Portal:Heraldry


Welcome to the Heraldry and Vexillology Portal!

Flags of the Nordic countries
Flags of the Nordic countries
A herald wearing a tabard
A herald wearing a tabard

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.

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.

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Selected coat of arms

The coat of arms of Singapore is the heraldic symbol representing the Southeast Asian island nation of Singapore. It was adopted in 1959, the year Singapore became self-governing within the British Empire. At the centre of the emblem is a red shield bearing a white crescent (a new moon, representing a rising young nation) and five white stars (representing various national ideals including multiculturalism). While the use of the coat of arms is restricted to the government, the symbol enjoys wide use on the national currency and state decorations, and appears on the cover of the national passport.(more...)

Selected flag

Flag of the People's Republic of China
Flag of the People's Republic of China

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 article

The arms of Cardinal Hoyos displayed in SS. Nome di Maria al Foro Traiano
The arms of Cardinal Hoyos displayed in SS. Nome di Maria al Foro Traiano

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 picture

Did you know...

Coat of arms of Schleswig-Holstein

Related portals

Major topics and navigation

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

  • Nordic Flag Society

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

  • Flags & Heraldry Forum
  • Heraldry of the world
  • Civic Heraldry Bibliography (over 2000 entries)
  • Civic Heraldry of England and Wales
  • Scots Civic Heraldry
  • Heraldic collector's items
  • A Display of Heraldrie by John Guillim
  • Heraldry Online
  • The Armorial Register
  • Flags on antique share certificates

Wikimedia

Media on Commons • Coats of arms • Flags • Heraldry

The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:

  • Commons
    Free media repository
  • Wikibooks
    Free textbooks and manuals
  • Wikidata
    Free knowledge base
  • Wikinews
    Free-content news
  • Wikiquote
    Collection of quotations
  • Wikisource
    Free-content library
  • Wikispecies
    Directory of species
  • Wikiversity
    Free learning tools
  • Wikivoyage
    Free travel guide
  • Wiktionary
    Dictionary and thesaurus
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