Portal:Heraldry

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Welcome to the Heraldry and Vexillology Portal!

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.

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.

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Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy (March 22, 1869 – February 6, 1964) was a Filipino general, politician, and independence leader. He played an instrumental role in Philippine independence during the Philippine Revolution against Spain and the Philippine–American War that resisted American occupation. He designed the flag of the Philippines. (more...)

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The Royal Standard of Scotland, also known as the Banner of the King of Scots or more commonly the Lion Rampant of Scotland, is the Scottish Royal Banner of Arms. Used historically by the King of Scots, the Royal Standard of Scotland differs from Scotland's national flag, The Saltire, in that its correct use is restricted by an Act of the Parliament of Scotland to only a few Great Officers of State who officially represent The Sovereign in Scotland. It is also used in an official capacity at Royal residences in Scotland when the Sovereign is not present.

The earliest recorded use of the Lion rampant as a Royal emblem in Scotland is by Alexander II in 1222. This emblem occupied the shield of the Royal coat of arms of the ancient Kingdom of Scotland which, together with a Royal banner displaying the same, was used by the King of Scots until the Union of the Crowns in 1603, when James VI acceded to the thrones of the Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Ireland. The Lion Rampant of Scotland can be seen today in the Royal Standard of the United Kingdom. (more...)

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The current Coat of arms of the Basque Country is the official coat of arms of the Basque Country, Autonomous community of Spain. It consists of a party per cross representing the three historical territories of Álava, Guipuscoa and Biscay, as well as a fourth, void quarter. The arms are ringed by a regal wreath of oak leaves, symbolic of the Gernikako Arbola. The fourth quarter once constituted the linked chains of Navarre; however, following a legal suit by the Navarre Government claiming that the usage of the arms of a region on the flag of another was illegal, the Constitutional Court of Spain bound to remove the chains of Navarre in a judgment of 1986. (more...)

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Flags used by the German Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy), 1892.

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Did you know...

...that the triskelion (pictured) in MacLeod heraldry originates from a belief that the clan's founder, Leod, was a son of a king of Mann?

...that the English herald Ralph Brooke tricked Sir William Segar into granting a coat of arms to a London hangman?

...that the coat of arms of Kola depicts a whale because whaling was the occupation of many residents of the town?

...that the Samara flag, presented as a gift from Russia to the Bulgarian volunteers in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78, is the only flag awarded a Bulgarian Medal for Bravery?

...that for United States heraldry, federal and state governments do not employ coats of arms, but have chosen to use seals as their official emblems?

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