipsum.
Private
Registration:
Chronicler of Arms of
Castilla and León, H.E.
Don Alfonso de
Ceballos-Escalera y
Gila, Marquis de La
Floresta, 11th May 2020
No. 28/2020.
Artist:
Dr. Joseph Crews, Persevante
León Blanco.
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The
quarterings on the main
shield consist of arms
representing Sammut and
Galea, the armiger’s
father's surname and
mother’s maiden surnames
respectively.
Sammut is one of the
oldest surnames in Malta
and it has been
assertained that the
armiger’s direct
patrilineal line, which
has been traced generation
by generation back to
1505, hailed from the
medieval hamlet of
Hal-Samud; the surname was
originally written as
Samudi then became Samud,
Samut and finally, in the
17th century, became
consistently Sammut.
The surname is included in
a 1419 list of Militia men
over 18 years of age, who
were obliged by law to
take part in the guarding
of the coast against
Muslim corsair raids.
There is also some sparse
evidence that suggests
that the surname can be
seen in a more primitive
Islamic form with a
Maltese poet at the
Palermitan Court of King
Roger II with the name of
Abdallâh ibn al-Samati
al-Mâliti and this can be
dated back to the middle
of the 12th century.
Besides, a Saracenic
headstone bearing the name
Ibrahim al-Samti was
discovered in Malta’s old
capital Mdina from
approximately the same
time period.
The shield is a modified
version of the Sammut arms
used generally by the
Sammut families. Instead
of the usual Tau cross
under the chevron (or
chevronel), this version
includes an artillery
wheel which represents a
family tradition of being
engineers as well as one
of the armiger’s passions,
the collection and
research of historic
military vehicles. The
background colours
represent the grass on
which the wheel stands,
while the blue and two
stars represent the sky.
The surname Galea is
another very old surname
in Malta and can also be
traced to the Militia list
of 1419.Once again, the
shield is the modified
classic Galea shield and
it shows a Roman suit of
armour, or breastplate, on
top of which is a
Centurion’s Galea helmet.
The central shield is that
of the Inguanez family
from which all of the
armiger’s four
grandparents descend. The
Inguanez, originally
Desguanech, family came to
Malta in 1400 when the
father of Antonio, the
first holder of the fief
of Saccaja came to Malta
from Catalunya to serve as
Castillan on behalf of the
Aragonese Crown. The fief
of Saccaja was granted in
1442 to Antonio for his
military services, free of
all obligations. Antonio
Inguanez married Imperia
Gatto whose father and
grandfather were also
Castillans at the Castrum
Maris, stronghold of the
Aragonese Crown in Malta.
The older Gatto was
granted the fief of the
Djar il-Bniet estate and
made a Hereditary Knight
of the Cingolo Militare in
1350. This is represented
on the arms by the eagle
holding a Belt (Cingolo)
in its beak. By way of
artistic embellishment,
the vent in the helm is
the Gatto family coat of
arms of 10 bezants. The
armiger still lives on the
Djar il-Bniet estate.
The motto Nosce Te Ipsum
(know thyself) is inspired
by the armiger’s second
passion, Genealogy,
although he is not a
professional genealogist.
The coronet is that of a
Spanish Senor. |
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The
Armorial Bearings of Clive Sammut,
Señor de Saccaja
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