Walk into any medieval manuscript or early armorial roll, and you might do a double-take: King Arthur’s shield, a harp-bearing King David, or a double-headed eagle for Charlemagne. How could these figures — many centuries before heraldry existed — have a coat of arms? The answer lies in a fascinating medieval practice: attributed arms. What … Continue reading Attributed Arms in the William Blethyn Pedigree Roll, Part I
Category: Heraldry
Discussions of coats of arms, heraldic traditions, and the symbolic language of lineage and identity.
Boards and Banners: How Skate Decks Echo Medieval Heraldry
Recently, while watching Powell-Peralta’s Future Primitive, something I’d taken for granted in my youth hit me with unexpected clarity: the iconography of skateboarders isn’t far removed from medieval heraldry. The two seem like they belong on different planets—one born of knights and genealogical rolls, the other of concrete and rebellious energy—yet both compress identity into a … Continue reading Boards and Banners: How Skate Decks Echo Medieval Heraldry
Blazon of William Blethyn’s Armorial Achievements
Arms recorded on William Blethyn's Pedigree Roll A couple years ago I posted the William Blethyn pedigree roll with the promise of transcribing it. I'm a little behind schedule in following through with that, but I would like to make an attempt to blazon the arms attributed to him. Arms: Quarterly, 1st and 4th, Gules, three chevronnels argent … Continue reading Blazon of William Blethyn’s Armorial Achievements
You’d Think …
A resounding hear, hear to David B. Appleton for this post on his blog: You'd Think ...: I mean, really, it's our national coat of arms, the arms of the United States of America. We've been using it for more than 200 years. And it's not a complex coat of arms, consisting as it does … Continue reading You’d Think …
Pimbley’s Dictionary of Heraldry
Pimbley's dictionary of heraldry: Pimbley, Arthur Francis: Book digitized by Google from the library of University of Wisconsin - Madison and uploaded to the Internet Archive by user tpb.archive.org/details/pimbleysdiction00pimbgoog
Meanwhile the false "order" …
While I am on the topic of false honors and such, below is a post from the Order of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem, a Catholic chivalric order with regards to a group in Brazil that they claim to be falsely representing themselves. Translation into English courtesy of Google Translate.Meanwhile the false "order" ...: Coat of … Continue reading Meanwhile the false "order" …
Join the aristocracy – become a Scottish Laird, Lord or Lady!
I recently ran across website that says for £29.99 ($47.74) one can become a 'real' titled laird of Scotland. Given that my maternal family are Blackwoods and came from Scotland, I thought what a great novelty to have hanging in my study (whenever I get a study...). I'm an American, and its not like I can … Continue reading Join the aristocracy – become a Scottish Laird, Lord or Lady!
