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Heraldry

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1830s painting of Germania holding the German arms while seated on a pedestal displaying the arms of the seven traditional prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire
The Nordic flags. Vexillology is a more recent branch of heraldry, based on the practice of emblazoning coats of arms on banners.

Heraldry (/ˈhɛrəldri/) is the profession or art of devising, granting and blazoning heraldic devices (also referred to as armory or armorial bearings), tracing genealogies and ruling on questions of protocol or rank. The term may also refer to traditional ceremonies and pageantry as well as the armorial devices themselves, along with their history. Heraldry also encompasses vexillology and heraldic badges.[1][2]

An armiger is a person, family, organisation or geographical entity that has been granted the right to bear heraldic devices, and thus may be referred to as armigerous. At minimum, the armiger is granted a coat of arms, i.e. a unique design that in paper heraldry always is depicted on an escutcheon (shield), as the central piece of any achievement.

Although the use of various devices to signify individuals and groups goes back to antiquity, both the form and use of such devices varied widely, and the concept of regular, hereditary designs, constituting the distinguishing feature of heraldry, did not develop until the High Middle Ages.[3] It is very often claimed that the use of helmets with face guards during this period made it difficult to recognize one's commanders in the field when large armies gathered together for extended periods, necessitating the development of heraldry as a symbolic language, but there is very little actual support for this view.[3][4]

The beauty and pageantry of heraldic designs allowed them to survive the gradual abandonment of armour on the battlefield during the seventeenth century. Heraldry has been described poetically as "the handmaid of history",[5] "the shorthand of history",[6] and "the floral border in the garden of history".[7] In modern times, individuals, public and private organizations, corporations, cities, towns, and regions use heraldry and its conventions to symbolize their heritage, achievements, and aspirations.[8]

History

Main article: History of heraldry
Codex Manesse depicts the 13th. century German knight Hartmann von Aue bearing two heraldic devices: his crest as well as his coat of arms as emblazoned onto an escutcheon, tabard, caparison and banner.

Heraldry was developed in the European High Middle Ages,[3] closely associated with the courtly culture of chivalry, Latin Christianity, the Crusades, feudal aristocracy, and monarchy of the time. Heraldic tradition fully developed in the 13th century, and it flourished and developed further during the Late Middle Ages and the Early Modern period. Originally limited to nobility, heraldry is adopted by wealthy commoners in the Late Middle Ages (Burgher arms). Specific traditions of Ecclesiastical heraldry also develop in the late medieval period. Coats of arms of noble families, often after their extinction, becomes attached to the territories they used to own, giving rise to municipal coats of arms by the 16th century.

Western heraldry spread beyond its core territory of Latin Christendom in the 17th century, Western heraldic traditions being adopted in the Russian Empire.

With the decline of European monarchies in favour of Republicanism in the 19th to 20th centuries, heraldic tradition declined in importance, but modern national flags and national emblems adopted in the 19th and 20th century still frequently use elements inherited from heraldic tradition.

Current practice

Escutcheons in the United Nations General Assembly hall, on which the national arms were to be emblazoned[9]

Heraldry flourishes in the modern world; institutions, companies, and private persons continue using coats of arms as their pictorial identification. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, the English Kings of Arms, Scotland's Lord Lyon King of Arms, and the Chief Herald of Ireland continue making grants of arms.[10] There are heraldic authorities in Canada,[11] South Africa, Spain, and Sweden that grant or register coats of arms. In South Africa, the right to armorial bearings is also determined by Roman Dutch law, due to its origins as a 17th-century colony of the Netherlands.[12]

Heraldic societies abound in Africa, Asia, Australasia, the Americas and Europe. Heraldry aficionados participate in the Society for Creative Anachronism, medieval revivals, micronations and other related projects. Modern armigers use heraldry to express ancestral and personal heritage as well as professional, academic, civic, and national pride. Little is left of class identification in modern heraldry, where the emphasis is more than ever on expression of identity.[13]

Heraldry continues to build on its rich tradition in academia, government, guilds and professional associations, religious institutions, and the military. Nations and their subdivisions – provinces, states, counties, cities, etc. – continue to build on the traditions of civic heraldry. The Roman Catholic Church, Anglican churches, and other religious institutions maintain the traditions of ecclesiastical heraldry for clergy, religious orders, and schools.

Many of these institutions have begun to employ blazons representing modern objects unknown in the medieval world. For example, some heraldic symbols issued by the United States Army Institute of Heraldry incorporate symbols such as guns, airplanes, or locomotives. Some scientific institutions incorporate symbols of modern science such as the atom or particular scientific instruments. The arms of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority uses traditional heraldic symbols to depict the harnessing of atomic power.[14] Locations with strong associations to particular industries may incorporate associated symbols. The coat of arms of Stenungsund Municipality in Sweden, pictured right, incorporates a hydrocarbon molecule, alluding to the historical significance of the petrochemical industry in the region.

Heraldry in countries with heraldic authorities continues to be regulated generally by laws granting rights to arms and recognizing possession of arms as well as protecting against their misuse. Countries without heraldic authorities usually treat coats of arms as creative property in the manner of logos, offering protection under copyright laws. This is the case in Nigeria, where most of the components of its heraldic system are otherwise unregulated.

Among the states ruled by communist regimes, emblems resembling the Soviet design were adopted in all the Warsaw Pact states except Czechoslovakia and Poland and Karelia. Since 1989, some of the ex-Communist states, as Romania or Russia have reused their original pre-communist heraldry, often with only the symbols of monarchy removed. Other countries such as Belarus and Tajikistan have retained their communist coats of arms or at least kept some of the old heraldry.

With the independence of the modern nation states of the Arab World from the First World War onwards, European traditions of heraldry were partially adopted for state emblems. These emblems often involve the star and crescent symbol taken from the Ottoman flag. Other commonly seen symbols are birds, chiefly the Eagle of Saladin,[15] and the Hawk of Quraish.[citation needed] These symbols can be found on the Coat of Arms of Egypt, and Syria, amongst others.

Sub-Saharan African flags and emblems after decolonisation often chose emblems based on regional traditions or wildlife. Symbols of a ritual significance according to local custom were generally favoured, such as the leopard in the arms of Benin, Malawi, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and, in the form of the black panther, of Gabon.

In Kenya, the Swahili word Harambee (lit. "Let us come together") is used as a motto in the country's coat of arms. In Botswana and Lesotho, meanwhile, the word Pula (lit. "Rain") is used in like fashion.

In the coat of arms of Swaziland, a lion and an elephant serve as supporters. They are each intended to represent the king and the queen mother respectively, the nation's joint heads of state.

Variations

Depending on category of armiger

Depending on geography

Main article: National heraldic styles

The emergence of heraldry occurred across western Europe almost simultaneously in the various countries. Originally, heraldic style was very similar from country to country.[16] Over time, heraldic tradition diverged into four broad styles: German-Nordic, Gallo-British, Latin, and Eastern.[17] In addition it can be argued that newer national heraldic traditions, such as South African and Canadian, have emerged in the 20th century.[18]

General concepts

These general concepts apply for armorial bearings and, in practice to a lesser extent, vexillology.

Blazon

Main article: Blazon

To "blazon" arms means to describe them using the formal language of heraldry. This language has its own vocabulary and syntax, or rules governing word order, which becomes essential for comprehension when blazoning a complex coat of arms. The verb comes from the Middle English blasoun, itself a derivative of the French blason meaning "shield". The system of blazoning arms used in English-speaking countries today was developed by heraldic officers in the Middle Ages. The blazon includes a description of the arms contained within the escutcheon or shield, the crest, supporters where present, motto and other insignia. Complex rules, such as the rule of tincture, apply to the physical and artistic form of newly created arms, and a thorough understanding of these rules is essential to the art of heraldry. Though heraldic forms initially were broadly similar across Europe, several national styles had developed by the end of the Middle Ages, and artistic and blazoning styles today range from the very simple to extraordinarily complex.

The blazon is the formal description of the escutcheon, and may also be extended to describe the other devices in the achievement. The blazon of the escutcheon may traditionally also be used to decorate banners, mantles, garments (surcoats, tabards, robes and caparisons), furniture and structural elements.

Tinctures

Main article: Tincture (heraldry)
Coloured and monochrome hatched version of heraldic devices

One of the most distinctive qualities of heraldry is the use of a limited palette of colours and patterns, usually referred to as tinctures. These are divided into three categories, known as metals, colours, and furs.[i][19]

Template:Tinctures

Differencing and cadency

Main article: Cadency
See also: Ancient and modern arms

Cadency is any systematic way to distinguish arms displayed by descendants of the holder of a coat of arms when those family members have not been granted arms in their own right. Cadency is necessary in heraldic systems in which a given design may be owned by only one person at any time, generally the head of the senior line of a particular family. As an armiger's arms may be used 'by courtesy', either by children or spouses, while they are still living, some form of differencing may be required so as not to confuse them with the original undifferenced or "plain coat" arms. Historically, arms were only heritable by males and therefore cadency marks had no relevance to daughters; in the modern era, Canadian and Irish heraldry include daughters in cadency. These differences are formed by adding to the arms small and inconspicuous marks called brisures, similar to charges but smaller. They are placed on the fess-point, or in-chief in the case of the label.[20] Brisures are generally exempt from the rule of tincture. One of the best examples of usage from the medieval period is shown on the seven Beauchamp cadets in the stained-glass windows of St Mary's Church, Warwick.[20]

Roll of arms

Main article: Roll of arms
The German Hyghalmen Roll was made in the late 15th century and illustrates the German practice of repeating themes from the arms in the crest. (See Roll of arms).

A roll of arms (or armorial) is a collection of coats of arms, usually consisting of rows of painted pictures of shields, each shield accompanied by the name of the person bearing the arms.

The oldest extant armorials date to the mid 13th century, and armorial manuscripts continued to be produced throughout the Early Modern period. Siebmachers Wappenbuch of 1605 was an early instance of a printed armorial. Medieval armorials usually include a few hundred coats of arms, in the late medieval period sometimes up to some 2,000. In the early modern period, the larger armorials develop into encyclopedic projects, with the Armorial général de France (1696), commissioned by Louis XIV of France, listing more than 125,000 coats of arms. In the modern period, the tradition develops into projects of heraldic dictionaries edited in multiple volumes, such as the Dictionary of British Arms in four volumes (1926–2009), or J. Siebmacher's großes Wappenbuch in seven volumes (1854–1967).

Armorials can be "occasional", relating to a specific event such as a tournament; "institutional", associated with foundations, such as that of an order of chivalry, "regional", collecting the arms of the nobility of a given region, "illustrative", in the context of a specific narrative or chronicle, or "general", with the aim of an encyclopedic collection.[21] A roll of arms arranged systematically by design, with coats featuring the same principal elements (geometrical ordinaries and charges) grouped together as a tool to aid identification, is known as an ordinary of arms (or simply as an ordinary).

Armiger

Main article: Armiger

An armiger is a person entitled to use a heraldic achievement (e.g., bear arms, an "armour-bearer") either by hereditary right, grant, matriculation, or assumption of arms. Such a person is said to be armigerous. A family or a clan likewise.

The Latin word armiger literally means "arms-bearer". In high and late medieval England, the word referred to an esquire attendant upon a knight, but bearing his own unique armorial device. [22]

Armiger was also used as a Latin cognomen, and is now found as a rare surname in English-speaking countries.

Today, the term armiger is well-defined only within jurisdictions, such as Canada, the Republic of Ireland, Spain and the United Kingdom, where heraldry is regulated by the state or a heraldic body, such as the College of Arms, the Chief Herald of Canada, the Court of the Lord Lyon or the Office of the Chief Herald of Ireland. A person can be so entitled either by proven (and typically agnatic) descent from a person with a right to bear a heraldic achievement, or by virtue of a grant of arms to himself. Merely sharing the same family name of an armiger is insufficient.

Most of the time, the usage of a heraldic achievement is governed by legal restrictions; these restrictions are independent of the copyright status and independent of a coat of arms depiction. A coat of arms represents its owner. Though it can be freely represented, it cannot be appropriated, or used in such a way as to create a confusion with or a prejudice to its owner.

In the Netherlands, titles of nobility are regulated by law but heraldry is not. In Sweden and Finland the nobility has had, since 1762, the prerogative to use an open helmet, while others use a closed helmet.

Devices

This section describes the various heraldic devices, also referred to as armory or armorial bearings, that an armiger may be granted.

Coat of arms

Main article: Coat of arms

The coat of arms, also referred to as arms, is the indispensable heraldic device that is unique to the armiger. In paper heraldry, the design of the coat of arms, as blazoned, is always emblazoned on an escutcheon (shield) as the central piece of any achievement. Outside of paper heraldry, the coat of arms may be decorated onto garments (robes, surcoat, tabards and caparisons), architecture or banners. The latter practice may be considered the origin of modern flags.

Template:Emblazoning

External devices in achievements

In paper heraldry, a combined display of armorial devices is known as an (armorial/heraldic) achievement (of arms). This always includes the coat of arms emblazoned on an escutcheon, and may also include external devices, if posessed.

Any heraldically correct rendition of the escutcheon may be used to represent the armiger. Several more or less elaborate versions of achievement may be granted. These involve various combinations of external devices in addition to the indispensable escutcheon, and are often referred to as lesser, middle and greater versions.

From a very early date, illustrations of arms were frequently embellished with helmets placed above the shields. These in turn came to be decorated with fan-shaped or sculptural crests, often incorporating elements from the shield of arms; as well as a wreath or torse, or sometimes a coronet, from which depended the lambrequin or mantling. To these elements, modern heraldry often adds a motto displayed on a ribbon, typically below the shield. The helmet is borne of right, and forms no part of a grant of arms; it may be assumed without authority by anyone entitled to bear arms, together with mantling and whatever motto the armiger may desire. The crest, however, together with the torse or coronet from which it arises, must be granted or confirmed by the relevant heraldic authority.[23]

If the bearer is entitled to the ribbon, collar, or badge of a knightly order, it may encircle or depend from the shield. Some arms, particularly those of the nobility, are further embellished with supporters, heraldic figures standing alongside or behind the shield; often these stand on a compartment, typically a mound of earth and grass, on which other badges, symbols, or heraldic banners may be displayed. The most elaborate achievements sometimes display the entire coat of arms beneath a pavilion, an embellished tent or canopy of the type associated with the medieval tournament.,[23] though this is only very rarely found in English or Scots achievements.

Types of accompanying, external devices are listed below.

Helm/crest/galero

Main articles: Helmet (heraldry), Crest (heraldry), and Galero
A knight with an eagle crest at the Saracen Joust in Arezzo, Tuscany.

The helmet or helm is situated above the shield and bears the torse and crest. The style of helmet displayed varies according to rank and social status, and these styles developed over time, in step with the development of actual military helmets.[24][25] In some traditions, especially German and Nordic heraldry, two or three helmets (and sometimes more) may be used in a single achievement of arms, each representing a fief to which the bearer has a right. For this reason, the helmets and crests in German and Nordic arms are considered to be essential to the coat of arms and are never separated from it.

Open-visored or barred helmets are typically reserved to the highest ranks of nobility, while lesser nobility and burghers typically assume closed helms.[25] While these classifications remained relatively constant, the specific forms of all these helmets varied and evolved over time.[25]

In ecclesiastical heraldry, bishops and other clergy use a mitre or other rank-appropriate ecclesiastical hat in place of a helmet.[26]

In English the word "crest" is commonly (but erroneously) used to refer to an entire heraldic achievement of armorial bearings. The technical use of the heraldic term crest refers to just one component of a complete achievement. The crest rests on top of a helmet which itself rests on the most important part of the achievement: the shield.

The modern crest has grown out of the three-dimensional figure placed on the top of the mounted knights' helms as a further means of identification. In most heraldic traditions, a woman does not display a crest, though this tradition is being relaxed in some heraldic jurisdictions, and the stall plate of Lady Marion Fraser in the Thistle Chapel in St Giles, Edinburgh, shows her coat on a lozenge but with helmet, crest, and motto.

The crest is usually found on a wreath of twisted cloth and sometimes within a coronet. Crest-coronets are generally simpler than coronets of rank, but several specialized forms exist; for example, in Canada, descendants of the United Empire Loyalists are entitled to use a Loyalist military coronet (for descendants of members of Loyalist regiments) or Loyalist civil coronet (for others).

When the helm and crest are shown, they are usually accompanied by a mantling. This was originally a cloth worn over the back of the helmet as partial protection against heating by sunlight. Today it takes the form of a stylized cloak hanging from the helmet.[27] Typically in British heraldry, the outer surface of the mantling is of the principal colour in the shield and the inner surface is of the principal metal, though peers in the United Kingdom use standard colourings (Gules doubled Argent – Red/White) regardless of rank or the colourings of their arms. The mantling is sometimes conventionally depicted with a ragged edge, as if damaged in combat, though the edges of most are simply decorated at the emblazoner's discretion.

Clergy often refrain from displaying a helm or crest in their heraldic achievements. Members of the clergy may display appropriate headwear. This often takes the form of a small crowned, wide brimmed hat called a galero with the colours and tassels denoting rank; or, in the case of Papal coats of arms until the inauguration of Pope Benedict XVI in 2005, an elaborate triple crown known as a tiara. Benedict broke with tradition to substitute a mitre in his arms. Orthodox and Presbyterian clergy do sometimes adopt other forms of head gear to ensign their shields. In the Anglican tradition, clergy members may pass crests on to their offspring, but rarely display them on their own shields.

Mottoes and slogans

Main articles: Motto and Slogan (heraldry)

An armorial motto is a phrase or collection of words intended to describe the motivation or intention of the armigerous person or corporation. This can form a pun on the family name as in Thomas Nevile's motto Ne vile velis. Mottoes are generally changed at will and do not make up an integral part of the armorial achievement. Mottoes can typically be found on a scroll under the shield. In Scottish heraldry, where the motto is granted as part of the blazon, it is usually shown on a scroll above the crest, and may not be changed at will. A motto may be in any language.

Supporters

Main article: Supporter
A lion supporting the arms of the City of Brussels

Supporters are human or animal figures or, very rarely, inanimate objects, usually placed on either side of a coat of arms as though supporting it. In many traditions, these have acquired strict guidelines for use by certain social classes. On the European continent, there are often fewer restrictions on the use of supporters.[28] In the United Kingdom, only peers of the realm, a few baronets, senior members of orders of knighthood, and some corporate bodies are granted supporters. Often, these can have local significance or a historical link to the armiger.

Crown/coronet

Main articles: Crown (heraldry) and Coronet

If the armiger has the title of baron, hereditary knight, or higher, he may display a coronet of rank above the shield. In the United Kingdom, this is shown between the shield and helmet, though it is often above the crest in Continental heraldry.

Order

Main article: Order (distinction)

Another addition that can be made to a coat of arms is the insignia of a baronet or of an order of knighthood. This is usually represented by a collar or similar band surrounding the shield. When the arms of a knight and his wife are shown in one achievement, the insignia of knighthood surround the husband's arms only, and the wife's arms are customarily surrounded by an ornamental garland of leaves for visual balance.[29]

Compartment

Main article: Compartment (heraldry)

A compartment is a design placed under the shield, usually rocks, a grassy mount (mount vert), or some sort of other landscape upon which the supporters are depicted as standing.[30] Care must be taken to distinguish true compartments from items upon which supporters are merely resting one or more feet, or, sometimes, mere heraldic badges or pure decoration under the shield, and, conversely, care must also be taken in very unusual cases such as the coat of arms of Belize, in which what may be taken to be a crest, the mahogany tree rising above the shield, is really part of the compartment. It is sometimes said to represent the land held by the bearer. As an official part of the blazon it is a comparatively late feature of heraldry, often derived from the need to have different supporters for different families or entities, although sometimes the compartment is treated in the blazon separately from the supporters.

Mantling

Main article: Mantling

Mantling or "lambrequin" (its name in French) is drapery tied to the helmet above the shield. In paper heraldry it is a depiction of the protective cloth covering (often of linen[31]) worn by knights from their helmets to stave off the elements, and, secondarily, to decrease the effects of sword-blows against the helmet in battle, from which it is usually shown tattered or cut to shreds; less often it is shown as an intact drape, principally in those cases where clergy use a helmet and mantling (to symbolise that, despite the perhaps contradictory presence of the helmet, they have not been involved in combat), although this is usually the artist's discretion and done for decorative rather than symbolic reasons.

Generally, mantling is blazoned mantled x, doubled [lined] y; the cloth has two sides, one of a colour and the other of a metal. The mantling is usually in the main colours of the shield, or else in the livery colours that symbolize the entity bearing the arms, though there are exceptions, with occasional tinctures differing from these, or occasional examples in which the outside of the mantling is per pale of two colours[32] or both the inside and outside are per pale,[33] and even rarer examples of other divisions,[34] and there is a perhaps unique example in which the lining of the mantling is per pale of the two metals[35] or of the entire mantling being of a single tincture.[36] The mantling of the Black Loyalist Heritage Society[37] is a unique example in which the mantling is of two furs (ermines, lined ermine). There is also the unique example of the mantling of Bruce Douglas Bolton, which is tartan on the outside.[38] The Coat of Arms of Canada is mantled white and red, or argent doubled gules; furthermore, the current standard rendering of the Canadian arms has mantling in the shape of maple leaves. The arms of sovereigns are a common exception. The arms of the United Kingdom and those of Emperor Akihito of Japan are both or, lined ermine,[39] such a mantling often being held to be limited to sovereigns.

In the early days of the development of the crest, before the torse (wreath), crest coronets and chapeaux were developed, the crest often "continued into the mantling" if this was feasible (the clothes worn by a demi- human figure, or the fur of the animal, for instance, allowing or encouraging this). It still holds true frequently in Germany.

There are rare examples where the mantling is blazoned to complement the armiger's coat of arms, mimicking the ordinaries and charges on the escutcheon. When charges occur, they are usually displayed as a semy.[40]

Mantle and pavilion

Main article: Mantle and pavilion (heraldry)
1905 painting of the greater royal coat of arms of Norway, which includes the Order of St. Olav and a mantle

A mantle is a symbol of sovereign power and is generally reserved for royalty. In some cases, its use has also been granted to other nobles, in recognition of particular merits. In ordinary rendering, the mantle is usually crimson and lined with ermine.

Certain coats of arms may also display a pavilion surmounting the mantle. The pavilion is said to be the invention of the Frenchman Philip Moreau.[41]

While common in continental European heraldry, the mantle and pavilion is absent in English heraldry.[42]

Flags

Further information: Heraldic flag, Vexillology, and Flag

Vexillology is the study of the history, symbolism and usage of flags or, by extension, any interest in flags in general.[43] The word is a synthesis of the Latin word vexillum ("flag") and the Greek suffix -logia ("study").[44]

A person who studies flags is a vexillologist, one who designs flags is a vexillographer, and the art of flag-designing is called vexillography. One who is a hobbyist or general admirer of flags is a vexillophile.


See also

See also: Mon (emblem) and Tamga

Japanese emblems, called kamon (often abbreviated "mon"), are family badges which often date back to the 7th century, and are used in Japan today. The Japanese tradition is independent of the European, but many abstract and floral elements are used.

Quasi-heraldic emblems

True heraldry, as now generally understood, has its roots in medieval Europe. However, there have been other historical cultures which have used symbols and emblems to represent families or individuals, and in some cases these symbols have been adopted into Western heraldry. For example, the coat of arms of the Ottoman Empire incorporated the royal tughra as part of its crest, along with such traditional Western heraldic elements as the escutcheon and the compartment.

Greek symbols

Ancient Greeks were among the first civilizations to use symbols consistently in order to identify a warrior, clan or a state.[citation needed] The first record of a shield blazon is illustrated in Aeschylus' tragedy Seven Against Thebes.

Mon

Main article: Mon (emblem)

Mon (紋), also monshō (紋章), mondokoro (紋所), and kamon (家紋), are Japanese emblems used to decorate and identify an individual or family. While mon is an encompassing term that may refer to any such device, kamon and mondokoro refer specifically to emblems used to identify a family.[further explanation needed] An authoritative mon reference compiles Japan's 241 general categories of mon based on structural resemblance (a single mon may belong to multiple categories), with 5116 distinct individual mon (it is however well acknowledged that there exist lost or obscure mon that are not in this compilation).[45][46]

The devices are similar to the badges and coats of arms in European heraldic tradition, which likewise are used to identify individuals and families. Mon are often referred to as crests in Western literature, another European heraldic device similar to the mon in function.

Socialist heraldry

Main article: Socialist heraldry

Socialist heraldry, also called communist heraldry, consists of emblems in a style typically adopted by communist states and characterized by communist symbolism. Although commonly called coats of arms, most such devices are not actually coats of arms in the traditional heraldic sense and should therefore, in a strict sense, not be called arms at all.[47] Many communist governments purposely diverged from the traditional forms of European heraldry in order to distance themselves from the monarchies that they usually replaced, with actual coats of arms being seen as symbols of the monarchs.

The Soviet Union was the first state to use socialist heraldry, beginning at its creation in 1922. The style became more widespread after World War II, when many other communist states were established. Even a few non-socialist states have adopted the style, for various reasons—usually because communists had helped them to gain independence—but also when no apparent connection to a Communist nation exists, such as the emblem of Italy.[47][48] After the fall of the Soviet Union and the other communist states in Eastern Europe in 1989–1991, this style of heraldry was often abandoned for the old heraldic practices, with many (but not all) of the new governments reinstating the traditional heraldry that was previously cast aside.

Tamgas

Main article: Tamga

A tamga or tamgha "stamp, seal" (Template:Lang-mn, Turkic: tamga) is an abstract seal or stamp used by Eurasian nomadic peoples and by cultures influenced by them. The tamga was normally the emblem of a particular tribe, clan or family. They were common among the Eurasian nomads throughout Classical Antiquity and the Middle Ages (including Alans, Mongols, Sarmatians, Scythians and Turkic peoples). Similar "tamga-like" symbols were sometimes also adopted by sedentary peoples adjacent to the Pontic-Caspian steppe both in Eastern Europe and Central Asia,[49] such as the East Slavs, whose ancient royal symbols are sometimes referred to as "tamgas" and have similar appearance.[50]

Unlike European coats of arms, tamgas were not always inherited, and could stand for families or clans (for example, when denoting territory, livestock, or religious items) as well as for specific individuals (such as when used for weapons, or for royal seals). One could also adopt the tamga of one's master or ruler, therefore signifying said master's patronage. Outside of denoting ownership, tamgas also possessed religious significance, and were used as talismans to protect one from curses (it was believed that, as symbols of family, tamgas embodied the power of one's heritage). Tamgas depicted geometric shapes, images of animals, items, or glyphs. As they were usually inscribed using heavy and unwieldy instruments, such as knives or brands, and on different surfaces (meaning that their appearance could vary somewhat), tamgas were always simple and stylised, and needed to be laconic and easily recognisable.[51]

Tughras

Main article: Tughra
Further information: Coat of arms of the Ottoman Empire

Every sultan of the Ottoman Empire had his own monogram, called the tughra, which served as a royal symbol. A coat of arms in the European heraldic sense was created in the late 19th century. Hampton Court requested from Ottoman Empire the coat of arms to be included in their collection. As the coat of arms had not been previously used in Ottoman Empire, it was designed after this request and the final design was adopted by Sultan Abdul Hamid II on April 17, 1882. It included two flags: the flag of the Ottoman Dynasty, which had a crescent and a star on red base, and the flag of the Islamic Caliph, which had three crescents on a green base.

Footnotes

  1. ^ Technically, the word tincture applies specifically to the colours, rather than to the metals or the furs; but for lack of another term including all three, it is regularly used in this extended sense.

References

Citations

  1. ^ Fox-Davies (1909), p. 1 harvp error: multiple targets (3×): CITEREFFox-Davies1909 (help)Friar (1987), p. 183
  2. ^ Webster's Third New International Dictionary, C. & G. Merriam Company, Cambridge, Massachusetts (1961).
  3. ^ a b c Fox-Davies (1909), pp. 1–18 harvp error: multiple targets (3×): CITEREFFox-Davies1909 (help)
  4. ^ John Brooke-Little, An Heraldic Alphabet, Macdonald, London (1973), p. 2.
  5. ^ Boutell (1890), p. 5
  6. ^ Fox-Davies (1909), p. v harvp error: multiple targets (3×): CITEREFFox-Davies1909 (help)
  7. ^ Iain Moncreiffe of that Ilk & Pottinger, Simple Heraldry, Thomas Nelson (1953).
  8. ^ Fox-Davies (1909), pp. 19–26 harvp error: multiple targets (3×): CITEREFFox-Davies1909 (help)
  9. ^ https://www.unmultimedia.org/s/photo/detail/704/0070477.html
  10. ^ See the College of Arms newsletter for quarterly samplings of English grants and the Chief Herald of Ireland's webpage Archived 2006-10-04 at the Wayback Machine for recent Irish grants.
  11. ^ See the Public Register of Arms, Flags and Badges of Canada.
  12. ^ Cornelius Pama. Heraldry of South African families: coats of arms/crests/ancestry. (Balkema, Cape Town: 1972)
  13. ^ Slater (2003), p. 238
  14. ^ Child, Heather (1976-01-01). Heraldic Design: A Handbook for Students. Genealogical Publishing Com. ISBN 9780806300719.
  15. ^ "Coat of Arms (Eagle of Saladin)". Macaulay Honors College. 5 April 2011. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
  16. ^ Davies, T. R. (Spring 1976). "Did National Heraldry Exist?". The Coat of Arms NS II (97): 16.
  17. ^ von Warnstedt (1970), p. 128
  18. ^ Alan Beddoe, revised by Strome Galloway. Beddoe's Canadian Heraldry. (Mika Publishing Company, Belleville: 1981).
  19. ^ Fox-Davies (1909), p. 70 harvp error: multiple targets (3×): CITEREFFox-Davies1909 (help)
  20. ^ a b Encyclopædia Britannica, 9th edition (1884), vol. 11, p. 704
  21. ^ A New Dictionary of Heraldry, 1987
  22. ^ Dictionary of Chivalry, Uden. Kestrel Books, Harmondsworth, 1968. ISBN 0-7226-5372-7
  23. ^ a b Fox-Davies (1909), pp. 57–59 harvp error: multiple targets (3×): CITEREFFox-Davies1909 (help)
  24. ^ Woodcock (1988), p. 202.
  25. ^ a b c Fox-Davies (1909), p. 303.
  26. ^ Woodcock (1988), p. 75.
  27. ^ Gwynn-Jones (1998), p. 124
  28. ^ Neubecker (1976), pp. 186
  29. ^ Julian Franklyn. Shield and Crest. (MacGibbon & Kee, London: 1960), 358.
  30. ^ Woodcock & Robinson 1990, p. 106.
  31. ^ Encyclopædia Britannica – Mantling
  32. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-03-26.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  33. ^ Shares, National Infocommunications Service Company Limited by. "National and historical symbols of Hungary". www.nemzetijelkepek.hu. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  34. ^ "Sitio oficial de Sutamarchan en Boyaca, Colombia". Archived from the original on 2012-07-14. Retrieved 2007-10-21.
  35. ^ "College of Arms: The Arms and Badge of Professor S. W. Haines". Archived from the original on 2010-03-09. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
  36. ^ "Russian Heraldry as It is /". Retrieved 2007-11-28.
  37. ^ "The Public Register of Arms, Flags and Badges of Canada: Arms of the Black Loyalist Heritage Society".
  38. ^ "Register of Arms, Flags and Badges". Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  39. ^ Michon, Gerard. "Coat-of-arms of Heisi Tenno (Emperor Akihito) as Knight of the Garter". Numericana. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  40. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-03-26.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  41. ^ Fox-Davies, Arthur Charles (1909). A Complete Guide to Heraldry. London & Edinburgh: T.C. & E.C. Jack. p. 401.
  42. ^ Fox-Davies, Arthur Charles (1909). A Complete Guide to Heraldry. London & Edinburgh: T.C. & E.C. Jack. p. 400.
  43. ^ Smith, Whitney. Flags Through the Ages and Across the World New York: McGraw-Hill, 1975. Print.
  44. ^ "About Vexillology – The Flag Institute". The Flag Institute. Retrieved 2018-06-01.
  45. ^ 日本の家紋大全. 梧桐書院. 2004. ISBN 434003102X.
  46. ^ Some 6939 mon are listed here Archived 2016-10-28 at the Wayback Machine.
  47. ^ a b von Volborth (1981), p. 11
  48. ^ von Volborth, Carl-Alexander (1972). Alverdens heraldik i farver (in Danish). Editor and translator from English to Danish: Sven Tito Achen. Copenhagen: Politikens Forlag. p. 158. ISBN 87 567 1685 0.
  49. ^ Ottfried Neubecker. Heraldik. Orbis, 2002; Brook 154; Franklin and Shepard 120–121; Pritsak 78–79.
  50. ^ "Pre-modern Russia and Its World: Essays in Honor of Thomas S. Noonan". Retrieved 2016-06-13.
  51. ^ ТАМГА (к функции знака). В.С. Ольховский (Историко-археологический альманах, No 7, Армавир, 2001, стр. 75–86)

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