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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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...)

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Ireland King of Arms was the title of an Irish officer of arms from 1392 until the accession of Henry VII as King of England in 1485. The office was replaced in 1552 by that of Ulster King of Arms, which in 1943 was merged with Norroy King of Arms forming the present office of Norroy and Ulster King of Arms. In theory, Ireland King of Arms enjoyed heraldic jurisdiction in the whole of the Lordship of Ireland. (more...)

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The Flags of Puerto Rico represent and symbolize the island and people of Puerto Rico. The origins of the current flag of Puerto Rico, adopted by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in 1952, can be traced to 1868, when the first Puerto Rican flag, "The Revolutionary Flag of Lares", was conceived by Dr. Ramón Emeterio Betances and embroidered by Mariana "Brazos de Oro" Bracetti. The exiled Puerto Rican Revolutionary Committee chose the Flag of Lares as their standard. In 1892, the Revolutionary Committee adopted a design modeled after the Cuban flag. The new flag consisted of five equal horizontal bands of red (top and bottom) alternating with white; a blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist side bears a large, white, five-pointed star in the center.

The display of a Puerto Rican flag was outlawed and the only flags permitted to be flown in Puerto Rico were the Spanish flag (1492 to 1898) and the flag of the United States (1898 to 1952). In 1952, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico declared the flag originally designed in 1892 to be the official flag, but without specifying the tones of colors to be used. The color of the triangle that was used by the administration of Luis Muñoz Marín was the dark blue that is used in the flag of the United States, instead of the original light blue, thus creating a political controversy which has lasted throughout the years. (more...)

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Pursuivants in procession to St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle for the 2006 service of the Order of the Garter: Peter O'Donoghue, Bluemantle Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary (left), Alastair Bruce of Crionaich, Fitzalan Pursuivant of Arms Extraordinary (right).

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Did you know...

...that several Scottish noble families retain private officers of arms (pictured)?

...that the herald Robert Glover was appointed to the office of Norroy King of Arms jointly with his 82-year-old father-in-law William Flower in 1580?