heraldry
Shield symbol study
Heraldry is the system of designing, displaying, and regulating coats of arms and other armorial bearings.
It developed in medieval Europe as a way to identify knights in armor and has its own vocabulary of terms and rules.
By extension, heraldry refers to any ceremonial display of symbols or pageantry: the heraldry of a royal wedding, corporate heraldry.
The adjective is heraldic.
Handheld defensive armor
- crestHighest point or tuft
- helmVessel's steering mechanism
- wreathDecorative foliage circle
- mantlingHeraldic helmet drapery
supporters · compartment · motto · charge · field · ordinaries · quartering · impalement
Shield bearing heraldry
Maned African feline
- eagleLarge predatory bird
- fleur-de-lisStylized heraldic lily motif
- crossPass from side to side
- griffinLegendary eagle-lion hybrid
unicorn · dragon · stag · boar · rose · trefoil · cinquefoil · ermine
System of noble ranks
- dukeHighest-ranking nobleman
- baronLow-ranking peer
- viscountMid-ranking British noble
- marquessNobleman below duke
earl · knight · dame · gentry · aristocracy · blueblood · chivalry · feudal
Ceremony conferring rank
- coronationCeremony installing a sovereign
- pageantryElaborate ceremonial display
- inaugurationFormal beginning ceremony
- enthronementFormal investiture of sovereign
procession · accolade · dubbing · tournament · joust · triumph · homage · presentation
Study of family descent
- ancestryFamily line of descent
- pedigreeRecord of descent
- descentDownward slope or lineage
- bloodlineAncestry through generations
heritage · dynasty · progenitors · forebears · clan · birthright · succession · inheritance
shield
Handheld defensive armor
mantling · supporters · compartment · motto · charge · field · ordinaries · quartering · impalement · achievement
escutcheon
Shield bearing heraldry
azure · vert · or · fess · pale · bend · chevron · saltire · canton · quarterly
lion
Maned African feline
- eagleLarge predatory bird
- fleur-de-lisStylized heraldic lily motif
- crossPass from side to side
griffin · unicorn · dragon · stag · boar · rose · trefoil · cinquefoil · ermine · crown
peerage
System of noble ranks
marquess · earl · knight · dame · gentry · aristocracy · blueblood · chivalry · feudal · manor
investiture
Ceremony conferring rank
- coronationCeremony installing a sovereign
- pageantryElaborate ceremonial display
- inaugurationFormal beginning ceremony
enthronement · procession · accolade · dubbing · tournament · joust · triumph · homage · presentation
genealogy
Study of family descent
bloodline · heritage · dynasty · progenitors · forebears · clan · birthright · succession · inheritance · primogeniture
- chivalryknighthood, knights, chivalry, medieval knights, honor
- medievalknights, castles, cathedral, kings, queens
- Medieval Europekings, queens, knights, castles, castle
- medieval societyserfs, noble lineage, peasants, serf, heir
- medieval thingscastles, cathedrals, knights, armor, swords
- cultural emblemflag, national anthem, coat of arms, national animal, national flower
heraldryegalitarianism
Philosophy of universal equality
anonymity · commonality · classlessness · meritocracy · democracy
heraldryplainness
Unadorned, straightforward quality
simplicity · minimalism · genericness · austerity · bareness
heraldryfuturism
Study of tomorrow's possibilities
modernism · individualism · meritocracy · innovation · rootlessness
- heraldic emblemsSymbols denoting lineage
- herald angelHeavenly proclaimer of news
- Herald SquareMidtown Manhattan public plaza
- Hark the HeraldYuletide hymn about angels