See P. 130.Frontispiece
THE
MANUAL OF HERALDRY:
BEING
A CONCISE DESCRIPTION
OF
THE SEVERAL TERMS USED,
AND CONTAINING
A Dictionary of every Designation in the Science.
ILLUSTRATED BY
FOUR HUNDRED ENGRAVINGS ON WOOD.
FIFTH EDITION.
ARTHUR HALL, VIRTUE & CO.
25, PATERNOSTER ROW.
R. CLAY, PRINTER, BREAD STREET HILL.
MANUAL OF HERALDRY.
CONTENTS
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CHAPTER
I ORIGIN
OF COATS OF ARMS. |
PAGE |
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CHAPTER
II VARIOUS
SORTS OF ARMS. |
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CHAPTER
III LINES
USED IN PARTING THE FIELD. |
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CHAPTER
IV HONOURABLE
ORDINARIES. |
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CHAPTER
V SUBORDINATE
ORDINARIES. |
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CHAPTER
VI MARSHALLING
CHARGES ON ESCUTCHEONS BY THE RULES OF HERALDRY. |
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CHAPTER
VII ORDER
OF PRECEDENCY. |
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DICTIONARY OF HERALDIC TERMS |
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CHAPTER
VIII HERALDRY
IN CONNECTION WITH HISTORY, ARCHITECTURE, INTERIOR DECORATION, COSTUME,
AMUSEMENT, RELIGIOUS SOLEMNITIES, FUNERAL RITES, ETC. |
ORIGIN OF COATS OF ARMS.
Heraldry is the science which teaches how to
blazon or describe in proper terms armorial bearings and their accessories.
Many volumes have been written on the origin of
Heraldry and even on the antiquity of separate charges contained in an
escutcheon: it would be filling the pages of an elementary work on Heraldry to
little purpose to enter upon an inquiry as to the exact period of the
introduction of an art that has existed in some degree in all countries whose
inhabitants have emerged from barbarism to civilization. In all ages men have
made use of figures of living creatures, trees, flowers, and inanimate objects,
as symbolical signs to distinguish themselves in war, or denote the bravery and
courage of their chief or nation.
The allegorical designs emblazoned on the
standards, shields, and armour of the Greeks and Romans—the White Horse of the
Saxons, the Raven of the Danes, and the Lion of the Normans, may all be termed [Page 2] heraldic devices; but according to the opinions of Camden,
Spelman, and other high authorities, hereditary arms of families were first
introduced at the commencement of the twelfth century. When numerous armies
engaged in the expeditions to the
The passion for military fame which prevailed at
this period led to the introduction of mock battles, called Tournaments. Here
the Knights appeared with the Heraldic honours conferred upon them for deeds of
prowess in actual battle. All were emulous of such distinctions. The
subordinate followers appeared with the distinctive arms of their Lord, with
the addition of some mark denoting inferiority. These marks of honour at first
were merely pieces of stuff of various colours cut into strips and sewn on the
surcoat or garment worn over armour, to protect it from the effect of exposure
to the atmosphere. These strips were disposed in various ways, and gave the
idea of the chief, bend, chevron, &c. [Page 3] Figures of animals and
other objects were gradually introduced; and as none could legally claim or use
those honourable distinctions unless they were granted by the Kings of Arms,
those Heraldic sovereigns formed a code of laws for the regulation of titles
and insignia of honour, which the Sovereigns and Knights of Europe have bound
themselves to protect; and those rules constitute the science of Heraldry which
forms the subject of the following pages.
VARIOUS SORTS OF ARMS.
Arms are not only granted to individuals and
families, but also to cities, corporate bodies, and learned societies. They may
therefore be classed as follows:—
Arms of DOMINION, PRETENSION, CONCESSION.
COMMUNITY, PATRONAGE, FAMILY.
Arms of Dominion or Sovereignty are properly the arms
of the kings or sovereigns of the territories they govern, which are also
regarded as the arms of the State. Thus the Lions of England and the Russian
Eagle are the arms of the Kings of England and the Emperors of Russia, and
cannot properly be altered by a change of dynasty.
Arms of Pretension are those of kingdoms,
provinces, or territories to which a prince or lord has some claim, and which
he adds to his own, though the kingdoms or territories are governed by a
foreign king or lord: thus the Kings of England for many ages quartered the
arms of France in their escutcheon as the descendants of Edward III., who
claimed that kingdom, in right of his mother, a French princess.
Arms of Concession are arms granted by
sovereigns as the reward of virtue, valour, or extraordinary service. All arms
granted to subjects were originally [Page 5] conceded by the
Sovereign.
Arms of Community are those of
bishoprics, cities, universities, academies, societies, and corporate bodies.
Arms of Patronage are such as governors
of provinces, lords of manors, add to their family arms as a token of their
superiority, right, and jurisdiction.
Arms of Family, or paternal arms, are
such as are hereditary and belong to one particular family, which none others
have a right to assume, nor can they do so without rendering themselves guilty
of a breach of the laws of honour punishable by the Earl Marshal and the Kings
at Arms. The assumption of arms has however become so common that little notice
is taken of it at the present time.
Arms of
Arms of Succession are such as are taken
up by those who inherit certain estates by bequest, entail, or donation.
SHIELDS, TINCTURES, FURS, &c.
The Shield contains the field or
ground whereon are represented the charges or figures that form a coat of arms.
These were painted on the shield before they were placed on banners, standards,
and coat armour; and wherever they appear at the present time they are painted
on a plane or superficies resembling a shield.
Shields in Heraldic language are called
Escutcheons or Scutcheons, from the Latin word scutum. The forms
of the shield or field upon which arms are emblazoned are varied according to
the taste of the painter. The 
buildings:
the escutcheons of maiden ladies and widows are painted on a lozenge-shaped
shield. Armorists distinguish several points in the
escutcheon in order to determine exactly the position of the bearings or
charges. They are denoted in the annexed diagram, by the first nine letters of
the alphabet ranged in the following manner:
A,
the dexter chief.
B, the precise middle chief.
C, the sinister chief.
D, the honour point.
E, the fess point.
F, the nombril point.
G, the dexter base.
H, the precise middle base.
I, the sinister base.
The dexter side of the escutcheon answers to the
left hand, and the sinister side to the right hand of the person that looks at
it.
TINCTURES.
By the term Tincture is meant that
variable hue which is given to shields and their bearings; they are divided into
colours and furs.
The colours or metals used in emblazoning arms
are—
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yellow, |
blue, |
purple, |
These colours are denoted in engravings by
various lines or dots, as follows:
OR,
which signifies gold, and in colour yellow, is expressed by dots.
ARGENT
signifies silver or white: it is left quite plain.
GULES
signifies red: it is expressed by lines drawn from the chief to
the base of the shield.
AZURE
signifies blue: it is represented by lines drawn from the dexter
to the sinister side of the shield, parallel to the chief.
VERT
signifies green: it is represented by slanting lines, drawn from
the dexter to the sinister side of the shield.
PURPURE,
or purple, is expressed by diagonal lines, drawn from the
sinister to the dexter side of the shield.
SABLE,
or black, is expressed by horizontal and perpendicular lines
crossing each other.
TENNE,
which is tawny, or orange colour, is marked by
diagonal lines drawn from the sinister to the dexter side of the shield,
traversed by perpendicular lines from the chief.
SANGUINE
is dark red, or murrey colour; it is represented by
diagonal lines crossing each other.
In addition to the foregoing tinctures, there
are nine roundlets or balls used in Armory, the names of which are sufficient
to denote their colour without expressing the same.
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BEZANT, Or. |
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PLATE, Argent. |
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FURS.
Furs are used to ornament garments of state and
denote dignity: ther are used in Heraldry, not only for the lining of mantles
and other ornaments of the shield, but also as bearings on escutcheons.
WHITE, represented by a plain shield, like argent.
ERMINE—white
powdered with black tufts.
ERMINES—field
sable, powdering argent.
ERMINOIS—field
or, powdering sable.
PEAN—field
sable; powdering or.
ERMYNITES—Argent,
powdered sable, with the addition of a single red hair on each side the sable
tufts. This fur is seldom seen in English heraldry; and it is impossible to
give an example without using colour.
VAIR—argent
and azure. It is represented by small bells, part reversed, ranged in lines in
such a manner, that the base argent is opposite to the base azure.
COUNTER-VAIR,
is when the bells are placed base against base, and point against point.
POTENT—an
obsolete word for a crutch: it is so called in Chaucer's description of Old
Age.
"So
eld she was that she ne went
A foote, but it were by potent."
The
field is filled with small potents, ranged in lines, azure and argent.
POTENT
COUNTER-POTENT.
The heads of the crutches or potents touch each other in the centre of the
shield.