Heraldry

Heraldry is the medieval art and science that deals with the creation, use, and recognition of visual displays that identify an individual person, guild, town, office or other entity. This was typically done through much of the Middle Ages using a painted shield which bore a (largely) unique arrangement of division lines, and objects known as "charges". Early in the Medieval period, this "coat of arms" was unique to an individual, only becoming associated with a family in the late Renaissance.

In modern and period worlds, heraldry tends to be governed by the rules set by the heralds of the College of Arms.

Heraldry in the SCA

In the SCA, heraldry is concerned with ceremonies and Courts, the crying of announcements and proclaimations, the pomp and circumstance of the Tournament, and the authentication and registration of members' persona names and arms or badges. These areas of interest give rise to the terms "court heraldry" and "field (or list) heraldry" (both also known as "voice heraldry") and "book heraldry" (which also includes the background work and research in arranging ceremonies). The SCA symbol for a herald is "Vert, two cornets in saltire Or".

The SCA has its own College of Arms.

Book Heraldry

Devices

• Tincture
• Line divisions
• Charges
  • Animals
    • Heraldic beasts
  • Plants
  • Body parts
  • Weapons
  • Buildings
  • General objects
  • Geometric shapes
  • Crosses
  • Ordinaries
• Blazoning
• Heraldic achievement
• Badges
• Regalia

Names

• Byzantine Names
• Old English Names
• Norse Names
• Old German Names
• French Names
• Italian Names

See also:

• alternate titles
• Academy of Saint Gabriel - Medieval name research
• attributed arms -- some medieval fictions

Court and Ceremonies

• VOCAL HERALDRY: A General Overview (See section on Court Heraldry)

List-Field Heraldry

• VOCAL HERALDRY: A General Overview (See section on Field Heraldry)

External Links

General Heraldry

• Francois Velde's Heraldica
• Heraldic Atlas - Clickable atlas of heraldic charges

SCA Heraldry

• SCA Heraldry Site
• Modar's Heraldry Page

Rolls of Arms - SCA

• Armorials of SCA Heraldry - Heraldry of SCA Kingdoms, Principalities, Regions & Groups
• Æthelmearc Roll of Arms
• An Tir Roll of Arms 3rd On-line Kingdom Armorial
• Ansteorra Roll of Arms
• Artemisia Roll of Arms
• Calontir Roll of Arms 1st On-line Kingdom Armorial
• Drachenwald Roll of Arms
• Lochac Roll of Arms
• Meridies Roll of Arms 2nd On-line Kingdom Armorial
• Northshield Roll of Arms
• Outlands Roll of Arms
• West Kingdom Roll of Arms

Rolls of Arms - Historic

• Historic Heraldic Rolls of Arms
• Siebmacher's Wappenbuch
• Zurich Roll of Arms: Devices Reconstructed
• Treatises on Heraldry - Bodleian Library (Oxford University)
• Tewkesbury Abbey Book (with Heraldry) - Bodleian Library (Oxford University)
• Manesse Codex