PREFACE
Though heraldry is viewed by some as irrelevant today, one cannot escape the obvious fact that it has survived for centuries and can be seen all around us the moment we open our eyes and minds to its presence. With few exceptions, existing guides to heraldry approach the subject from a European point of view in which the former colonies are briefly included. This guide is unique in that it focuses on what is more specific to Canada and approaches its European origins from that perspective. While it does look at some of the many misconceptions regarding heraldry, it focuses more on practical questions that can only be dealt with by an experienced heraldist or by reading many specialized works and articles.
People, whether they like it or not, are confronted with heraldry at one time or another in their lives. This may be a casual brush with the field or events that lead an unprepared person into more intricate aspects of the field. The mayor of a city, for instance, may be faced with a council equally divided between those who favour a coat of arms and those promoting a logo. Often in such cases, the decision is taken to adopt both without paying much attention to the purpose that each emblem would best serve. In other instances, someone may wish to acquire expertise in one or another aspect of the discipline without knowing where to begin. In many ways, this work provides a decision-making tool and paths to follow for heraldic questions ranging from the simplest to the most complex.
Heraldry as an auxiliary science to other fields is an important theme. The historian, archivist, museologist, archaeologist, and collector will learn how heraldry serves to identify and date documents and artefacts. The teacher will find useful advice on using coats of arms as a teaching tool. Students will be suggested areas of heraldic investigation that involve breaking new grounds and providing original contributions to the field. Artists seeking to learn the requirements of heraldic design are offered abundant advice and several approaches according to their personal inclinations. A methodology for the genealogist in search of ancestral arms is outlined along with the requirements for laying a claim to arms through descent.
In the Americas, which were colonized after armorial shields had left the battlefields of Medieval Europe, the need for emblems remained, but the disciplined and more regulated approach of the distant homelands was often abandoned in favour of spontaneous and unschooled creations. Some designs stray so far away from heraldic art that knowledgeable heraldists refuse to recognize them as heraldry, although the creator likely worked in good faith with no intention of providing a dubious product. In a historical perspective, this form of heraldry remains important as an artistic manifestation of folk or naïve art and as a tool for dating artefacts. Freely creating and adopting arms or flags is still widespread and considered by some as a normal approach. While this work does not condemn assumed heraldry as illegitimate within a free society, it does confront at some length the pitfalls of homespun emblems against the benefits of officially granted ones.
Many individuals still fall prey to peddlers who claim to provide authentic arms based on a family name only. Often the word heraldry is loosely applied as a generic term to many emblematic forms which have similarities with the European heraldic system, but are different in many other significant ways and should retain their own specific names. Many neo-medieval clubs and associations create their own coats of arms and appoint their own heralds with resounding titles. Being able to discern what are the essential elements and the purpose of heraldry becomes increasingly important particularly to evaluate information widely diffused on the Internet.
The last three chapters look at heraldry as an art and a science which express themselves through symbols. These three facets can be viewed as a triangle with symbolism at its apex. The first purpose of heraldry on the battlefield was identification, and this pictorial mode of recognition was made into a science by heralds. Out of identification emerged the closely related concepts of identity, significance and meaning, abstract notions that are grasped through symbolism. Another recurring trilogy is past, present and future. For personal arms, this can signify ancestry, personal achievements and spiritual legacy to descendants. Even a single word like “progress” found in the motto of many municipalities usually means progress in the past, progress now, and progress in the future. The last chapter delves into the universality of symbols found in so many aspects of human life such as art, literature, myths, religion, and ceremonial. Heraldry is seen as a part of a universal need to express by means of symbols the most essential facets of man as an individual and within society.
The heraldic systems of many countries are touched upon, but the majority of examples are drawn from the Canadian experience, including the period of New France, and from Great Britain and France from which Canadian heraldry is mostly derived. Many of the methodologies described, such as using heraldry as a didactic tool, designing arms or identifying unknown arms, are readily adaptable to the heraldic heritage of most countries with a heraldic heritage.
Some sections touch upon the mode of functioning of the Canadian Heraldic Authority, and in some cases, speculate as to the approach that the Chief Herald of Canada might take when dealing with certain situations. This may be, for instance, a petitioner’s claim to Polish or Hungarian clan arms or the recognition of arms dating back to New France. My opinions on such matters are based on my own experience as a practising herald. In fact most heraldic situations present their own particularities because heraldic systems were not always applied in a uniform or predictable way. It should also be emphasized that the Canadian Heraldic Authority is a young and evolving institution. Over the years the Chief Herald of Canada, in council with fellow heralds, will take decisions regarding specific heraldic situations that will shape the Canadian heraldic law of arms.
The knowledge to write this book was to a large extent acquired by being responsible for heraldic collections at the National Archives of Canada (now Library and Archives Canada) for more than 20 years and as a herald of the Canadian Heraldic Authority for over a decade. These responsibilities brought me into contact with the many heraldic traditions throughout the world that Canada has inherited and, more specifically, has allowed me to gain a panoramic view of the Canadian heraldic scene. The years of responding to public inquiries and doing research have given me a hands-on and, in some ways, an original approach to numerous questions that are raised herein.
Many of the illustrations in this work come from the heraldic ceramic pieces my wife and I assembled and photographed prior to donating the collection to the Canadian Museum of History. Some reproductions are from Library and Archives Canada and also from the Public Register of Arms, Flags and Badges of Canada. Other pictorial sources are mentioned in the acknowledgements.
A word on heraldic terminology is in order. While most heraldic terms have remained specific over the years, the meaning of some of the generic terms has become confusing. The shield with its figures and colours, called “arms” in a strict sense, is the main and essential component of an achievement of arms, which may include accompaniments to the shield such as crest, motto and supporters. In its original meaning, “coat of arms” referred exclusively to the colours and figures on the shield (arms in precise terminology) because these same elements also appeared on the coat (a garment of cloth) worn over metal armour. Today coat of arms is widely used to refer to the full achievement of arms and has commonly become synonymous with achievement of arms, armorial bearings or simply arms, which is a short form for the other terms. Because coat of arms is more familiar to the general public, its use as a generic term seems entirely appropriate in this work, which is meant for a broad readership. At times I have used the other terms as well for precision or simply to avoid monotony. A.V.
People, whether they like it or not, are confronted with heraldry at one time or another in their lives. This may be a casual brush with the field or events that lead an unprepared person into more intricate aspects of the field. The mayor of a city, for instance, may be faced with a council equally divided between those who favour a coat of arms and those promoting a logo. Often in such cases, the decision is taken to adopt both without paying much attention to the purpose that each emblem would best serve. In other instances, someone may wish to acquire expertise in one or another aspect of the discipline without knowing where to begin. In many ways, this work provides a decision-making tool and paths to follow for heraldic questions ranging from the simplest to the most complex.
Heraldry as an auxiliary science to other fields is an important theme. The historian, archivist, museologist, archaeologist, and collector will learn how heraldry serves to identify and date documents and artefacts. The teacher will find useful advice on using coats of arms as a teaching tool. Students will be suggested areas of heraldic investigation that involve breaking new grounds and providing original contributions to the field. Artists seeking to learn the requirements of heraldic design are offered abundant advice and several approaches according to their personal inclinations. A methodology for the genealogist in search of ancestral arms is outlined along with the requirements for laying a claim to arms through descent.
In the Americas, which were colonized after armorial shields had left the battlefields of Medieval Europe, the need for emblems remained, but the disciplined and more regulated approach of the distant homelands was often abandoned in favour of spontaneous and unschooled creations. Some designs stray so far away from heraldic art that knowledgeable heraldists refuse to recognize them as heraldry, although the creator likely worked in good faith with no intention of providing a dubious product. In a historical perspective, this form of heraldry remains important as an artistic manifestation of folk or naïve art and as a tool for dating artefacts. Freely creating and adopting arms or flags is still widespread and considered by some as a normal approach. While this work does not condemn assumed heraldry as illegitimate within a free society, it does confront at some length the pitfalls of homespun emblems against the benefits of officially granted ones.
Many individuals still fall prey to peddlers who claim to provide authentic arms based on a family name only. Often the word heraldry is loosely applied as a generic term to many emblematic forms which have similarities with the European heraldic system, but are different in many other significant ways and should retain their own specific names. Many neo-medieval clubs and associations create their own coats of arms and appoint their own heralds with resounding titles. Being able to discern what are the essential elements and the purpose of heraldry becomes increasingly important particularly to evaluate information widely diffused on the Internet.
The last three chapters look at heraldry as an art and a science which express themselves through symbols. These three facets can be viewed as a triangle with symbolism at its apex. The first purpose of heraldry on the battlefield was identification, and this pictorial mode of recognition was made into a science by heralds. Out of identification emerged the closely related concepts of identity, significance and meaning, abstract notions that are grasped through symbolism. Another recurring trilogy is past, present and future. For personal arms, this can signify ancestry, personal achievements and spiritual legacy to descendants. Even a single word like “progress” found in the motto of many municipalities usually means progress in the past, progress now, and progress in the future. The last chapter delves into the universality of symbols found in so many aspects of human life such as art, literature, myths, religion, and ceremonial. Heraldry is seen as a part of a universal need to express by means of symbols the most essential facets of man as an individual and within society.
The heraldic systems of many countries are touched upon, but the majority of examples are drawn from the Canadian experience, including the period of New France, and from Great Britain and France from which Canadian heraldry is mostly derived. Many of the methodologies described, such as using heraldry as a didactic tool, designing arms or identifying unknown arms, are readily adaptable to the heraldic heritage of most countries with a heraldic heritage.
Some sections touch upon the mode of functioning of the Canadian Heraldic Authority, and in some cases, speculate as to the approach that the Chief Herald of Canada might take when dealing with certain situations. This may be, for instance, a petitioner’s claim to Polish or Hungarian clan arms or the recognition of arms dating back to New France. My opinions on such matters are based on my own experience as a practising herald. In fact most heraldic situations present their own particularities because heraldic systems were not always applied in a uniform or predictable way. It should also be emphasized that the Canadian Heraldic Authority is a young and evolving institution. Over the years the Chief Herald of Canada, in council with fellow heralds, will take decisions regarding specific heraldic situations that will shape the Canadian heraldic law of arms.
The knowledge to write this book was to a large extent acquired by being responsible for heraldic collections at the National Archives of Canada (now Library and Archives Canada) for more than 20 years and as a herald of the Canadian Heraldic Authority for over a decade. These responsibilities brought me into contact with the many heraldic traditions throughout the world that Canada has inherited and, more specifically, has allowed me to gain a panoramic view of the Canadian heraldic scene. The years of responding to public inquiries and doing research have given me a hands-on and, in some ways, an original approach to numerous questions that are raised herein.
Many of the illustrations in this work come from the heraldic ceramic pieces my wife and I assembled and photographed prior to donating the collection to the Canadian Museum of History. Some reproductions are from Library and Archives Canada and also from the Public Register of Arms, Flags and Badges of Canada. Other pictorial sources are mentioned in the acknowledgements.
A word on heraldic terminology is in order. While most heraldic terms have remained specific over the years, the meaning of some of the generic terms has become confusing. The shield with its figures and colours, called “arms” in a strict sense, is the main and essential component of an achievement of arms, which may include accompaniments to the shield such as crest, motto and supporters. In its original meaning, “coat of arms” referred exclusively to the colours and figures on the shield (arms in precise terminology) because these same elements also appeared on the coat (a garment of cloth) worn over metal armour. Today coat of arms is widely used to refer to the full achievement of arms and has commonly become synonymous with achievement of arms, armorial bearings or simply arms, which is a short form for the other terms. Because coat of arms is more familiar to the general public, its use as a generic term seems entirely appropriate in this work, which is meant for a broad readership. At times I have used the other terms as well for precision or simply to avoid monotony. A.V.