English Heraldry

The oldest extent roll of arms, dating from c.1270-1280. Another view, and another, and and another. And finally, this one allows you to zoom in.

The Dering Roll: An Analysis, by Cormac Mór.

An analysis of the armory in the roll above, with information about tincture usage, charges, armorial patterns, and oddities.

European Rolls of Arms of the Thirteenth Century, by Brian Timms.

These include names, blazons, and emblazons of the arms in the Falkirk Roll, the Caerlaverock Poem, and Glover's Roll, Walford's Roll, the Bigot Roll, the Chifflet-Prinet Roll, the Camden Roll, St. George's Roll, and the Wijnbergn Roll. The illustrations are in modern style, and there are some errors in emblazoning, so the blazons should be taken as authoritative.

A page from Liber Additamentorum, Matthew Paris.

A single page from the text, c.1250-1254 (British Library Cotton Nero D. I, fol. 171v).

A Caerlaverock Roll of Arms, by Iago ab Adam.

Master Iago is a Society herald who researched the arms mentioned in the poem and constructed a roll of arms. Absolutely lovely!

Arms from the Siege of Caerlaverlock. Compiled by the Shire of Adamastor.

The artwork is very modern; Iago's version (above) is a better guide to the armory of the period.

The Roll of Arms, of the Princes, Barons, and Knights who Attended King , by Thomas Wright.

Another version of the Caerlaverlock Roll.

An Essay on Seme, by Eowyn Amberdrake.

This article was written at a time when the SCA College of Arms was trying to figure out how to treat strewn charges, so some of the discussion is related specifically to the RfS and is now obsolete. The data and the conclusions, drawn from French, English, and Scottish examples, are all still correct and useful.

A Roll of Arms of the Reign of Edward the Second, by Nicholas Harris Nicolas & Joseph Gwilt.

Dating from c.1308-1314.

The Edward IV Roll, titled Chronicle of the History of the World from the Creation to Woden with a Genealogy of Edward IV.

The roll can also be viewed here.

Ermine tails in 14th century English and French Sources, by Iago ab Adam and Aryanhwy merch Catmael.

A short collection of images associated with Academy of S. Gabriel Report #2903.

Armorial de la Paix d'Arras, by Steen Clemmensen.

This is a roll of arms of the participants of the Peace Conference at Arras 1435. It contains arms of members of the English, French, and Burgundian embass ies.

The Fenwick roll

An English roll c.1422-1461; another leaf can be viewed here.

'William Bruges's Garter Book'

A pictorial book of the arms of the members of the Order of the Garter, c. 1430- c. 1440.

Armorial de l'Ordre de la Jarretière, by Arnaud Bunel.

This is an armorial of the Order of the Garter. The arms have all been redrawn in a modern style, and so these particular depictions should not be taken as a guide to medieval emblazonry. However, the arms are all medieval, and so can be used as a guide to style. Most of the people listed here are English; there are a few French.

Founders' and benefectors' book of Tewkesbury Abbey.

Scans of heraldic images from a 16th century manuscript written in Latin.

An Elizabethan Armorial.

The arms of some Elizabethan peers and gentry.

Some images from the Parliament Rolls of Arms, 1512 and 1515, in the British library:

Image 1
Image 2
Image 3
Image 4
Image 5

A Display of Heraldrie by John Guillim.

A transcription of the 1611 edition, published by Paul Grant. The work is in progress.

The English Emblem Book Project.

A collection of 16th and 17th century on-line books of pseudo-heraldic insignia.

Treatises on Heraldry, in Latin and English.

A 15th century English text.

The Arms of the Livery Companies of the City of London, by Key West Telecommunciations Limited.

The Anthony Roll

The Anthony Roll is a survey of Henry VIII's navy, with paintings of fifty-eight ships, including their banners. Timothy Wilson in Flags at Sea notes that the flags in this collection are "the most elaborate source we have for the flags flown on the ships of King Henry VIII, being richer in visual detail than all other sources put together." This page has modern redrawings of the flags.

De re militari, by Nicholas Upton.

This is a 15th-century treatise on heraldry, written in Latin. Some of the arms in it are actual medieval arms, others are examples which exist only in theoretical treatises. A French blazon for each coat of arms is provided.

Insignia Anglica, English insignia from the middle of the 16th C.

The Cloisters Armorial, by Sabine Berard.

This article is a collection of photographs of heraldic display in various m edia from the medieval wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. It covers heraldry from various times and places in Europe.

Sir Philip Sidney's funeral procession, 1585.

A plate giving the English heralds in procession in full regalia with Sidney's emblems of knighthood.

The Armorial Bearings Exemplified in a Fragment of the Visitation of the city of Chester in the Year 1591, illustrated by Martin S.J. Goldstraw.

The emblazons are modern redrawings, but the blazons appear to be the originals.