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This study considers the practice of shared heraldry as an instrument of affirmation of late-medieval monarchies, examining the case study of King João I of Portugal. The study of how this sovereign’s heraldry was shared with those close to him illustrates how heraldry was understood as an instrument of propaganda for the cause of independence, in the context of the 1383-1385 dynastic crisis, and subsequently in building the imagery of the King and the dynasty he founded. The transposition of this heraldry to the Monastery of Batalha, erected to commemorate the victory at Aljubarrota and later a dynastic necropolis, established a privileged relationship with this monument’s architecture and iconography, expanding the same theme of shared heraldry (now in a dynastic context) as an expression of the royal power’s legitimacy.

The monograph uses the material of scientific and artistic discourses, lexicography and corpus linguistics to study metaphorical transfer and symbolization in language and culture, and also analyzes the verbal embodiment of the idea of sovereignty in the national heraldry of the former USSR states, Spanish-speaking Latin American countries, English-, French- and Portuguese-speaking countries.

The paper presents the results of research conducted with the aim of determining the contribution of textbooks on nature and society of the first cycle of education in the countries of the Western Balkans to the formation of the concept of national symbols and features. In the theoretical part of the paper, a description of the etymology of the official national symbols and features (flag, coat of arms and anthem) of the countries of the Western Balkan region is given. The theoretical analysis method and content analysis method were used. The units of analysis are sentences of the basic textbook content, visual content - pictures, photographs, drawings and questions and assignments in the domain of didactics and methodology instruments. The research included nature and society textbooks for younger elementary school students (N = 23). The results of the research showed that nature and society textbooks insufficiently affect the formation and strengthening of the concept of national symbols and signs, and that there is imbalance in their coverage and development, both as a whole and at the level of individual categories. It has been shown that there is an approximately equal representation of content that promotes national identity, but that the textbooks in the Republic of Croatia have, compared to the others, the most content dedicated to national symbols and signs, while in terms of the representation of basic textual content and their didactic-methodological interpretation, Slovenian textbooks lead the way. The textbooks used in the European Union member states have more content related to national symbols and signs within all analyzed categories. Foreign publishers have proven to be less sensitive to the national narratives of the countries to which they intend the textbook content.

As part of the reorganisation of the Portuguese monarchy following the restoration of independence from Spain in 1640, the magistrate Cristóvão Alão de Morais devoted himself to compiling the first armorial whose sole subject was the coats of arms of all the Portuguese municipalities. His objective was clear : to provide the monarchy with a heraldic map of the institutions that, below the king, formed the base of the kingdom’s sociopolitical organisation. To do so, the author used the printed sources at his disposal, supplementing them with direct observation of armorial monuments and, in some cases, seals. This method proved possible insofar as he benefited from the itinerary determined by his postings as a judge and by the network of correspondents that they him to establish ; on the other hand, he was limited by these circumstances, hence the unevenness of the information in his work. The armorial is presented as an abstract representation of the territorial and institutional parcels that made up the Portuguese monarchy. Hence the importance of the dual reproduction, written and graphic, of the municipal coats of arms. Based on an inventory of municipal emblems, Alão de Morais’s armorial was intended to contribute to the political and symbolic cartography of a monarchy in the process of rebuilding its identity.

In 1699 François-Roger de Gaignières and Louis Boudan visited the canonesses’ chapel in Luynes, Touraine, which had been commissioned by Hardouin IX de Maillé in the late fifteenth century. Judging by the drawings they made on the spot, Gaignières’ interest in the building lay in its profusion of symbols: six of Louis Boudan’s ten drawings focused on the heraldry of the families who had left their mark on the place. In all, twelve shields, made up of fifteen different quarters, were copied by Gaignières and bear witness to the filiation, alliances and genealogy of the Maillé family. This article will examine the chapel’s heraldic programme, identifying the figures represented and studying the way in which their coats of arms occupy the space. Secondly, it will explore how digital humanities, and geodata in particular, allow us to gain a better understanding of the methods and logic underlying this emblematic marking. Gaignières, through his drawings of the Luynes chapel, provides an account of the mapping of families and lineages over a territory that goes beyond the boundaries of Touraine.

This study talks about the British-Danish relations in the context of heraldry and orders of chivalry, by analyzing the coats of arms of members of the House of Windsor found in the armorial of the Order of the Elephant, Denmark’s highest knightly order. Thus, it starts with a history of said chivalric order and its use as a diplomatic tool. Then, it briefly talks about the members of the British Royal Family who have been inducted into the Order of the Elephant, focusing on the armorial entries and stall plates of those who were or are part of the House of Windsor, the current ruling dynasty of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: Prince George (future King George V), Prince Edward Albert of Wales (future King Edward VIII), Prince Albert, Duke of York (future King George VI), Prince George (future Duke of Kent), Prince Henry (future Duke of Gloucester), Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh (future Queen Elizabeth II), Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and, finally, Prince Charles of Wales (the current King of Great Britain and Northern Ireland as Charles III). The presence of the heraldic achievements of the last five British monarchs in the Order’s armorial gives us a glimpse into the British-Danish diplomatic relations, as they became more and more cordial starting from the 19th century.

In 1960 Henri Frotier de la Messelière bequeathed 286 volumes of his notes and drawings on the monumental and heraldic heritage and the history of the department’s nobility to the Côtes-d’Armor archives. These include around fifteen maps showing the seats of the main seigneuries, together with the coats of arms of their holders. This “heraldic cartography” was a first, and we are delighted to offer a critical reading of it to highlight the potential of such a tool in the age of digital solutions.

Bindings with heraldic superlibros are characterised by the main decorative motif of the coat of arms of their former owners, making them one of the best examples of the potential of book bindings as a documentary source. To this value as a historical document must be added the enormous variety of decorative and constructive techniques, as well as materials, that make up these bindings and that make them authentic functional works of art. Heraldic bindings are a testimony of the lives of their owners and in them are observed the distinctions that are awarded, orders and decorations, in addition to observing the aesthetic tastes and techniques available at the time of their execution. They are, therefore, a historical, artistic and technological heritage. In this work we study the bindings with heraldic superbooks of members of French, Spanish and Italian episcopate.

This article examines the visual strategies employed in the early modern period by a dynasty ruling a smaller state, the Duchy of Lorraine, to survive in the face of expansion by larger neighbours (notably France). The central argument posits that in order to be treated as fully royal (and therefore with inherent rights to exist independently, as full members of the society of princes), princes like the dukes of Lorraine had to appear as royal in their visual representation. The article therefore looks at different examples of selfrepresentation produced by the dynasty over time, including genealogical treatises, coins, portraits, and printed material, in order to see how this was achieved and what symbols were used. What emerges is a sense that this strategy was more closely tied to dynasticism, not necessarily state-building, and while it can be said to have failed for the Duchy of Lorraine as a state, it proved successful, even beyond what had been imagined, for the dynasty itself. This idea repositions our conceptions of “sovereignty” in this period, to see it, at least in some cases, as a quality pertaining to dynasties rather than more rigidly to the states they governed. Their hereditary estates in Lorraine were lost in 1737 but the dynasty survived, as grand dukes of Tuscany, and was deemed worthy of transformation into a fully royal—even imperial—dynasty through marriage to the Habsburg heiress Maria Theresa and the election of Francis Stephen of Lorraine as Holy Roman Emperor in 1745.

Saint Martin is a very popular character in the Christian tradition. His life and deeds have had a considerable impact on successive generations of Christians, beginning with the Middle Ages and he is still present in the minds of believers. The popularity of this saint in Poland and Europe is reflected in many names of churches, parishes, chapels, altars as well as in art, names and heraldry. This paper presents selected local self-government coats of arms displaying an image of St. Martin or attributes associated with him. The full figure of St. Martin in Polish local self-government heraldry can be found on the coats of arms of five rural communes (the communes of Biskupice, Drużbice, Granowo, Mochowo and Wiśniowa), the coats of arms of two urban communes (the commune of Jawor, the town and commune of Pacanów) and the coat of arms of an urban quarter (Słocina – currently a quarter of Rzeszów, earlier – until 1954 – a commune). Only one of these, i.e. the coat of arms of the commune of Poświętne, refers to St. Martin by objects associated with him. Heraldic representations of Martin of Tours can be found, for example, in Germany, especially in Hesse, Bavaria, Rhineland-Palatinate, Mainz, but also in Czechia, Austria, Slovakia, Finland and Ukraine.

Background. The legal foundations of modern heraldry are reflected in the Constitution of the Russian Federation, in Federal Constitutional Law No. 2-FKZ of December 25, 2000 “On the State Emblem of the Russian Federation”, in decrees of the President of the Russian Federation, in regulatory legal acts of subjects of the Russian Federation, legal acts of municipalities. In legislative acts, priority is given to the description of the heraldic symbol; the procedure for its official use is formulated. The purpose of the work is to analyze the legal aspects of modern heraldry formation. Materials and methods. The implementation of research tasks was achieved as a result of the analysis of legislative acts that are important for the development of heraldry, regardless of the regulation level. The methodological basis was the methods of comparative legal analysis, which allow us to compare the features and practice of introducing the basics of heraldry at different levels of regulation. Results. The legal aspects of the heraldry formation are studied, it is indicated that the main task facing modern heraldry is the creation of such a legislative framework, the development of heraldic rules and norms that will contribute to strengthening national traditions, expanding international positions, educating the future generation, and conducting a unified heraldic policy. Conclusions. The analysis of the legal aspects of the modern heraldry formation allows us to conclude that the real embodiment of the fundamental principles is inconceivable without strictly defined legal procedures. It is this vector of development that is set at all levels of regulation, and in detail, mostly in imperative forms. Heraldry is considered in the context of a unified policy in Russia to determine the parameters of regulation of a single heraldic space.

Evidence is presented, from heraldic, linguistic and political–historical evidence, that the original author of the “Scotch Copy of a Poem on Heraldry” was not Adam Loutfut ca. 1494 but the earlier English writer John Lydgate, possibly drawing from French heraldic sources. A new transcription from the Harleian MS 6149 is given with a comparison to the text from a copy in Queen’s MS. 161, plus a modern-language “translation” and critical commentary.

In the heraldic treatise of B. Moreno de Vargas «Discursos de la noble-za de España» one of the chapters is devoted to the differences that exist between the coats of arms. These are additional, off-board signs that can be called group signs. In family coats of arms, insignia appeared as signs of civil and military dignity. They also have cities, communities and structures, for example, courts. They are built on a different, non-medieval concept of signs of discrimination. Theoretically, the use of signs of distinction from the New Time was regulated, but in practice the system is not built.

The article deals with the linguistic embodiment of national symbols. On the basis of lexicography, the author determines the semantic structure of the national idea and describes its implementation in the heraldic symbols of the countries of the former USSR. The semantics of the state contains the following semantic blocks: power, territory, population (people) and the country as a whole. It is established that the main symbols of power amid artifacts are the crown, sword, scepter, orb and trident, and amid the images of fauna – images of a lion, an eagle and a griffin. The territory is symbolized through the image of the administrative and historical division of the country, images of typical representatives of its flora and fauna. Most frequently, on the coats of arms one can see images of the economically most important or most typical representatives of the country’s flora, followed by landscape elements, and only after them the images of the animal world. The symbols associated with the people inhabiting the country of the certain coat of arms include images of specifically national artifacts, objects of material culture. A significant part of the images of the national heraldry symbolizes the concepts and ideals common to the country of the coat of arms as a whole: mythological and folklore images, confessional and astronomical symbols, history and other symbols. National anthems and national heraldry coincide in the history and geography of the country, while the latter is practically lacunary in relation to the emotional and evaluative side of patriotism.

The question of tamga as symbols of possession and the power in the Volga Bulgaria X – the first third of the 13th century is considered in the paper. The Bulgars created the state and an effective military-political system with the symbols and attributes of the power. The most important attribute of the state was the coat of arms or other symbol replacing it. As a rule, its origin was obliged to tamga or brands, the being symbol of property of any given sort or clan. The complex of materials which gives information on the Bulgar’ tamgas includes potter's brands, signs on coins, weapon and boundary stones. The analysis of these signs shows that they remind graphemes of the Turkic runic alphabet. Among all finds the group of the signs-tamga ("A-tamgas") is revealed. They are found both on mass products (pottery) in the form of stamps and drawn signs, and on socially prestigious items (coins, weapons) and boundary (boundary) signs. Similar signs, definitely, were signs of the sort ruling in Bulgaria, marking its property and symbolizing sovereignty of Bulgar governors.

The article actualizes the problem of determining the social identity of the Azov nobility. The authors propose a solution using the analysis of mass sources and the method of biographical comparison of data. The social identity of the nobility is understood by the authors of the article as a set of retrospective identification practices - this is the perception of service people of themselves and each other. The authors believe that various practices of social identification in the past are expressed in the context of research and analysis in modern language, and the description of social identity is semantically a historical reconstruction. For the first time in historiography, the number and official structure of the service people of the Azov province is studied. This topic was studied according to the data of the "General Inspection" held in Moscow in 1721-1723, which was organized by the Senate and Heraldry. Data on the official structure of the nobility of the Azov province were studied according to the "knigi priezdov" and compared with the Landrat census of Shatsky and Yelets counties. The authors studied the social identification of the Azov nobility on the basis of name registration at the "General Inspection" during 1721-1722. The totality of representations by service people of their name and age are analyzed using the typology of self-identification formulas. In the conclusion of the article, the main parameters of the social identification of the "nobility" are highlighted.

The semiosphere reflects universal and culturally determined characteristics. Heraldry is one of the most complex sign systems. Alive and flexible semiotics is urgent for studies. The aim of this paper is to mark the axiological character of Russian and British sovereign state armorials with an accent on animals. Based on both Russian and British research, this paper focuses on syntactics and pragmatics of arms analyzed in a synchronic and diachronic manner. A cross-cultural comparative approach to Russian and British armorial bearings can be viewed as a novel contribution. The paper embraces structural and semantic aspects, the temporal and pragmatics sphere and Jargon du blazon. English heraldry is relevant to the European tradition, and the Russian one has political value. For both countries, it is associated with foreign influence. The system of European coats of arms is coherent with the institution of property and war, and the Russian one with inheritance. For Britain, heraldry was one of the culture-forming components, and for Russia, it was just one of the elements of culture.

Regarding the rural heraldic and vexillological projects, the years 2017-2018 were some prolific ones for the Republic of Moldova. In this article are presented, mentioned in their order of registration in the General Armorial of the Republic of Moldova, some of the rural achievements adopted during the above-mentioned period and which have not been published yet. These are the coats of arms and flags of the villages of Capaclia (Cantemir district), Caracui (Hânceşti district), Cioburciu (Ştefan-Vodă district), Ciuciulea (Glodeni district), Corten (Taraclia district), Doroţcaia (Dubăsari district), Giurgiuleşti (Cahul district), Plop (Donduşeni district), Sireţi (Străşeni district), Vişniovca (Cantemir district), as well as those of Gura-Căinarului commune (including the villages of Gura-Căinarului and Zarojeni, Floreşti district). The concepts of the symbols were elaborated by the author (for Corten, in collaboration with Savva Taucci), and their drawings were made by the painters Iurie Caminschi (Caracui, Ciuciulea, Corten, Doroţcaia, commune of Gura-Căinarului), Sergius Ciocanu (Cioburciu), Oxana DiaconuCatan (Capaclia), Alexandru Roşca-Ceban (Giurgiuleşti, Sireţi, Vişniovca), Mariana Şlapac (Plop). Analyzing the symbolism of the new coats of arms, the author notes that at their base were placed old territorial coats of arms, family coats of arms (that belonged to the owners of the estate of sometime), emblems that symbolize important historical events, onomastic meanings, the geographical situation, the natural wealth, the ethnic or social origins of the inhabitants, the economic concerns or the ethnographic traditions of the respective localities. The coats of arms elaborated during this period tend to keep the spirit of the living heraldry, promoted by the National Heraldic Committee of Heraldry since the beginning of its activity.

Bindings with heraldic superlibros are characterised by the main decorative motif of the coat of arms of their former holders, making them one of the best examples of the potential of bookbindings as a documentary source. To this value as a historical document must be added the enormous variety of decorative and constructive techniques that make up these bindings and that make them authentic functional works of art. Heraldic bindings are a testimony of the lives of their owners and in them are observed the distinctions that are awarded, orders and decorations, in addition to observing the aesthetic tastes and techniques available at the time of their execution. They are, therefore, historical, artistic and technological heritage. This work studies the heraldic superlibros of French nobles deposited in the collections of the Casa de Velázquez Library in Madrid, thanks to the signing of a collaboration agreement between Casa de Velázquez and the Complutense University of Madrid for the dissemination of its collection.

Abstract A key issue in understanding artefacts from the past is the loss of readability of the signs they may have borne. The two 16th-century musical instruments studied here—rare Italian violins made by Andrea Amati (c.1505-1577) in Cremona—bear remains of painted heraldic emblems, which are barely legible and thus remained undeciphered until today. They are exemplary representatives of this research question, indeed combining various types of losses, which are widely encountered on archaeological artefacts: they are now incomplete (parts are missing, surfaces are abraded) and the paint matter itself, of which the signs are made, has altered. In this study, the complete original outlines and geometrical subdivisions of the shields are deduced from calculations based on the conventional heraldic construction practices of the times. Also, in situ elemental imaging of the shield areas—here using scanning X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy— brings two types of information: (i) the nature of pigments, allowing to deduce the initial colours of the paints not discernable to the eye, whether abraded or discoloured; (ii) the spatial distribution of these pigments and colours inside the shield. This multi-approach method leads to the unprecedented revelation of a combination of symbols (tinctures of fields, emblematic ornaments, and their relative spatial distribution), all having meanings in heraldic language. The reconstructed coats of arms appear to be pointing to a very specific nine-year period (1559–1568) of the life of the queen Elisabeth (Isabel) of Valois, spouse of Philip II of Spain. We suggest that this approach, combining an imaging spectroscopic technique and a geometrical study of remaining decors, here providing new insights into the musical history at the Court of Spain, may be used to enhance the readability of a wide range of writings, signs and symbols on artefacts from the past.

Heraldic is the auxiliary science of history that deals with the research of coat of arms and vexillology is the science that emerged from heraldic and deals with the study of flags. The first town coats of arms in the South-Slavic area appeared in 13th century and some much later. Kosovska Mitrovica is a city in the North of Kosovo and Metohija in the Republic of Serbia and it got its first real coat of arms-emblem after World War Two. The municipal authorities announced the competition for the new coat of arms that was published in "Vecernje Novosti" in 2011. Nine works participated in the competition. The five-member panel that was supposed to chose the ideal solution suggested the municipal authorities to annul the competition since no option was appropriate for them. The municipal authority annulled the competition but they noticed the its mistake soon and corrected it very quickly after that. In that way municipality Kosovska Mitrovica got its coat of arms and a flag as well. The coat of arms of Kosovska Mitrovica municipality fully reflects its historical, cultural, religious, geographic and economic features but also the natural elements of the Kosovska Mitrovica municipality with its distinctive features. The coat of arms exists in three forms: small, medium and large depending of municipality's need and in accordance with the unwritten heraldic practice regarding the use of coat of arms of cities and municipalities in the Republic of Serbia. The municipal flag is represented on the large coat of arms of the municipality but it is also used as a separate symbol of the municipality.

Title in English: The three crowns of Kronborg. Art and heraldry as a battlefield in 16th-century Scandinavia The article deals with the controversy in the 16th century between Denmark-Norway and Sweden concerning the right to use the coats-of-arms with three golden crowns on a blue background. The Swedish king Erik XIV (ruled 1560–1568) claimed that the three crowns were a symbol of Sweden and should not be used by the Danish king now that Sweden was an independent country, while the Danish king Frederik II (ruled 1559–1588) claimed that the three crowns were simply a reminiscence of the Kalmar Union between all Scandinavian countries, which lasted with several long intermissions from c. 1397 to 1520, headed by the kings of Denmark-Norway. The article stresses that it is difficult to separate the reputation of the nation from that of the king in 16th-century Scandinavia, since politics and the use of power were to a great degree a personal matter, where the illustrious appearance and behaviour of the king as well as appropriate artistic surroundings were decisive. The importance of personal reputation meant that a lot of the activities which we today call propaganda, including the use of art and heraldry, were in reality largely direct or indirect attacks on the reputation of the royal opponent. The controversy about the three crowns was not settled in the war 1563–1570, yet the article suggests that the Danish king provided his new royal castle Kronborg in Elsinore, built 1574–1585, with spires and weather vanes decorated with three crowns, as a deliberate statement that the Danish king had no intention of giving up this powerful symbol.

The Žemaitijan nobility of the 15th to the 18th centuries included several heraldic groups: a group of local origin; Polish coats of arms; personalised Polish coats of arms; and coats of arms that were imported/adopted from other countries. This article focuses on the second and fourth groups, which include coats of arms that could be described as ‘imported’, ‘foreign’ or ‘alien’. The article aims to discuss the prevalence and use of these coats of arms in the heraldic tradition of the Žemaitijan nobility of the 16th to the 18th centuries. The adoption of Polish heraldry was already evident in the first half of the 16th century. The Horodło coats of arms entered the heraldry of the Žemaitijan nobility. Also, Polish coats of arms were brought to the country by Polish noble families. The number of those who came to Žemaitija from Germanspeaking lands was very small, and this meant that their heraldic sources were not abundant. On the other hand, surviving heraldic sources indicate that these newcomer families usually only used their own coats of arms.

The national emblem of the country as one of three main symbols of the state can be considered as the polycode text including a verbal component (the motto, the name of the country) and iconic heraldic components. Presence on the arms potentially conflict elements (a figure of a bestiary, the weapon and so forth) can be perceived as latent conflictogenity. The article deals with linguosemiotic analysis of the arms of all world countries for their hypothetical conflictogenity. The results of the interpretation by recipients potentially conflict arms (national emblems) are given.

In the context of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown it was only in Upper Lusatia, and specifically in Bautzen, that medieval figural portraits of medieval and early Modern Age rulers survived, namely Matthias Corvinus and Rudolf II. Likewise, in different towns of the Lusatian League Bohemian kings’ coats of arms also survived to this day in diverse forms. The rulers left their marks on sacral architecture, too, which we can document with busts in Saint Nicolas Church in the Lower Lusatian town of Luckau or with keystones of Görlitz churches, as well as the overall building conception and the individual architectural details of the buildings (portals, vaults, cantilevers, ornamental decorations). The visual heritage of the Bohemian ruling power is in both Lusatias, and more particularly in Upper Lusatia, often surprisingly rich.

In an attempt to revive the medieval past of France with their work for the Musée de l’Histoire de France, the painters commissioned by Louis-Philippe drew inspiration from a variety of different sources. The most evident are the Gaignières collection, Montfaucon’s Les Monumens de la Monarchie Françoise, and the research conducted by Alexandre Lenoir for his Musée des Monuments Français. These sources allowed them to provide a historical foundation for the events represented in their paintings. However, as they were pressed for time, they also had to copy less well-documented works or rush through their research; this is particularly striking in the heraldry representations. Finally, the sources they chose were clearly selected with eloquence in mind. As the Louis-Philippe museum had educational aims, scenes had to be understandable and legible. Ultimately, this is why the painters did not hesitate to draw on commonplaces or renowned compositions.

In addition to a wide variety of data, mostly of an economic nature, Schallers's Topographie des Königreiches Böhmen also provided information in several fields of auxiliary historical sciences. One of the questions in the questionnaire focused on the shape of the coats of arms of the cities and towns. This study deals with an analysis of two parts of Schaller's Topographie for the Boleslav and Rakovník regions from the perspective of heraldry and attempts to give an answer to the question of how far this work is still useful primarily for research into the historical development of civic heraldry.

On June 7, 2016, the National Committee of Heraldry under the President of the Republic of Moldova launched a circular letter to the authorities of all the cities without symbols approved and registered in the General Armorial of the Republic of Moldova. The request has been to return to the procedure of elaboration and formalization of the civic coats of arms and flags. Following this appeal, since the end of 2016, there has been an increase of interest in civic heraldry and vexillology by the authorities concerned. Thus, the elaboration process started or was resumed after the old delays in the towns of Biruinţa, Cantemir, Corneşti, Criuleni, Ghindeşti, Glodeni, Lipcani, Străşeni, Taraclia and others, some of which succeeded in finalizing the registration procedure. The author reports about the coats of arms and flags of three of these cities, which have the status of “raion” (=district) residence: the town of Criuleni (approved and registered in 2017, authors: Silviu Andrieş-Tabac, Alexandru Moraru, Veaceslav Vatamaniuc; painter: Veaceslav Vatamaniuc), town of Glodeni (2018, authors: Vitalii Şuberneţkii, Piotr Balobin, Constantin Bogatov, Silviu Andrieş-Tabac; painter: Alexandr Cernovskii) and municipality of Străşeni (2018, author: Silviu Andrieş-Tabac, painter: Mariana Şlapac). In all three cases, the course from the first projects to the official ones was a sinuous and difficult one, so that solving the problem of symbols was perceived as an achievement by local authorities, but also as a relief by the National Committee of Heraldry.

The present study (structured on two levels, one general that deals with terminology and one concrete, dedicated to the study of actual heraldic local marks) dealing with a less researched topic of local history, namelythat of the coat of arms of the city. Using dedicated Romanian heraldry texts, as well as monographic works I tried to achieve a fine and realistic description of the town’s heraldic symbols.

Heraldry is a science that studies and governs the use and regulations of certain symbols utilized for distinguishing persons, legal entities, legal bodies etc. Sometimes heraldry is defined as an art, when it comes to the visual representations of the aforementioned symbols on flags, seals, shields etc. In the actual Romanian System of Law, heraldic representations, both ancient and modern may be considered as intellectual property rights or cultural rights or eventually as elements related to the legal status of a person, namely as identification attributes of a person. In many European countries, as well as in other civilized countries, there are legal frameworks that strictly regulate the use, display and rights over heraldic insignia. In the Romanian legal system, such a framework does not yet exist, and for that reason, this article addresses the possibility of creating such a legal framework within the Romanian System of Law and tries to answer to the following questions: 1) Is it possible for such a legal framework to be enacted and enforced in the Romanian System of Law? 2) What purpose would be served by the enactment and enforcement of such a legal framework? 3) What should be the legal nature of the rights pertaining to such a legal framework? 4) Is it possible to create within this framework an armorial which will comprise all the heraldic representations, of ancient and modern origins, belonging to moral or natural persons? 5) What kind of legal protection would be appropriate for the successful implementation of the framework? Hopefully, the contents and conclusions of this article will be able to answer at least some of these questions and perhaps will lay the first bricks in a future project that would lead to practical and tangible results concerning the protection of rights related to heraldic representations.

The article reflects on the process of visualization as one of the types of political technologies used in the contemporary world. The author analyses the concept of visualization as well as its key tools on several political cases. The article stresses that the main feature of visual content is that it is an important source of social information and at the same time it transforms the political reality. In this regard, the article considers visualization process as one of the types of political technologies used in the contemporary world. Visualization of political appeals, data and agendas helps to increase the level of political participation, to update and strengthen dialogue mechanisms of political communication between civil society and state authorities.

This paper presents the epigraphic study of the inscription in the Chacon’s coat of arms, located in the outside of the chapel of velez (murcia’s Cathedral). this study is based on the exhaustive analysis of its epigraphic format, the paleographic study of its singular writing, the meaning and its own functionality. at the end, we offer a new lecture of this particular inscription, based on the epigraphic and paleographic research.

This essay tries to shed new light on the origins and the early cultural milieu of the "Manuscrit de Bayeux" (ParisBNF 9346), one of two monophonic chansonniers compiled around 1500. It begins with a careful assessment of new or newly appraised documentary and codicological evidence and a discussion of critical biographical events of its likely patron, Duke Charles III de Bourbon-Montpensier (1490–1527), and then proposes a new dating and account of the circumstances of the manuscript’s origins. This enables a reframing of this important source within its most plausible historical and cultural context, setting the stage for a critical examination of its poetical and musical content.

Heraldry and its research have deep traditions in Europe, making it a certain focus of attention among researchers. The interest in this field in Lithuania is a more recent phenomenon. The late beginning of heraldry research was partly influenced by Lithuania’s loss of independence. At present, researchers’ attention is focused mainly on the periods of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, also looking at Lithuanian heraldry from the 20th–21st centuries, and conducting thorough research of the coats of arms of the state, cities, and towns. Research of the heraldry of the nobility is also being conducted, such as the heraldry of the political elite in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania – the Goštautas, Pacas, Radvila, Sapiega families, etc. The heraldry of representatives of the lower gentry, especially among the Samogitian families, has received less attention. Many unanswered questions and undeveloped themes remain in the field of the Samogitian nobility’s heraldry, overlooked in research for a long time. This article analyzes how genealogical links were reflected in Samogitian nobility heraldry sources in the second half of the 16th–18th centuries. Having analyzed the heraldic sources of the Samogitian nobility, it was found that these reflected not only information about a specific individual, but also their broader origins, family and marital lines. The coats of arms of the Samogitian nobility in time became a unique means of representation. The coats of arms of the Samogitian nobility were depicted in seals, literature, portraits, architecture, and elsewhere.

Artykuł przedstawia krytyczne rozważania nad pieczęcią wielką miasta Sandomierza. Przyjąć należy, że zachowany do dziś typariusz powstał w latach 1297-1300 (może: 1292-1300), a w latach 1320-1343 został przerobiony. The paper presents critical considerations about the great seal of the city of Sandomierz. The conclusion is that the preserved matrix was made in 1297-1300 (maybe 1292-1300), and was redesigned during the years 1320-1343.

The independence of the Republic of Moldova has determined a new prestige of the judicial power in our country. In the field of symbols, this change was manifested in the gradual abandonment of the totalitarian, in effect, Soviet corporate emblems and the spontaneous adoption of new corporate emblems, universal in essence, traditional and easily recognizable. In the first stage, several judicial institutions developed their own para-heraldic emblems based on the image of goddess Themis, which have different artistic solutions and quality. At the next stage, with the foundation of the National Committee of Heraldry under the President of the Republic of Moldova in 1995, state institutions, including those related to the justice system, gradually opted for developing new corporate heraldic and vexillological symbols in accordance with universal and national scientific standards, up to their official registration in the General Armorial of the Republic of Moldova. The new heraldic emblems feature balance scales, a symbol with a very rich tradition in the Romanian principalities. There are a number of other emblems of justice, e.g. a sword, a gladium, fasces lictoriae, a magistrate’s hat. The process of developing of coats of arms and flags of the bodies of justice continues to this day. The author reviews new corporate emblems and flags of some institutions of the Republic of Moldova, such as the Constitutional Court, the Prosecutor’s Office, the Ministry of Justice, the Forensic Science Center under the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the criminal investigation services of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The first hand data of the author's ongoing study of the glazed pottery collection at the Museum of Archaeology and Tourism Faculty, University of Jordan of a wide range of objects sheds light on cartouches and emir blazons in their historic, art historic, and hierarchal contexts. The study discussed the mentioned collection with additional examples of pictorial blazons attributed by Early Mamluk sultans such as Baybars. The emir blazons in the objects of study are circular and simple characterizing the Muslim heraldry of the Early Mamluk period. They depict solely the heraldic device in a circular shield symbolizing the official post of the emir. None of the emir blazons in the collection represents the advanced phase of Muslim heraldry in which one blazon may depict/represent more than seven heraldic devices serving as "a curriculum vitae" for the present and previous posts of an explicit emir. Such composite blazons are characteristic for the Late Mamluk period (referred to also as Burji period) and hence offer strong evidence for dating to the Early (Bahri) Mamluk period. The calligraphy of the objects is an important primary source for mottos and epithets of the Mamluk emires at that time. They are also evidence for the vessel dating as this study has worked to match the mottos and epithets decorating the objects with other complete and well-dated inscriptions in architecture and material culture. Finally, the blazons and calligraphy are solid dating evidence for the objects' technology and typology and hence provide important primary data for further studies in Mamluk history, art history and Mamluk organizational behavior

Our research of necropolis of New Jerusalem Monastery has brought a new name. It is prince A.A. Chelakaev. He was buried on the unpaved section of the monastery cemetery. Historic burial place of one of the oldest princely family of Georgia in a noble part of monastery necropolis let us attribute prince A.A. Chelakaev to related families – the Buturlins – Priklonskys – Volynskis – Wolfs – Sukhovo-Kobylins (25/10/1778 – 04/11/1873), including 11 graves. Besides, that extends investigations based on the “monument / burial” principle. Genealogical research that affected the person buried in the monastery of Prince Alexander Anofrievich Chelakaev allowed to make up for the genealogy of Chelokashvili princes, one of the most noble families of Georgia so far very poorly studied. We used the sources associated with burials in Moscow the Georgian elite tombs of St. Nicholas Greek and the Donskoy Monastery. Georgian prince, buried in the Voskresensky New Jerusalem Monastery, was not an unauthorized person to a host of representatives of persons belonging to the aristocracy reigning House of Bagration. We note that the research material at our disposal expanded the results of archaeological discoveries of 2009-2013. Due to this facxt, we updated the list of monuments involving research field associated with the study of the necropolis of the New Jerusalem Monastery in the genealogical, heraldic and epigraphic monuments from 1656 to 1919, as we attributed several previously unknown and inaccessible tombstones before hidden in the ground. In particular, the findings of two new graves and tombstones proved to be especially valuable.

A Coat of Arms engraved on a piece of silverware allowed the identification of the parties concerned, and the elucidation of the details of their marriage and ancestries. The Arms themselves have an interesting provenance.

La commune de Lipnic, district (raion) d'Ocniţa est formée de deux villages - Lipnic (première mention le 19 septembre 1436) et Paustova (première mention le 20 décembre 1437). Les deux villages n'ont pas porté de symboles héraldiques et vexillologiques historiques. Les armoiries et les drapeaux des deux villages, ainsi que ceux de la commune, ont été élaborés et approuvées en 2011-2012, à l'initiative du maire Valentina Lupulciuc. La commune de Lipnic est la deuxiemme commune de la République de Moldavie, qui a résolu le problème des symboles héraldiques en complex, créant trois paires d'enseignes en relation organique. Outre la méthode traditionnelle des armes parlantes, la méthode d'assomption des armes historiques liées à un territoire a été de même utilisée. Ainsi, ont été reprises les armoiries des boyards moldaves de la fin du XIVe siècle - la première moitié du XVe siècle: seigneur Vâlcea de Lipnic et seigneur Mihail de Dorohoi, le premier propriétaire connu des deux domaines. Leurs armes sont connus d'après leurs sceaux, apposeés sur des actes d'hommage des princes régnants de Moldavie au roi de Pologne, conservées aujourd'hui dans les archives polonaises. Les nouveles enseignes ont été conçues par l'auteur et dessinées par le peintre Iurie Caminschi.

The kings Isabel I of Castile (1451-1504) and Fernando II of Aragon (1452-1516), well-known with Catholic Monarchs title, granted by Pope Alexander VI in 1496, made wide use of devises or imprese as a personal way of representation. Some of them were incorporated to the coat of arms of Spain during their reign, and today we can still see them sculptured in the stone of buildings of 15th and 16th centuries, painted in walls or ceilings or embroidered in flags. Several historians and philologists have tried to make sense of the main imprese used by these kings, but they have succeeded only partially. Emblems provide important information in order to understand the meaning (as it was in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries) of the imprese with the motto TANTO MONTA. Besides that well-known devise, the Catholic Monarchs used others to which little attention has been paid till now.

Os fenómenos revolucionários do século XIX tiveram profundos reflexos sobre a heráldica portuguesa. Por intervenção governativa, a renovação envolveu tanto os emblemas dinásticos e estatais, como os dos municípios, não só de um ponto de vista formal, mas também pela alteração do seu impacto como cultura visual. Em simultâneo, a heráldica de família e a eclesiástica decaíram, em favor da heráldica associativa, militar, comercial e imaginária. O saber da armaria declinou na razão inversa da aplicação da heráldica às formas literárias, artísticas, propagandísticas e publicitárias da sociedade contemporânea. O século XIX foi crucial para a renovação da heráldica portuguesa.The revolutionary phenomena of the nineteenth century had profound consequences on Portuguese heraldry. Through governmental intervention, the renovation included dynastic, national, and municipal emblems, not only regarding the formal point of view, but also by altering its impact as visual culture. At the same time, familiar and ecclesiastical heraldry yielded to associative, military, commercial, and imaginary heraldry. The ancient knowledge of blazon also declined in inverse ratio to the application of heraldry to literature, art, advertising, and propaganda. The nineteenth century was therefore crucial for Portuguese heraldry renovation.

This work retraces observations concerning insufficiently known emblems, represented on some examples of late Byzantine architecture. Also, should an emblem be invested with a role of a codified sign, without being literally visible, could it function as a segment of the imagery employed in the articulation of the facades of late Byzantine and Serbian medieval architecture?

The vast popularity of the Game of Thrones franchise has drawn a new and diverse audience to the fantasy genre. Within the pseudo-medieval world created by G.R.R. Martin, a great deal of detail has gone into establishing coats of arms for the characters and families that are depicted. These arms fulfill an extremely important role, both within the arc of the story and as part of the marketing collateral of this very successful series. This article examines the role of arms in the Game of Thrones universe and explores how the heraldic system transcends the usual genealogical display and functions more as a type of familial branding. An exploration of some of the practices and idiosyncrasies of heraldry in the franchise shows that whilst Martin sets his foundation firmly in the traditional, he then extends this into the fanciful; in much the same manner as he does with other faux-historical aspects of his work. This study is valuable because Game of Thrones has brought heraldry from being a niche interest to something that is now consumed by a global audience of hundreds of millions of people. Several of the fantasy blazons in the series are now arguably the most recognisable coats of arms in history.

The members of the Torroja family were extremely important as advisers on political and military strategy to the counts of Barcelona (monarchs of the Crown of Aragon) Arnaldo was elected Grand Master of the Knights Templar (1181–1184). On 30 September 1184, the Templar Master passed away in the city of Veneto; Arnaldo de Torroja was buried at the church of San Vitale in Verona. The church was destroyed when the river Adige flooded it in the 18th century, and it was closed down in 1760 as a result of the damage caused. Some years ago, behind a wall, a sarcophagus was discovered on which was carved the typical Templar cross (Cross patty) and, in 2016, it was opened by a team of Italian scientists. The skeletal remains corresponded to the age Arnaldo. Thanks to the book that I recently published “Armorial de los Obispos de Barcelona, siglos XII–XXI”, it has been realized that the sarcophagus of the brother of Arnaldo of Torroja, Guillermo is contained within the Family heraldry “Golden a castle of Gules”, they requested that the aforementioned bishop’s remains be analysed, in order to compare them with those of Arnaldo.

Coats of arms have, from their first appearance, been one of the primary visual expressions of a person’s lineage and indirectly of status. Individual members of a lineage had a choice: They could use the arms adopted by an ancestor with or without a mark of difference; or they could adopt one of their own design. Several systems for marking difference have been described, but evidence for a family tradition is usually sparse and spotty. The factors and forces limiting a choice are not known. The use of arms by the broader family of the Beauchamp, Earls of Warwick, is an example of how different branches used primary changes of design, as well as the use of smallish figures for secondary difference. The variants of the Beauchamp arms have previously been presented, but only documented in select individual cases. In this article, the problems of evidence, description, and assignment are discussed, in relation to anonymous or similar named individuals of different branches and generations. Seals and entries in armorials are reviewed, and marks of difference used by, or attributed to, individuals are documented.

In Portugal, in the fourteenth century, the armorials became one of the instruments by which the Crown, via the heralds, tried to establish its exclusive authority on heraldic matters. Heraldry conveyed the image of a particular social and political order. The arms of noble families, collected in armorials by royal officers, demonstrated the position that the Crown recognized them. The municipal arms, borne by municipalities with no interference of the Crown, bypassed this process. They challenged both the common association between heraldry and nobility, and the authority of the heralds. It was, therefore, pointless that such emblems appear in those armorials.

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