Primer of Heraldry for Americans

B o o k- plat e o f h n n Pre siden t Ge o rge W as i gt o . PRIMER O F HERALDRY FO R AMERICANS D D D A . H L N LL D E W R O E . S , NEW Y O RK THE CENTURY 00 . 1898 Co ri ht 18 py g , 98 , by TH E CEN TU R Y 0 0 . THE DEVINNE Passe TO M ' M AND E $ H TABLE O F CO NTENTS EMB LEMS FLAGS SEAL S ARMS HERAL DRY IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES HERAL DRY IN ARCHITECTUR E HERALDRY IN LITERATURE AND HISTORY THE COAT OF ARMS CHARGES HELMETS CRESTS CROW NS AND CORONETS SUPPORTERS BADGES . MOTTOS KNOTS BLAZ ONING MARSHAL ING ARMS OF KINGDOMS AN D STATES viii TABLE OF CONTENTS P A G E E SE L AR S ND FL OF THE UNITED TH A , M , A AG STATES OF AMERICA TITLES OF NOB ILITY O RDERS OF KNIGHTHOOD SILVER PLATE HEREDITARY PATRIOTIC SOCIETIES IN THE UNITED STATES 78 HO W TO TRACE A PEDIGREE 88 ANCIENT LINEAGE 90 INDEX TO HERALDIC TERMS . 100 PLATES ( FIGURES 1 TO 119 ) E nd of the book INTR O DU CTO RY NO TE IT is usual to commence Am e rican books o n heraldic and genealogic matters with a half apology fo r introducing su ch subjects o f to the notice the citizens of a republic . The writer believes apologies to be entirely d h unnecessary . Such topics eserve t eir due Share o f attention (though it may not bO a large share) in a country which con tains millions o f descendants o f good fami l f G l ies o England and the Continent . enera George Washington inherited a coat o f s arms from reputable Engli h ancestors, d and use it on appropriate occasions . Ben jamin Franklin applied for and obtained a o f r t grant armo ial bearings , and his mo to $ Exem lum ades t i se homo was, p p ( Conduct marks the Where two such Repub licans A led, mericans need not fear to follow . The writer began his heraldic studies as a school-boy with Scott’ s novels and Frois ’ l sart s Chronic es . The present book has ix INTRO DUCTO RY NOTE been written at spare moments, as a relief $ e re nt from very di work . The informa tion that it contains will help to solve many A Art enigmas in rchitecture, , Literature, and History (both European and colonial) , and will enable the reader to take an in timate pleasure in matters that otherwise l z fi re are mere y pu zling and, at rst Sight, lle nt M o f - pe . uch our mother literature S (especially hakspere, Scott, Tennyson , and very much o f foreign literature A Tasso ( riosto , , Froissart, cannot be intelligently read without a little learning G A of the sort . othic rchitecture tells no P inco m story, and ainting often tells an le t e o ne o f p , without some rudiments l heraldic knowledge . Ha f the point of History is lost unless it is studied in it s To details . comprehend its details (espe cially in the period from the Crusades t o the French Revolution) an accurate knowledge l . e of heraldry is a materia aid La Bruy re, ” D e V l e num e r in his Caracteres ( la i le) , ates the uses to which armorial bearings $ were put in his day The y are $ ” o n emblazoned everywhere, he says - d stained glass win ows , over the doors , INTRO DUCTO RY NOTE xi o n o n even on the locks, coaches, and ” 1688 liveries . What was true in is also ' - o f true to day . The seals countries, prov ince s S O , and states are heraldic ; are their s flags . Coin and medals are stamped with heraldic emblems ; each government de n o fli ce l part m e t or has its sea ; cities, cor o rat io ns p , colleges, universities, employ as and seals and devices, do societies indi u ls l n vid a . Hera dry is a doctri e which has to do with all these things , and it is inter esting and advantageous t o kno w s o m e thing o f - d o f it . The visiting car s foreigners un Freihew en— co ts , barons , bear their coro and l d nets , the rank and tit e can be decide - l l at a glance . Note paper is Simi ar y marked, and the sex and condition o f the writer can di o f be scovered from the coat arms . A s such devices are in every-day use in ll this country, and sti more in foreign l countries , it is worth whi e to understand the universal rul es according t o which they no t are employed, and to make blunders l No that may easi y be avoided . t t o follow these rules is Simply to refuse to admit the alphabet of the language which one is em l Fo r p oying . instance, no woman except INTRODUCTORY NOTE s A a queen may bear a cre t . Let merican ladies remember this Simple rule in order - N ing their book plates and stationery . o unmarried woman may bear arms o n a ’ A 1 . 35 knight s shield Since . D . 0 (except o n American letter-paper) such arms have been borne o n a lozenge ( 0 The present little book treats o f such matters in a compact form and a simple ll il It s manner, and it is fu y lustrated . materials have been gathered fromleisurely and extensive reading, not only in English but in continental heraldry ; and some o f s A them, at lea t, will be new to most meri It cans . will serve as a primer for young l and o f peop e, as a handy book reference to their elders ; and it Should be espe cially useful to t he m embers of the many hereditary patriotic societies now formed, ‘ and forming, throughout the country. Special attention is here paid to such z and l organi ations, it is be ieved that a perusal o f this book will make the reader a no t A . better, a worse, merican E . S . H . NE YORK Januar 1898 . w , y, A PRIMER O F HERALDRY FO R AMERICAN S A PRIMER O F H ERALDRY FO R AMERICANS AR MS (or armorial bearings) are heredi n tary heraldi c devices, arra ged according ul to conventional r es, appertaining to and o f d l honorably di stinctive in ividua s, cor o ratio ns . The p , cities , countries, etc y are usually blazoned (painted in color) on a d l and Shield, and surmounte by a he met d crest, and they may be accompanie by n l n An supporters , mottos, and ma t i gs . achievement o f arms is the aggregate o f all these devices as borne by a person ; so called because in Old days the honor O f arms was achieved by knightly deeds . Heraldry (o r armory) is the body of doc trine (it used t o be ranked as a science) which prescribes the rul es by which arms 2 A PRIMER OF EEERALDRY are composed ; in its widest scope it has to do W di o f ith honorary stinctions all kinds . o f Dr n The business the herald, as . Johnso $ well says, is to proclaim peace and to de nounce war ; to be employed in martial messages ; and to judge and examine coats ” o f arms . EMBLEMS THE tribes of Israel had their distinctive — E h l . sc u s He emblems Judah its lion y , ro do t u s and , many ancient writers describe o n ld the devices borne the Shie s of warriors . Such devices were more than mere orna o f O f ment, and partook the nature perso nal di badges ; but they were not here tary, l Al th as armoria bearings are . exander e Great distributed such special di stinctions n l l l amo g his genera s , precise y as Napo eon ’ granted arms to his marshals . Trajan s Column in Rome was erected in the years A 98—11 l o f D n . 7 D , and the Shie ds the acia s sculptured upon it are covered with em ble m s . , as the sun , the moon, etc Even o u r R e d Indian clan s were distingui shed by m s and ndi u tote ic Sign , each i vid al warrior l z had his persona cogni anc e . From remote 4 A PRIMER OF HERALDRY arms o f the knight were born e upon his n m in his shield, ofte ti es repeated crest, l painted on his banner, scu ptured on his o n fi castle and his tomb, and nally became t o n a precious inheritance his desce dants . Here we have the marks of veritable arms as distinguished from no n-hereditary em ble m s l . Emb ems were personal badges , an l A d were not necessari y inherited . rms h d are ere itary . FLAGS THE Oldest o f existing flags is that of D — D enmark the anebrog, which was cer nl t ai y adopted in the thirteenth century .

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