Welcome to the Heraldry and Vexillology Portal!
Heraldry encompasses all of the duties of a herald, including the science and art of designing, displaying, describing and recording coats of arms and badges, as well as the formal ceremonies and laws that regulate the use and inheritance of arms. The origins of heraldry lie in the medieval need to distinguish participants in battles or jousts, whose faces were hidden by steel helmets.
Vexillology (from the Latin vexillum, a flag or banner) is the scholarly study of flags, including the creation and development of a body of knowledge about flags of all types, their forms and functions, and of scientific theories and principles based on that knowledge. Flags were originally used to assist military coordination on the battlefield, and have evolved into a general tool for signalling and identification, particularly identification of countries.
Selected coat of arms
The Seal of Dartmouth College is the official insignia of Dartmouth College, an Ivy League university located in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Anglo-American law generally requires a corporate body to seek official government sanction, usually in the form of a charter, in order to operate. Such chartered bodies normally authenticate their official acts by marking them with a distinctive seal. The seal's design is usually complicated to avoid counterfeiting, but it can also express something about the institution's history or mission. Dartmouth College is one such chartered body, and it obtained its official seal in 1773. (more...)
Selected article
Ecclesiastical heraldry is the tradition of heraldry developed by Christian clergy. Within the Roman Catholic Church, every bishop has his own personal coat of arms. The shield usually combines the bishop's personal attributes with those of his diocese, and may change if he is appointed to a different position. Around the shield are other elements corresponding to the position in the hierarchy, including the Roman galero (or gallero), the cross, the mitre and the crosier. With modifications, similar customs are followed by clergy in the Anglican Church, the Eastern Rite Catholic Churches, and the Eastern Orthodox Churches. The Papal coat of arms has its own heraldic customs. (more...)
Selected flag
The flag of the People's Republic of China is a red field charged in the canton (upper left corner) with five golden stars. The design features one large star, with four smaller stars in a semicircle set off towards the fly (right side). The red represents revolution; the five stars and their relationship represent the unity of the Chinese people under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC). Sometimes, the flag is referred to as the "Five Star Red Flag" (simplified Chinese: 五星红旗; traditional Chinese: 五星紅旗; pinyin: wǔ xīng hóng qí).
The flag was designed in response to a circular distributed by the Preparatory Committee of the New Political Consultative Conference (新政治協商會議籌備會) in July 1949, shortly after they came to power following the Chinese Civil War. About three thousand entries were received for the design competition, and after slight modifications, the design by Zeng Liansong, a citizen from Rui'an, Zhejiang, was chosen as the national flag. The construction sheet for the national flag was published on September 28, 1949 by an order from the Presidium of the First Plenary Session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. The first flag was hoisted by Mao Zedong on a pole overlooking Beijing's Tiananmen Square on October 1, 1949, at a ceremony announcing the founding of the People's Republic. (more...)
Selected picture
A video of the second raising of the U.S. flag on Iwo Jima, the photograph of which by Joe Rosenthal became one of the most recognizable of World War II. This was shot by U.S. Marine Sergeant Bill Genaust, who was standing next to Rosenthal, and as such, the film shows the event from almost the same angle as the famous photograph. (Need help viewing this video?)
Did you know...
- ...that the Dannebrog (pictured) is the oldest state flag in the world still in use, with the earliest undisputed source dating back to the 14th century?
- ...that Raymond Jacobs maintained that he was the last surviving member of the original party of Marines who raised the first flag on Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima?
- ...that the coat of arms of Montenegro derives from that of King Nikola?
- ...that the "four moors" which appear on the Flag of Sardinia have been associated with the island since the 14th century?
- ...that the civil flag of Monaco utilizes the heraldic colors of the House of Grimaldi?
Related portals
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Heraldry Web resources
Authorities
- Belgium - The Council of Nobility, Flemish Heraldic Council and Council of Heraldry and Vexillology of the French Community
- Canada - Canadian Heraldic Authority and see also Public Register of Arms, Flags and Badges
- England, Wales, and Northern Ireland - The College of Arms
- Ireland - The Office of the Chief Herald of Ireland
- Netherlands - High Council of Nobility
- Portugal - Instituto da Nobreza Portuguesa
- Scotland - The Court of the Lord Lyon
- South Africa - South African Bureau of Heraldry
- Sweden - National Board of Heraldry, The National Archive
- United States Army - The United States Army Institute of Heraldry
Societies
- Greek Heraldry Society
- The Academy of Heraldic Science Czech republic
- The American College of Heraldry
- The American Heraldry Society
- The Augustan Society
- The Australian Heraldry Society Inc.
- Bulgarian Heraldry and Vexillology Society
- The Center for Research of Orthodox Monarchism
- Cambridge University Heraldic and Genealogical Society
- Chiltern Heraldry Group
- The College of Dracology
- Croatian Heraldic and Vexillologic Association
- The Finnish Heraldic Society
- Fryske Rie foar Heraldyk
- Hellenic Armigers Society
- Guild of Heraldic Artists
- Genealogical Society of Ireland
- Heraldry Research Institute (Japan)
- The Heraldry Society
- The Heraldry Society of Africa
- The Heraldry Society of New Zealand Inc.
- The Heraldry Society of Scotland
- The Heraldry Society of Southern Africa
- The Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies
- The International Association of Amateur Heralds
- Italian Center of Vexillological Studies
- Lancashire Heraldry Group
- Macedonian Heraldry Society
- New England Historic Genealogical Society Committee on Heraldry
- Norwegian Heraldry Society
- Oxford University Heraldry Society
- Polish Heraldry Society
- Polish Nobility Confederation
- Real Academia Matritense de Heráldica y Genealogía - Royal Academy of Heraldry and Genealogy of Madrid
- Romanian Institute for Genealogy and Heraldry
- The Royal Heraldry Society of Canada
- The Russian College of HeraldryThe Russian College of Heraldry
- Serbian Heraldic Society
- Societas Heraldica Scandinavica
- Societas Heraldica Slovenica
- Swedish Heraldic Society
- Ukrainian Heraldry Society
- Royal Association Genealogical and Heraldic Office of Belgium
Vexillology
Software
- Coat of Arms Visual Designer web-based program
- Puncher Heraldry Program
- Blazonry Server - pyBlazon
- DrawShield - creates SVG shield or arms image from blazon
- CoaMaker - web-based tool
- Blazon95 and BLAZONS! 2000, older Windows applications
Texts
- Heraldry, historical and popular : with seven hundred illustrations (1863)
- A Complete Guide to Heraldry (1909)
Other
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