Heraldry 101: Introduction

Ever since the first armed conflict, men in battle have needed a manner of discerning friend from foe. Ancient warriors marked their shields with mythological symbols. Roman army units also used distinctive markings on their shields. At its very basic, modern heraldry developed as a continuation of these practices. However, over time, it evolved into an art in its own right, and as medieval warfare made personal armor obsolete, heraldry lived on as a means of personal identification for important individuals and families. Most countries and many sub-national entities and cities have coats of arms today, and the influence of heraldry can even be seen in the logos of corporations.

Modernly, heraldry is the profession, study, or art of devising, granting, and blazoning arms, tracing genealogies, and determining and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Blazoning is the term used for formally describing a coat of arms, and it employs a unique jargon. For example, the Royal Coat of Arms of Scotland, shown here, is blazoned, Or a lion rampant Gules armed and langued Azure within a double tressure flory-counter-flory Gules. From this description alone, an experienced practitioner of heraldry could draw the Royal Coat of Arms of Scotland, even if he or she had never seen it before.

Heraldry began to emerge in Europe in the twelfth century. Several seals survive from the Continent and the British Isles depicting unmistakable heraldic devices. At this time also, the practice emerged of children of armigers, persons entitled to use a coat of arms, inheriting the coats of arms of their parents or combining the coats of arms of their parents into new personal coats of arms.

By the fourteenth century, the rules of heraldry were firmly established, and authorities began compiling a body of heraldic jurisprudence. In many countries, the use of coats of arms is still regulated by the government. In the United Kingdom and in Ireland, it is unlawful to use a coat of arms without an official grant from the government. There are even special courts to handle disputes over the use of a coat of arms. In England, for example, the Court of Chivalry hears such disputes.

Who can use a particular coat of arms can be a confusing topic, however. The laws are not the same in every country. The United States, in contrast with the United Kingdom, does not regulate the personal use of coats of arms. In addition, there is also the question of whether there is such a thing as a “family” coat of arms. Many people will say that there is not. A coat of arms belongs to an individual. While this statement is true technically in countries such as England, which grant the use of coats of arms to individuals, coats of arms can be inherited, and thus become like “family” coats of arms. Furthermore, in other places, such as Scotland and Eastern Europe, coats of arms have historically been shared by all members of a family or clan.

Heraldry is a rich and complex subject, and in upcoming posts, we’ll be exploring in more detail the rules and practices of heraldry.

Red Rose of Lancaster

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The red rose was adopted as a symbol of the House of Lancaster by Edward Crouchback, the first Earl of Lancaster. The color red symbolizes martyrdom, but it can also represent romantic love.

The House of Lancaster was a cadet branch of the ruling House of Plantagenet, and in the Fifteenth Century warred with a rival cadet branch, the House of York. Because the House of York's symbol was a white rose, the conflict was called the War of the Roses.

The test is from "A Red, Red, Rose" by Robert Burns:

O my luve is like a red, red rose

That's newly sprung in June;

O my luve's like the melodie

That's sweetly played in tune.

As fair art thou, my bonny lass,

So deep in luve am I;

And I will luve thee still, my dear,

Till a' the seas gang dry.

Till a' the seas gang dry, my dear,

And the rocks melt wi' the sun;

I will luve thee still, my dear,

While the sands o' life shall run.

And fare thee weel, my only love,

And fare thee weel, awhile!

And I will come again, my love

Tho' it were ten thousand mile.

White Rose of York

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In the fourteenth century, Edmund of Langley, founder of the House of York, chose the white rose as his emblem. The white rose represents innocence, purity, and joy, and is associated with the Virgin Mary.

The House of York was a cadet branch of the ruling House of Plantagenet, and in the Fifteenth Century warred with a rival cadet branch, the House of Lancaster. Because the House of Lancaster's symbol was a red rose, the conflict was called the War of the Roses.

The text is Sonnet No. 54 by William Shakespeare:

O, how much more doth beauty beauteous seem
By that sweet ornament which truth doth give!
The rose looks fair, but fairer we it deem
For that sweet odour which doth in it live.
The canker-blooms have full as deep a dye
As the perfumed tincture of the roses,
Hang on such thorns and play as wantonly
When summer's breath their masked buds discloses:
But, for their virtue only is their show,
They live unwoo'd and unrespected fade,
Die to themselves. Sweet roses do not so;
Of their sweet deaths are sweetest odours made:
And so of you, beauteous and lovely youth,
When that shall fade, my verse distills your truth.

Red Griffin of Pomerania

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A griffin, griffon, or gryphon, however it's spelled, represents the unification of the two most regal animals, the lion and the eagle. As such, it is considered particularly majestic.

Heraldic griffins are usually shown in the position seen in the design. This posture is usually blazoned segreant, a term reserved solely for griffins. Any other animal in the same posture, such as a lion, is blazoned as rampant.

Pomerania is a region in northern Europe on the Baltic Sea now split between Poland and Germany. In the past, it was a somewhat independent duchy, and powers such as Poland, Sweden, and the Holy Roman Empire often fought for control.

The coat of arms comes from the duchy's ruling House of Griffins, which first used the griffin as its symbol in 1214.

The text is from the 1614 Low German Bible, written in the distinctive language of the region, known as Low German, Low Saxon, or Plattdeutsch.

Holy Roman Eagle

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The Holy Roman Empire was not holy, nor Roman, nor an empire. It was a confederation of German states that lasted for almost a thousand years.

The first mention of a double-headed eagle as representing the Holy Roman Emperor dates from 1250, for Emperor Frederick II. Usually depicted black on a gold background, it replaced the earlier single-headed eagle. In all likelihood, the double-headed eagle was adopted from the arms of Byzantium to strengthen the claim that the Holy Roman Empire was the rightful heir of the Roman Empire.

The text is from the Gothic language version of the Lord's Prayer, as found in the Codex Argenteus, the Gothic Language translation of the Bible by the medieval bishop Wulfilas.