Heraldry is the study of coats of arms, their origins, history, and the rules for their artistic design and description. The term originates from the medieval Latin word heraldus – herald. Heralds were the creators of the principles for designing and using coats of arms, as well as the colorful representations of early medieval coats of arms in so-called armorial rolls.
https://www.apmanuscripts.com/middle-ages-europe/english-coats-of-arms-1550
Coats of arms, which began to appear in the 12th and 13th centuries, were attributed primarily to knights who participated in tournaments, battles, gatherings, and other events. During this era, armorial rolls were created that depicted state, territorial, and ecclesiastical coats of arms. Additionally, coats of arms of rulers and nobility from different countries were recorded. The purpose of a coat of arms was to be distinctive, detailed, and easily recognizable. Their images appeared and continue to appear on coins and seals. Valuable sources of heraldic knowledge also include memoirs of individuals who identified with particular coats of arms.
Among the oldest and best-preserved armorials are:
- The French Wijnberger Armorial (1265-1288), featuring 1,312 colorful family coats of arms from Spain, France, Flanders, Brabant, and Germany.
- The English Herald’s Roll (1280), displaying 892 coats of arms, and the Camden Roll, with 270 heraldic images.
- The French Role d’armes du Herault Vermandois (1285-1300), showing 1,076 coats of arms from France, Aragon, Flanders, and Germany.
- The English Falkirk Roll (1298), which presents 111 coats of arms of English knights who fought against the Scots at the Battle of Falkirk on July 22, 1298.
- The Dutch Wapenboek Gelre (1369-1396), containing 1,755 coats of arms from across Europe, including Polish knights.
- The Flemish Armorial Bellenville (late 14th century), with 1,722 coats of arms.
- The Rhineland manuscript Uffenbach’sches Wappenbuch (late 14th century), depicting 640 coats of arms from France, Burgundy, Spain, England, Lombardy, Alsace, the Rhineland, Switzerland, Franconia, Bavaria, and Austria.
- The Chronicle of the Council of Constance (1414-1418), which includes coats of arms of cardinals, bishops, knights of chivalric orders, princes, counts, barons, and knights.
- The manuscript Complainte des herauts d’armes (second half of the 15th century), distinguished by its exquisite heraldic drawings and meticulous detail, featuring coats of arms of kingdoms and principalities.
- The German Donaueschinger Wappenbuch (1433), displaying 1,100 colorful coats of arms of princes, Habsburg estates, and knights from France, Spain, Bohemia, Silesia, and Poland.
- One of the most beautiful German armorials, created by Konrad Grünenberg, Ritters und Burgers zu Konstanz (1483), which contains approximately 2,000 coats of arms.
- The Austrian Jorg Rugenn’s Wappenbuch (1492), filled with over 3,600 coats of arms, including those of popes, kings, prince-electors, archbishoprics, and counts from Germany, Austria, and Bohemia.
- The German Siebmacher’s New Wappenbuch (1605), which includes 3,000 coats of arms from Germany, Alsace, and Switzerland.
- The most extensive heraldic work in history, Neuer Siebmacher, initiated in 1854 and published until 1964, consisting of nearly one hundred volumes covering coats of arms from all over Europe, along with heraldic history and terminology.
- The Baltisches Wappenbuch (1882), which collected nearly 800 family coats of arms from the Baltic region, including Sweden, Germany, Poland, Lithuania, and Courland.
- The Dutch Armorial General (1884-1887), describing nearly 116,000 coats of arms from across Europe.
Several institutional armorials are also noteworthy, such as:
- The Lehensbuch des Bistumes Basel (1441), containing 95 full coats of arms of vassals of the Bishopric of Basel.
- The Lehensbuch des Grafen Kraft VI. von Hohenlohe (1476-1503), in which coats of arms were presented using silver and gold.
- The French Terrier des vassaux de comte de Clermont en Beauvaisis (1373-1374), containing 1,700 coats of arms.
- The Heroldsbuch des Julischer Hubertusordens, featuring over 1,000 coats of arms of knights from the Order of St. Hubert.
Additionally, regional armorial rolls document the coats of arms of rulers and knights from different nations. Notable examples include:
- The French Armorial General (1696), listing the coats of arms of rulers and knights.
- English regional armorials such as Holland Roll (1310), listing 94 coats of arms; The Great Parliamentary Roll (1312), with 1,100 coats of arms; and Cooke’s Ordinary (1340), which includes 646 heraldic images.
- The Italian Codice Trivulziano di Milano (1460), which documents numerous Lombardic coats of arms.
- German armorials such as the Berliner Wappenbuch (15th century), featuring 900 coats of arms, mainly Austrian; Leipziger Wappenbuch with 602 coats of arms, including those of prince-electors and knights; Grunwald’sches Wappenbuch with 515 coats of arms, including those of major cities; and Miltenberger Wappenbuch, listing 1,700 coats of arms of bishops, knights, and city heraldry.
In Poland, the first heraldic work, Klejnoty, was created in the first half of the 15th century by Jan Długosz. It contains descriptions of 71 family coats of arms. A remarkable manuscript, Stemmata Polonica, provides descriptions and colorful illustrations of 116 family, territorial, and episcopal coats of arms. Other notable Polish heraldic works include Gniazdo cnoty (1578) and Herby rycerstwa polskiego (1584) by Bartosz Paprocki, who included numerous heraldic woodcuts.
A notable non-Polish heraldic work is the Russian Obszczij gierbownik dworianskich rodow Wsierossijskoj Imperii, published in ten volumes between 1803 and 1840. It recorded approximately 5,000 coats of arms until the Bolshevik Revolution, after which the remaining ten planned volumes were never published.
Sources:
- The Great Book of Heraldry, Alfred Znamierowski, Świat Książki Publishing, 2008
Did you know that I make coats of arms to order?
February 16, 2025
Genealogy – the study of kinship, illustrating family connections between different people and tracing family histories. The term “genealogy” originates from the Greek words gens (clan) and logos (study). It is an auxiliary science of history, similar to heraldry, sigillography, numismatics, and paleography.
Since ancient times, there has been a notable interest in kinship and ancestry. Evidence of this can be found in Mesopotamia, Greece, and Egypt. In the Middle Ages, every more or less significant knightly family or dynasty compiled their own genealogies. Scandinavian peoples were particularly known for their genealogical memory, which is reflected in Icelandic sagas. In the 19th century, genealogy gained a new, scientific significance. Through rigor and reliability, scholarly research in this field expanded. For a long time, genealogical knowledge and interest in family history were primarily limited to the elites. Palaces and castles were decorated not only with portraits of ancestors but also with family trees, adding prestige and distinctiveness to the family. Among lower social classes, such as impoverished nobility, ancestral memory was often fragmentary, as knowledge on the subject was rarely passed down to future generations.
In Poland, genealogical and heraldic works are associated with Bartosz Paprocki, a pioneer in these fields at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries. He also compiled armorials of Polish, Silesian, Czech, and Moravian nobility. Later, several works were published, but they focused more on heraldry than genealogy. These included the works of Szymon Okolski, Wacław Potocki, Kasper Niesiecki, and Jan Nepomucen Bobrowicz. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, Adam Boniecki, Seweryn Uruski, Teodor Żychliński, and Oswald Balzer contributed significantly to the field. After World War II, genealogy was further developed by researchers such as Włodzimierz Dworzaczek and Kazimierz Jasiński. By the late 20th and early 21st centuries, genealogy became more widespread and even fashionable, experiencing a kind of renaissance. Today, books and guides on genealogy are readily available, and the internet, a vast repository of knowledge, has facilitated the emergence of numerous social media groups dedicated to the subject. However, genealogy remains a challenging field, requiring patience, persistence, and a multi-stage research process.
Many people wonder how and where to begin genealogical research. A good starting point is gathering information from the oldest living family members, who can provide a foundation for further study. Creating a preliminary family tree sketch is also a useful approach. Family documents found at home—such as birth, marriage, or death certificates—can serve as invaluable sources of information. Personal notes, letters, and diaries can also provide important insights. Parish records are another valuable source, especially when researching ancestors from over 100 years ago, which often requires visiting archives. A common mistake is to start research by searching armorials, as many unrelated families may have similar or identical surnames. In Poland, a single coat of arms is often associated with dozens or even hundreds of different families, which can lead to errors in determining whether a particular coat of arms belongs to a specific lineage. It is also essential to verify whether genealogical data has been compiled accurately and without mistakes.
Passenger lists from ships traveling to America during the Industrial Revolution and the settlement of new territories can also be a valuable genealogical resource. Additionally, photographs can be an insightful way to verify family history, as they may depict ancestors or family homes. Old maps are another helpful tool, providing insight into the historical landscape of ancestral regions. It is also important to recognize that surnames are not fixed and unchanging; they have often evolved over time, sometimes altering their original form. Mistaking individuals with identical surnames can lead to incorporating unrelated family branches into one’s lineage. Generally, surnames originate from three sources: place names, given names, and common words. Some families derive their surname from an ancestor who, often unknowingly, became the progenitor of a lineage. In the second half of the 19th century, many German-origin surnames in Poland underwent gradual Polonization. In some cases, nicknames and bynames served as the foundation for family names, while in others, they were derived from occupations commonly held at the time.
Not everyone could afford to artistically illustrate their family genealogy. An alternative approach was the creation of genealogical tables, which followed established symbolic conventions. To construct such a table, data about direct ancestors from both paternal and maternal lines were collected, resulting in what is known as an ancestry chart. Each ancestor is assigned a specific place and number, regardless of whether they are known personally. In this system, men receive even numbers, while women receive odd numbers. The individual from whom the genealogical table begins is called the probant. It is crucial to adhere to established genealogical principles when compiling such records. Notarial records can also be a valuable resource for learning about the financial status of ancestors and relatives. Additionally, cemeteries and tombstone inscriptions often serve as important sources of genealogical information.
The Prus Jabłonowski Family Tree
Source: https://www.kimonibyli.pl/drzewo-genealogiczne/
This article is based on the book Genealogy Not Only for Beginners by Paweł Bogdan Gąsiorowski (Warsaw, 2023) and The Illustrated Heraldic Guide by Ryszard T. Komorowski (Bellona Publishing, Warsaw, 2007).