Portal:Heraldry
Welcome to the Heraldry and Vexillology Portal!
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.
Selected coat of arms
The National Emblem of Belarus (Belarusian: Дзяржаўны герб Рэспублікі Беларусь, Russian: Государственный герб Республики Беларусь), which replaced the historic Pahonia arms in a 1995 referendum, features a ribbon in the colors of the national flag, the map of Belarus, wheat ears and a red star. It is sometimes referred to as the coat of arms of Belarus, which is incorrect due to lack of several heraldic elements. The emblem is an allusion to the one used by the Byelorussian SSR, designed by I.I. Dubasov in 1950. Emblems reminiscent of the times of the Soviet Union are also used by the nations of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan and the region of Transnistria. (more...)
Selected flag
The Flag of Europe is the flag and emblem of the European Union (EU) and Council of Europe (CoE) (it is also used to indicate the euro or eurozone countries). It consists of a circle of 12 golden (yellow) stars on a blue background. The blue represents the west; the number of stars represents completeness while their position in a circle represents unity. The stars do not vary according to the members of either organisation as they are intended to represent all the peoples of Europe, even those outside European integration.
The flag was designed by Arsène Heitz and Paul Lévy in 1955 for the CoE as its symbol, and the CoE urged it to be adopted by other organisations. In 1985 the EU, which was then the European Economic Community (EEC), adopted it as its own flag (having had no flag of its own before) at the initiative of the European Parliament. The flag is not mentioned in the EU's treaties, its incorporation being dropped along with the European Constitution, but it is formally adopted in law. (more...)
Selected article
"England expects that every man will do his duty" was a signal sent by Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson from his flagship HMS Victory as the Battle of Trafalgar was about to commence on October 21, 1805. Trafalgar was the decisive naval engagement of the Napoleonic Wars. It gave the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland control of the seas, removing all possibility of a French invasion and conquest of Britain. Although there was much confusion surrounding the wording of the signal in the aftermath of the battle, the significance of the victory and Nelson's death during the battle led to the phrase becoming embedded in the English psyche, and it has been regularly quoted, paraphrased and referenced up to the modern day. (more...)
Selected picture
Created in 1936, after the restoration of the monarchy, the Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Greece was used until 1967, when King Constantine II was exiled, and then nominally until 1973 when the kingdom was replaced by the Third Hellenic Republic. The arms remains in use by the former Greek Royal Family.
Did you know...
- ...that, among the flags of Romania, the removal of the socialist coat of arms during the Romanian Revolution of 1989 gave rise to the phrase "the flag with the hole" (pictured)?
- ...that Indonesia's first flag flown was fashioned by its first first lady Fatmawati?
- ...that the tiger in the Coat of arms of Singapore represents Malaysia?
- ...that the flags hoisted by the Finnish icebreaker Tarmo on 3 March 1918 included a large white tablecloth?
- ...that the flag on the top of the Tall Hermann tower on Toompea Hill is one of the best-known symbols in Estonia of the government in power?
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
Wikimedia
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