OUR COAT OF ARMS

 

On the left hand side of this page you can see the College crest. It represents what we aim for here and depicts symbolically what motivates us. The shield is divided into two parts: the left hand part is composed of three diagonal red bars and three open books. The right hand part represents the Dominican coat of arms combining a black and white lily cross on black and white fields.

 

What is the meaning of our crest? Three is traditionally considered the number of perfection, and red is the colour of passion. Thus three red diagonal bars refer to the ultimate passion towards what books represent – that is knowledge. Additionally, they reflect three values necessary to progress in knowledge and understanding: Joy, Dedication and Perseverance.

 

Three books placed one above the other refer to a gradual process in acquiring knowledge until its perfection. Moreover, they represent the three principal values on which, at the dawn the scholastic era, all European universities were founded: the selfless search for truth, the freedom of speech and research, and the respect paid to researchers.

 

The Dominican part indicates that everything mentioned above is to be conducted in the Dominican spirit and with the Dominicans. The part, with sharp divisions between black and white, refers to the quality of mind, which in the search for truth is capable of making proper distinctions between right and wrong, truth and falsehood. The cross in the middle represents what we strongly believe in, i.e. that Truth is not just a philosophical or metaphilosphical term but bears a very personal character. Ultimately, we believe that Truth has been revealed through the very person of Jesus Christ.