Portal:Heraldry

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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.

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Selected biography

Emily Dickinson (born Emily Elizabeth Dickinson; December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886), was an American poet who wrote about 1,800 poems in her lifetime and posthumously became an influence on American poetry. Her work when she was alive was very little-known and during her life she often stayed confined to her bedroom in her home in Amherst, Massachusetts, after leaving society in her 30s. She lived in Amherst, Massachusetts her entire life. In 1955, a complete published print of all of her poems became available in The Poems of Emily Dickinson by Thomas Johnson. (more...)

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Selected coat of arms

There are 26 modern cantons of Switzerland, each of which has an official flag and coat of arms.The history of development of these designs spans the 13th to 20th centuries. With the exception of Lucerne, Schwyz and Ticino, the cantonal coats of arms are simply arrangements of the cantonal flags in a shield shape. This fashion originates in the 15th century. (more...)

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Selected flag

Red ensign of Singapore

The Red Ensign of Singapore is a civil ensign used by privately-owned, non-military ships that are registered in Singapore. The overall design of the ensign is a modification of the national flag, with the ratio of the width to the length extended to 1:2. The ensign was created by law in 1966. The use of this ensign is regulated by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA). According to the MPA, the Red Ensign is the only ensign to be used on Singaporean civilian ships, and the national flag is not an acceptable substitute. The ensign must be hoisted on all Singaporean ships on entering or leaving port. (more...)

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The Coat of arms of the Russian Empire according to the "Manifesto On Full Blazon of All-Russian Empire", presented to Emperor on October 13, 1800.

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Did you know...

...that the Norwegian heraldic authority forbade any other municipality to use the dog rose which appears on the Flag of Trondheim (pictured), because of the symbol's long association with that city?

...that James Terry was an Irish officer of arms who remained faithful to James II of England after his escape to the European continent?

...that the coat of arms of Greenland depicts a polar bear raising its left forepaw, breaking with the heraldic tradition of showing the right forepaw raised, because polar bears are left-handed?

...that the Pennon, one of the principal varieties of flag carried during the Middle Ages, derives its name from the Latin penna, meaning wing?

...that in The Stages of Life, German painter Caspar David Friedrich depicted his son holding a Swedish flag because Friedrich considered himself half-Swedish?

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