Heraldry
西洋紋章学 / 12th century– / Style / Symbol Systems
Europe's armorial system, born from the need to tell one man from another on the battlefield. Exact description in the language of blazon, the rule of a limited set of tinctures and a grammar of division and combination add up to a design system that has run for 800 years.
At a glance
Visual cues
- Limited tincture colors
- The grammar of shield divisions
- Describability in blazon
- Stylized animal poses
Best used for
- Arms for schools and clubs that must explain their origin and rank
- Expressing a merger or a succession through division and combination
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Dictionary entry
- Type
- Motto lettering sits outside the arms, never on the shield itself
- Composition
- The shield divided by the grammar, one charge to each part
- Material
- Metals and a short list of colors, color never laid on color
- Caution
- Choosing tinctures by eye breaks the rule about metal on color, and the result can no longer be described as arms at all.
- Further study
- the grammar of blazon / the institution of heralds / inheritance in flags and state arms
Related entries
- Kamon (家紋)Same Symbol Systems lineage.Compare Heraldry and Kamon
- Illuminated Manuscript (彩飾写本)Shared effects: Luxury / Nostalgia.Compare Heraldry and Illuminated Manuscript
More from Symbol Systems
Continue through styles in the same Symbol Systems family, prioritised by shared effects.
- Alchemical Symbols (錬金術記号)Shared effects: Luxury / Nostalgia.
- Adinkra (アディンクラ)Shared effects: Trust.
- Braille (点字)Shared effects: Trust.
Browse all Symbol Systems entries
Cite this entry
The dictionary is meant to be linked to. Take whichever form fits where you are writing.
- Link
- https://indexstyle.org/styles/heraldry
- Markdown
- [Heraldry — IndexStyle](https://indexstyle.org/styles/heraldry)
- HTML
- <a href="https://indexstyle.org/styles/heraldry">Heraldry — IndexStyle</a>