Medieval Heraldry

En heráldica existe una amplio repertorio de figuras propias que pueden representarse si bien, a diferencia de la gran variedad de estilos con que los pintores y dibujantes pueden reproducir o colorear una cierta figura,  los heraldistas han de constreñirse a unas estrictas reglas de diseño, color y ubicación de las figuras dentro del campo del escudo.  En principio pueden establecerse dos grandes categorías: a) Las Piezas, que se dibujan como formas geométricas y b) Los Seantes, o pequeñas figuras geométricas.En nuestro estudio nos reefriremos a aquellas formadas por dibujos de rayas paralelas combinadas de diversas formas, que aparecen trazadas dentro del campo del escudo, unas veces solas y otras repetidas, constituyendo una característica esencial de la heráldica europea. Se denominan comúnmente como Piezas Honorables y se caracterizan por ser privativas de la heráldica y dibujarse de acuerdo con unas estrictas reglas de diseño, dimensión y color. Es decir se trata de unas figuras que no existen si no en función de la heráldica que las ha creado y dado contenido

Intervento di presentazione del mio contributo al n. 31 della rivista "Nuovi Studi Fanesi".
L'articolo illustra la ricerca svolta per la riscoperta degli affreschi trecenteschi presenti nella controfacciata dell'antico Palazzo del Podestà di Fano.
Rinvenuti nel corso del restauro dell'edificio, dopo i danni bellici della Seconda Guerra Mondiale, questi affreschi non sono stati fino ad ora oggetto di alcun intervento e sono rimasti sconosciuti alla storiografia.
Gli affreschi hanno finalità devozionali in ambito prettamente civile essendo realizzati nella principale sala del palazzo podestarile e comparendo accanto alle immagini di santi anche la prima testimonianza pittorica dell'arma comunale e quella del signore: Galeotto I Malatesti, che permette di datare l'opera nel più ampio arco temporale tra il 1339 e il 1385.
_____________________________
Precisazioni
- Illustrando gli affreschi, indico inizialmente quello a sinistra, dicendolo a destra.
- Per un lapsus ho chiamato Ferri l'architetto Giovanni Battista Fabbri.

Spätmittelalterliche Wappenbücher, die teilweise über 1000 Wappen umfassen, werden oft als Ausdruck eines spezifisch (land-)adeligen Selbstbewusstseins verstanden. Soweit die Auftraggeber nachweislich dem Stadtadel angehörten, oder Aufsteiger in diesen Stadtadel waren, gelten diese aufwendigen Sammlungen alternativ als Dokumente eines sozialen Aufstiegwillens. Aber wo war eigentlich „oben“ in diesen Gesellschaften? Anhand von drei Wappenbüchern des späten 15. Jahrhunderts, die alle von Stadtadeligen in Auftrag gegeben wurden, möchte ich zeigen, dass verschiedene Kompilatoren von Wappensammlungen darauf verschiedene Antworten gaben. Wappenbücher sind eindeutig, wie Jean-Christophe Blanchard festgestellt hat, Quellen der Sozialgeschichte: Welche Wappen vorkommen und welche nicht, welche prominent herausgestellt werden und welche eher versteckt sind, in welcher Form, in welcher Reihenfolge und nach welchen Ordnungskriterien die Wappen angeordnet werden – all diese Elemente eines Wappenbuchs können Aussagen über die Zugehörigkeit zu verschiedenen sozialen Gruppen sein. Das heißt aber nicht, dass zwischen den Wappen, die (positiv, ausführlich, prominent) dargestellt werden, und der sozialen Gruppe, der der Auftraggeber angehörte oder angehören wollte, eine einfache Beziehung bestand. Gerade weil es immer um „Adel“ geht, muss man fragen, welcher Adel jeweils gemeint ist. Hier gab es mehrere Möglichkeiten, und keineswegs muss ein Wappenbuch diejenigen sozialen Gruppen besonders hervorheben, denen der Auftraggeber angehörte oder angehören wollte. Auch der lokale Bezug kann sehr unterschiedlich ausfallen: Manche Wappenbücher stellen den lokalen Stadtadel besonders prominent aus – andere ignorieren ihn vollständig.

The  County    branch    of  the  National    Archives    in  Sibiu  holds  an impressive  collection  of medieval  documents.  Amongst  them,  there  is a high  number with  hanging  seal.  The latter  are hanging  either from  a small parchment  bit or from a string.  Only  a small  percent  of  these  shows  an  attached  double  royal  seal.  Our paper  aims to describe  and analyze  these  royal  seals  within  the County  branch  of the National  Archives  in  Sibiu.  We  managed  to  identify  7 hanging  great  royal  seals issued  by jive  different  Hungarian  kings:  Otto  of Bavaria  (1),  Mary  of Anjou  (1), Sigismund    of  Luxembourg    (3),  Matthias  Corvinus  (1)  and  Vladislaus  II.  (1).  The chronology  of these  seals  spans  over  the period  of two centuries,  between  the jirst decade  of  the  14th one  up  until  the  second    decade  of  the  16th one.  Through photographic units,  we  are  able  to  describe  the  seals  both from  the perspective    of their legend,  as well  as their  decorations  and visible  heraldic  symbols.  We shall  also try  to correlate  the heraldic  coat  of arms  represented  on these  seals  with  chronicles and other visual  sources  depicting  them.

Si les lambris peints de la chapelle de Merléac (22) font depuis longtemps
déjà parler d’eux, de même que les splendides vitraux qui ornent encore
l’édifice, l’impressionnant décor héraldique des intrados des grandes arcades de la nef est resté le parent pauvre de cette récente redécouverte d’un patrimoine d’exception. Aux yeux des historiens de l’art, ces peintures
héraldiques ne constituent peut-être pas la part la plus séduisante d’un
très riche décor, mais elles ne fournissent pas moins une clef de lecture
essentielle de l’édifice et du contexte de son élévation. Elles font par
ailleurs écho à d’autres éléments du décor conservé de la chapelle à
commencer par la peinture murale de la partie supérieure de la nef. Ce
décor héraldique rassemble en effet en un même lieu les membres les
plus prestigieux de la parenté et du réseau d’alliés des Rohan et plus
précisément du vicomte Jean Ier au moment où sa famille s’impose comme la cheville ouvrière de la paix civile retrouvée après les décennies de luttes fratricides de la guerre de Succession. Mais, pour être apprécié à sa juste valeur, ce type de décor emblématique mérite d’être analysé dans le détail de sa mise en scène et confronté à quelques rares exemples contemporains, trop peu nombreux hélas à avoir été conservés jusqu’à nous.

Като повод за настоящата статия послужи публикацията на И. Лазаренко "Средновековна хералдична апликация от Варна". [1] Според нас натрупаният археологически материал, макар и относително ограничен като количество, позволява да се направи един опит за систематизация и цялостен анализ на данните, свързани с хералдическите метални изделия, открити на територията на България. Според нас въпросите за произхода и предназначението на част от находките все още не са получили задоволителен отговор. През 1976 г. М. Ваклинова въвежда в научно обръщение медальон с изображение на лъвове, открит от Ж. Сьор при разкопки на хълма Трапезица (обр. 2). [2] Тя свързва медальона с работата на Лиможките ателиета в Аквитания през XII-XIV в. и го датира в XIV в. В по-късни свои изследвания М. Ваклинова доразвива тезата си, като я подкрепя с други паметници на металопластиката, свидетелстващи според нея за разпространението на западноевропейската мода

Reviews: Jacek Adamczyk, in: Acta Poloniae Historica 91 (2005), 228; Antoni Gąsiorowski, in: Zapiski Historyczne 70, 1 (2005), 153–156; Mark Mersiowsky, in: Deutsches Archiv für Erforschung des Mittelalters 62 (2006), 255; Rimvydas Petrauskas, in: Lietuvos istorijos studijos 16 (2005), 96–98; Izabela Skierska, in: Roczniki Historyczne 70 (2004), 254–259; Jan Tęgowski, in: Studia Źródłoznawcze = Commentationes 42 (2004), 165–167; Herwig Weigl, in: Mitteilungen des Instituts für Österreichische Geschichtsforschung 116 (2008), 424.

La nobleza austriaca (Österreichischer Adel) presenta en su formación similitudes con la nobleza germánica del Sacro Romano Imperio, al que Austria perteneció durante largos siglos (1273/1806). Sin embargo, se diferencia esencialmente de ella en que en Austria solo hubo un ente soberano, el Duque y después Archiduque, en el que durante siglos recayó también la corona imperial. El Archiduque era la máxima autoridad y a él debía lealtad toda la nobleza austriaca, ya que no existieron nunca dentro de sus tierras entes dotados de soberanía propia, como era frecuente en otras partes del Imperio.La antigua nobleza de cuño feudal dependía de él por un pacto de vasallaje, mientras que él tenía la exclusividad de crear nuevos nobles mediante una Adelsbrief (Carta de Nobleza). Así se sucedieron los ennoblecimientos desde 1453 a 1918

This is a synopsis of my 2 volume work. It provides a new perspective on the origins of many Scottish Clans - identifying many of the lies fabricated to suit the necessity of the times and since believed and consistent with a sensible chronology. Supporting this there is a wholly new understanding of Pictish place names and of the origins of Heraldry, a rechronologising of Norwegian history covering the period 800-1015 together with a narrative overview of the politics of the Scotland of the day. Many people, such as Crinan and Duncan I's wife are identified for the first time.

Experto en archivos públicos y, sobre todo, privados y en historia familiar, social y cultural del Pais Vasco y europea. Publicaciones principales: https://independent.academia.edu/borjaaguinagalde f. borJA de AGuinAGALde 276 nology of its heraldic uses, which are extended to 1500. Armorials, tombs and paintings are reviewed, which allows proposing new hypotheses. «El que bien hurta bien vive, y es linage mas honrado el hurtar que el ser Hurtado; suple faltas, gana chaças, que este mundo es juego de baças, [etc.] Mejor es, si se repara, para ser gran caballero el ser ladron de dinero que ser Ladrón de Guevara.

René d’Anjou’s Livre des tournois is famous as the most substantial
account of the organisation of a medieval tournament that has come down
to us. It survives in eight manuscripts, most of which have an almost identical layout; the best of these is a magnificent work of art in its own right.

But these manuscripts are striking in another way: as a group, they show
that this work is one of the first illustrated manuals, in which text and
image are complementary, and form a single whole. The copyists understood
this, and followed the original because the layout and exact images
were an essential part of the whole. Justin Sturgeon’s interdisciplinary
study reveals the patterns and relationships which give the manual its very
specific character.

The study begins by exploring the relationship between the work’s images
and the way in which heraldry forms a visual counterpart to the narrrative
in the text We then turn to the subject matter and to René’s authoritative
use of sources, both written and practical, and how they relate to
late-medieval tournament and court culture. The author shows that René
was drawing on specific precedents toconstruct his idealized version of
such an event. Analysis of the visual presentation uses spatial and ritual
theory to engage with a series of spectacles surrounding the punishment
and review of the noble tourneyers, and their impact on group identity and
status. The last section of the book concentrates on the physical manuscripts.

The evidence from all eight known medieval manuscript copies is
used to construct a new understanding of the provenance and transmission
of the work, before turning to scrutinize the reception of two copies in
detail. The conclusion draws together threads of identity, authority, and
the importance of the Livre des tournois as a product of the culture and
circumstances of its production.

The second volume is a series of appendices to the main text, including
the first scholarly edition of the source manuscript to make use of all eight
medieval manuscripts,with tables anddiagrams showing the relationship of
all the extant manuscripts.

The third volume contains 300 supporting images, ncluding detailed high
resolution close-ups of vital examples, and images that utilize a special
technique, developed by the author, of highlighting important details
within images while identifying clearly where they are to be found in the
picture as a whole.

It is fair to say that it is probably the first instance of a technical handbook,
and the existence of eight copies which reproduce text and illustrations
using the same illustrations and the same layout, represent a group which
has no immediate parallels among medieval books. Presenting the important
comparative material has required the design of tables of illustrations,
and the use of highlighting of particular details, in a way which uses the
tools now available in digital imaging to great effect.

Pojam " impreza " danas je gotovo nepoznat u hrvatskoj heraldici, odnosno literaturi koja se time bavi. Razlog tome je što do danas nije otkrivena njezina upotreba među hrvatskim plemstvom. Impreza (u literaturi na engleskome jeziku poznata kao badge ili device) je znak plemića i kraljeva čiji su podanici i sljedbenici koristili kao oznaku pripadništva, često 1 ističući taj znak na svojim odorama i zastavama. Kako je imala jednaku funkciju kao i sam grb, pretpostavlja se kako je impreza uvelike korištena upravo zbog strogih heraldičkih pravila koja su " ograničavala " izgled grbova, a koja također nisu bila previše poznata u neplemićkom dijelu društva. Impreza je mogla biti napravljena od bilo kakvog materijala, kože, metala i sl., te nisu postojala pravila koja bi definirala njezin izgled. Stoga su često impreze najčešće bile obični životinjski i biljni likovi, te nisu imale veze sa samim grbom vlasnika. Među poznatije impreze spadaju crvena ruža obitelji York, bijela ruža obitelji Tudor, bijeli vepar engleskoga kralja Richarda III., zlatni dikobraz francuskoga kralja Luja XII., itd. The term " impreza " is today almost unknown in the literature of Croatian heraldry, because it was not used by Croatian nobility. An " impreza " (in English simply a badge or device, as defined by Zmajić) is a symbol of a nobleman or a king worn by his subjects and followers as a symbol of 1 affiliation, often as a notable mark on their uniforms and flags. As it had almost the same function as a coat of arms, it is supposed that a badge was used mostly to circumvent strict heraldic rules that limited the design of coats of arms, rules not well known among the gentry. A badge could have been fashioned of any kind of material – leather, metal, etc. – and there were no rules limiting its design. Badges were often simple Štit grba roda Šubića i knezova Bribirskih uvelike je poznat – crno orlovo krilo položeno prema dolje (kasnije je dodano još jedno krilo, pa se grb obitelji Zrinski proizašle iz tog roda sastoji od dva orlova krila okomito postavljena). Osim kod samih knezova Bribirskih i Zrinskih, motiv orlovih krila nalazimo i kod grbova obitelji O b r a d i ć / M e l i t , P e r a n s k i , Utješenović, Draganić te krčke grane Šubića, koje su sve pripadale tome rodu. Tokom srednjeg vijeka knezovi Bribirski bili su najmoćnija plemićka obitelj proizašla iz toga roda. Na vrhuncu njihove moći, na prijelazu iz XIII. u XIV. stoljeće, vladali su gotovo cijelom tadašnjom Hrvatskom i Bosnom (kasnije i Humom), dobili bansku čast u nasljedno pravo, među njihove vazale ubrajali su se i Nelipići, K u r j a k o v i ć i , H r v a t i n i ć i i Kotromanići, a odigrali su i ključnu ulogu u dovođenju dinastije Anjou na 2 mađarsko-hrvatsko prijestolje. Predvodnik te obitelji bio je ban Hrvata i gospodar Bosne Pavao I., a njegov najstariji sin Mladen II., koji će ga naslijediti u banskoj časti držao je i titulu princepsa Dalmacije. Jedan od dokaza njihove moći bio je taj što su kovali vlastiti novac. Novac bana Pavla I. i brata mu Mladena kovan je po uzoru The shield of the arms of the Šubić gens and the dukes of Bribir is well known – a black eagle's wing set downward (afterwards another wing was added, thus the later Zrinski family includes two wings set vertically). Besides the Bribir dukes and the Zrinskis, the eagle wing figure may be found in the arms of the Obradić/Melit, Peranski, Utješanović, and Draganić families, and the Krk branch of the Šubić families, all emerging from the same gens. At the height of their power, at the turn of the th th 13 to 14 century, they ruled nearly all of Croatia and Bosnia (and eventually also Chumlia) and gained the hereditary right to the title of " ban " (viceroy). Among their vassals were such great families as Nelipić, Kurjaković, Hrvatinić, and Kotromanić, and they played a key role in placing the Anjou dynasty to the 2 Hungarian-Croatian throne. The head of the family was Ban of Croats and Lord of Bosnia Paul I, and his oldest son Mladen II inherited the title of Ban and also held the title of Princeps of Dalmatia. An evidence of their power is that they minted their own coinage. The coins of Paul I and his brother Mladen I followed 3 the pattern of Venetians groschen, the so-called matapan, depicting a figure of St. Mark giving a flag to the Ban on the 1 Zmajić, Bartol: Heraldika, sfragistika, genealogija, veksilologija, rječnik heraldičkog nazivlja, Golden marketing, Zagreb, 1996: 73: U današnjoj heraldici nema posebnog heraldičkog znaka koji Talijani zovu " impresa " , a Englezi kod kojih je nastao " badge ". IMPREZA je neki znak koji su nosili službenici ili pristaše vladara ili velikaša. Karakteristično je da lik impreze često nije ni bio u grbu njezina vlasnika. Vrlo rijetka u Srednjoj Europi, bila je raširena u Francuskoj i Engleskoj. Najpoznatija impreza bila je CRVENA RUŽA kuće York i BIJELA RUŽA kuće Tudor u Engleskoj, koje su se kasnije sjedinile u crveno-bijelu ružu engleske kraljevske kuće.

Although this is primarily meant for a boardgame that covers the Wars of the Roses (Bella Rosarum v2), this map has been thoroughly researched from a variety of medieval and modern sources and contains a wealth of information about the state of functioning 15th century English castles. In particular, the coastline from Lynn to Boston has been painstakingly reconstructed from a combination of historical records/maps and modern day remnants of the medieval sea defences. Historical names were taken from a detailed survey of how the Calendar of Patent Rolls for the period generally referred to a location, e.g. Notyngham.

Rassegna delle principali varianti dello stemma Challant, con particolare attenzione agli esemplari presenti nel castello di Issogne (Val d’Aosta) e circa 40 blasoni, anche di stemmi collegati alla dinastia, con cenni agli usi italiani delle “brisure” (modi volontari di differenziare uno stemma di famiglia fra i diversi rami di essa)
- - -
List of the main variants of Challant coat-of-arms, with particular attention to specimens found in Issogne castle (Val d'Aosta) and about 40 blazons, also of coats of arms connected to the dynasty, with hints to Italian uses of the "brisure" (voluntary ways to differentiate a family coat-of-arms among various branches)

The Aspremont-Kievraing Psalter (Bodleian Library, MS Douce 118) was created in Artois, France circa 1290-1310 for Joffroy d’Aspremont and Isabelle de Kievraing. The Psalter is the first half of a ‘hybrid text’, consisting of both the Psalms and liturgical hours, and typical of the late thirteenth century, when the popularity of the book of hours began to outpace that of the psalter. The Psalter’s accompanying text is a book of hours, MS Felton 2, National Gallery of Victoria. Both manuscripts are characterised by imaginative and elaborate marginalia, images of chivalry, fantasy, and piety that illuminate every folio. Although Margaret Manion has closely examined the Book of Hours’ marginalia, the Psalter’s has yet to be sufficiently studied.
By analysing the Aspremont-Kievraing Psalter’s marginalia, particularly its scenes of chivalry and heraldry, I will argue that these liminal images functioned on several levels, serving not only as an entertaining diversion from the text, but also as a record of familial events and achievements, an exemplar of wealth and piety, an illustration of medieval gender roles, and as an aid to devotion. I will posit that the diverse ways in which Joffroy and Isabelle may have engaged with their manuscript’s imagery speaks both to the multivalent nature of medieval reading, and to late medieval cultural and societal norms. Finally, I will hypothesise that the overarching theme of the Psalter’s marginalia is of the marriage of sacred and secular, illustrating the complex interrelations between two seemingly dichotomous aspects of medieval life.

In 1538, Cromwell from the court of Henry VIII, ordered that every wedding, baptism and burial was to be recorded. Genealogists owe that guy a depth of gratitude because thanks to him we are able to research our English family trees with the help of parish records as far back as 1538.

Una copia di questo volume, autografata dall’autore del presente saggio, è in vendita (A copy of this book, autographed by the author of the present essay, is for sale):
rivolgersi a (please contact) stemmitaly@gmail.com oppure (or) araldikon@live.it
-------
Pubblicato in: in “Lo stemmario Carpani”, Atti del convegno Le fonti dell'araldica – Lo stemmario Carpani,  organizzato dal Centro Studi Araldici, 22 giugno 2013, Varese, Centro Studi Araldici 2015, pp. 133÷163

El Antiguo Reino de Valencia se encontraba inmerso en la denominada Corona de Aragón en la que se incluían cuatro territorios históricos españoles: Aragón, Valencia, Cataluña y Baleares, cuyas heráldicas guardan ciertas similitudes, tanto que podemos contraponer la heráldica de la España oriental formada por ellos a la heráldica de la España occidental formada por los territorios que constituían la Corona de Castilla y a la heráldica Vasconavarra, según efectuaremos en el presente trabajo.

As with all my works they are all open to revision. I have added illustrations of the family crests of the Ortiz and I have added a small glossary of definitions of related symbols that are contained within family crests so the reader can get a better grasp of the specific meanings behind the Ortiz crests.

    Hopefully, these illustrations will be included in this second upload of my essay.

A menudo en las descripciones de escudos que encontramos, realizadas por personas con buena intención pero sin los conocimientos heráldicos suficientes, se cometen incorrecciones que dificultan en conocimiento del blasón descrito. SE dan varios consejos sobre las reglas del diseño heráldico y como evitar los errores más comunes que se suelen producir.

Гречило А. (текст), Завітій Б. (заг. ред.) Наш герб. Українські символи від княжих часів до сьогодення. — К., 2018. — 400 с.
Grechylo A. (text), Zavitiy B. (ed.) Our Coat of Arms. Kyiv, 2018. 400 pgs.
ISBN 978-617-7482-20-7

PDF-file: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SD7nyGHyxo0JCnAw7gcS8BZ8eCEhq2Tr/view