HERALDRY. – Auxiliary science of history. It derives from the word *araldo* (herald), because it was the heralds’ task to recognize the knights’ coats of arms at tournaments, establish their authenticity, and proclaim them in the field. Historically, it traces coats of arms back to banners. Like banners, coats of arms were originally colored signs used to distinguish leaders and troops. Their origin can be traced to the 12th century, when these signs began to appear on individuals as their "badges," and on various pieces of armor, whence the more proper heraldic term *arme* (arms) instead of *stemma* (coat of arms). From a personal mark on a shield or seal, the *arme* later became a mark of family and territory. It is precisely for this reason that
the presence of a coat of arms in archaeological remains and on buildings can indicate—like a name or an inscription—a period, an event, an achievement, or a domain.
Heraldry is also the science of the composition, interpretation, and reading of coats of arms, and for this reason it is more properly called *blasone* (blazon), according to some from the German *blasen*: the sound of the horn calling knights to assembly; according to others from the old French *blason*: to praise, to describe virtues.
Heraldry, thus understood as blazon, is the science of a veritable figurative language: with its own grammar, so to speak, and syntax regarding the use of colors and figures, comparable to words, and for their overall expression on the shield, comparable to a sentence or a paragraph.
This language is summarized in the *arme*. The *arme* can be personal, belonging to an individual or family, or social, belonging to entities, provinces, cities, institutions, and associations. In the *arme*, a distinction is made between the shield and its ornaments.
I. The Shield
The shield has taken various forms; today the so-called *sannitico* (Sabine) form is commonly used, that is, a vertical rectangle with the lower side shaped like a horizontal bracket. Its field, that is, its entire space, contains the heraldic expression of the *arme*. The shield can therefore be simple, if it expresses a single heraldic achievement, or composite, if it consists of several coats of arms united in a single shield, by reason of dominion, marriage, grant, etc. It can be plain if it bears no figures and is expressed by a single tincture; or figured if it bears figures.Tinctures are distinguished into metals, gold and silver (yellow and white; figs. 18, 20); colors, red, blue, black, green, purple (figs. 21, 25); and furs, ermine, counter-ermine, vair, and counter-vair (figs. 26, 29). Metals and colors are also transcribed in hatchings, which mainly concerns the reproduction of coats of arms on seals. Thus gold is rendered by dots (fig. 18), silver by no hatching (fig. 20), red by close perpendicular lines (fig. 22), blue by horizontal lines (fig. 23), green by diagonal lines from dexter to sinister (fig. 23), black by horizontal and vertical lines crossed (fig. 21), and purple by diagonal lines from sinister to dexter (fig. 24). Ermine is silver with black mottling (figs. 6, 26), counter-ermine black with silver mottling (figs. 8, 27); vair is blue with reversed silver bells (figs. 14, 28), and counter-vair is metal counter-metal and color counter-color (figs. 16, 29).
The shield is said to be figured if its field is charged with the various figures of blazon. These are distinguished into heraldic figures, that is, determined geometric shapes; natural, if taken from nature; artificial, such as castles, bridges, tools, etc.; and chimerical, such as dragons, mermaids, etc. All of these also have a particular stylization in blazon, in the sense that the reproduction of any figure on the shield does not follow the details and developments proper to any painting, but occurs in the most schematic drawing possible, most often already classified in heraldry. Thus we have, for example: the heraldic lion, eagle, castle, bridge, star, sun, and the attitudes of certain animals and the manner of reproducing other natural figures are regulated by specific rules. With regard to their arrangement on the shield, figures can be of the field or on the field. Figures of the field are those heraldic divisions that divide it and are drawn in various ways, giving their respective names to the shield: namely, the *partitions* that divide it by one or two lines, whence the shield is said to be *partito* (party per pale; fig. 1), *spaccato* (party per fess), *tagliato* (party per bend), *trinciato* (party per bend sinister) if divided into two equal parts according to the direction of the single dividing line, or *interzato* (party per pale with a third line; fig. 2) and *inquartato* (quarterly; fig. 3) if divided into three or four parts with respective specifications for the different directions of the lines; the *repartitions* that subdivide the partitions by a third line; the *conventional partitions* that subdivide the partitions by several lines, whence the shield is *bandato* (barry), *facciato* (paly), *sbarrato* (bendy), *palato* (paly of six or eight; fig. 4), *scaccato* (chequy; fig. 5), *fusato*, etc. Figures on the field, in turn, whether heraldic or generic, are those that charge it, whether the field is plain or already charged with such figures of its own. The heraldic figures on the field are the *honourable ordinaries* and *sub-ordinaries*. The former occupy one-third of the field, such as the *capo* (chief; fig. 6), the *palo* (pale; fig. 7), the *fascia* (fess; fig. 8), the *banda* (bend; fig. 9), the *sbarra* (bend sinister; fig. 10), the *croce* (cross; fig. 11), the *croce di s. Andrea* (saltire; fig. 12), the *capitello* (chief with a lowered line; fig. 13), the *punta* (point; fig. 14), the *pergola* (pile; fig. 15), the *bordura* (border; along the edge of the shield; fig. 15). If reduced to less than one-third, they have other names, such as *verghetta* instead of *palo*, *burla* instead of *fascia*, etc. The sub-ordinaries are the *palle* (roundels), the *circoli* (annulets), the *tortelli* (bezants), the *losanghe* (lozenges), the *plinti* (plints), etc. Both the heraldic and the generic figures are arranged according to specific rules that assign their *positura* (position), by which the field is ideally subdivided into *modules*, seven in height and nine in width, so as to specify whether a figure is placed in *capo* (chief), in *punta* (point), with the respective dexter and sinister *angoli* (corners) and *cantoni* (cantons), in *cuore* (heart) or *centro* (center), or on the *fianco* (flank) of the shield. Special rules also govern the *scrittura* (blazon), that is, the composition of the shield, regarding the use of tinctures and colors of the figures in relation to those of the field or of other figures, especially of the honourable ordinaries, which in turn may be charged with other heraldic or generic figures. Thus the reading is determined by where one begins, how it unfolds, and how it is completed, with characteristic terms and phrases that particularly simplify descriptions that would otherwise be complicated if expressed in common words. For example: *Spaccato: al primo d’azzurro, al levriere nascente rivoltato d’argento, collarinato di rosso; al secondo d’argento* (party per fess: azure, a wolf’s head erased reversed argent, collared gules; second azure) (fig. 17, Castracani). *Trinciato: d’azzurro e d’oro a tre stelle dall’uno all’altro, e il capo d’oro carico di un’aquila spiegata di nero* (party per bend azure and or, three estoiles counterchanged, and in chief or an eagle displayed sable) (fig. 19, Dandini).
Emblems and figures of every kind have a meaning that they gradually assumed as heraldry, which, as has been said, began as a means of distinguishing companies and leaders in battle, became exclusively associated with chivalry as a mark of heroic deeds accomplished or of intentions and aspirations, often reinforced by "deaths" or "achievements" inserted among the ornaments of the shield. This likely began in the age of the *dolce stil novo* and its poetic hermeticism, and during its fantastic flourishing in the 17th and 18th centuries, it developed a veritable vocabulary in keeping with the spirit of the times. It is for this reason that the oldest arms are the simplest, and generic figures came after heraldic ones, which were better suited to indicate a mere mark than a symbol, though later these too were assigned specific meanings. The so-called "canting arms"—those that allude to the surname—are the most recent, unless the surname itself derives from the arms, in which case it indicates ancient nobility, so that the family took its name from the achievement. Here it should be noted that the abuse of canting arms is evident in ecclesiastical heraldry, where the widespread application of figures to convey meanings beyond heraldic symbols and significance is also observed, whereas it is through these symbols that any motto or achievement would preferably be expressed. Above all, it must be emphasized that in sacred symbols—whose origins are found in catacomb art and liturgy—it is always possible to draw from them to render the inspirations and aspirations of pastoral mission noble and comprehensible to the people, without thereby turning the coat of arms, as often happens, into an arbitrary composition, frequently obscure and always unheraldic; that is, in direct contradiction to the very principle of fixing it on a shield.
2. **The ornaments of the shield.** – These indicate in the arms the degree of nobility, dignity, or office of the bearer. They are therefore hereditary and personal. The helmet, with its crest, mantling or lambrequins, and the *cécine*, as well as the crown, mantle, and pavilion, are hereditary.
**The helmet.** – It is the exclusive ornament of male arms, though it does not currently constitute a precise indicator of noble rank as the crown does, nor has it historically always provided such a clear definition. Nevertheless, from the heraldists of the 17th and 18th centuries onward, it appeared on shields for this purpose. Thus, the royal helmet (fig. 1) is of gold, arabesque, facing forward with the visor raised; that of a prince (fig. 2) and duke (fig. 3) is of the same metal and position, with the visor half-raised, accompanied by a gorget and gold medal; the marquis’s helmet (fig. 4) is of silver, arabesque, bordered in gold with a gorget and medal of the same, the visor closed with a grille of 11 bars; the count’s helmet (fig. 5) is identical but in profile for one-third, with a grille of 17 bars; for two-thirds, the viscount’s helmet (fig. 6) has a grille of 13 bars, as does the baron’s (fig. 7), which is smooth and bordered in gold; the noble’s helmet (fig. 8) is of plain silver in full profile, with a grille of 9 bars; the hereditary knight’s helmet (fig. 9) is the same but with a grille of 3 bars; the patrician’s helmet (fig. 10) is of silver, arabesque, in gold, with the visor half-raised. The crest adorns the top of the helmet with three-dimensional figures that usually reproduce the principal ones of the shield or others of the same origin and purpose of emblem and distinction. The *cécine* is a ring of fabric in the colors of the shield, used to cushion blows and cover the junction of the crest with the helmet; upon it rests the crown when worn on the helmet. The lambrequins were originally a cloth covering attached to the *cécine* to shield from the sun, later becoming scalloped into foliage and feathers, also in the colors of the shield.
**The crown.** – Royal crowns vary according to the tradition of each dynasty and kingdom. Commonly formed by a gold circlet set with gems and topped by multiple points surmounted by a cross, with a tuft of crimson velvet within (fig. 1). In Italian heraldry, the prince’s crown (fig. 2) is a gold circlet set with gems, topped by eight fleurons on as many gold points—five visible—alternating with eight pearls (four visible); the duke’s crown (fig. 3) is the same without pearls. Both may also include a tuft of red velvet within the circlet if borne by families of former sovereign houses or of the Holy Roman Empire. The marquis’s crown (fig. 4) is topped by four fleurons (three visible) on the circlet, alternating with four pyramidal clusters of pearls—two visible—arranged in threes; the count’s crown (fig. 5) is topped by sixteen pearls—nine visible; the viscount’s (fig. 6) by four large pearls—three visible—supported by as many points alternating with four small pearls—two visible; the baron’s crown (fig. 7) has the circlet encircled by a row of pearls in six turns or bears ten large pearls—five visible—on the circlet; the noble’s crown (fig. 8) is topped by eight pearls—five visible; the hereditary knight’s by four—three visible; the patrician’s crown is simply a gold circlet set with gems, except for the Venetian patrician, whose crown is topped by eight fleurons of lily—five visible—imperial, and eight points supporting as many pearls, while ducal families surround the ducal horn in this manner. Titled nobles and patricians place the crown above the helmet; women bear it exclusively on the shield, flanked—as the sole ornament—by two cords or, as in Italy, by two crossed palm leaves beneath its point.
The **mantle** (fig. 2), proper to sovereign, princely, ducal, or other privileged families, hangs from the crown behind the arms and is of crimson velvet lined with ermine, bordered in gold, raised with cords and tassels of the same. The **pavilion** (fig. 1) is the mantle gathered into a silver apex surmounted by the crown, exclusive to sovereignty.
Personal ornaments are distinguished into ecclesiastical, civil, military, and equestrian. Ecclesiastical ornaments include those of jurisdiction or office and those of dignity.
Those of jurisdiction and office are the tiara, the keys, the cross, the mitre, the crozier, the pallium, and the crook.
The tiara is also traditionally used, though not by right, by the Patriarch of Lisbon. The trefoil cross placed vertically in the center behind the shield of cardinal legates and bishops is two-armed for patriarchs and archbishops (figs. 13, 14). The mitre is gemmed for those with episcopal rank, placed facing forward and at the top right of the shield beside the cross (figs. 14, 15); it is white and placed in profile for abbots with jurisdiction (fig. 16), inclined to the left for others; it is gold for protonotaries; white for others who have the privilege and placed centrally where the cross would be. The crozier is gold for the episcopal order (figs. 14, 15), to the left of the cross and turned outward; silver in the same position for abbots general and abbots *nullius diocesis*; turned inward for abbots with jurisdiction in their own monastery (fig. 16); inclined to the left for others. The pallium, rendered heraldically in silver charged with black crosses, hangs from the sides of the cross at the top edge of the shield of patriarchs, archbishops, and others who have the privilege as a sign of metropolitan jurisdiction (fig. 13).
The staff (fig. 19), shaped like a pilgrim’s staff, is placed vertically behind the shield of the coats of arms of superiors general whose dignity is distinguished by the “chief of religion” in their personal achievement; of priors of mendicant orders and religious congregations; and for superiors of religious orders, it bears a chaplet of paternosters, called a “paternostro.”
Ecclesiastical dignity is denoted by the hat and tassels. The hat surmounts the shield, replacing the helmet of noble arms, and stands above the ornaments of jurisdiction and office. The tassels hang from the sides of the shield in a conical arrangement. For a cardinal, the hat—surmounted by the “basilica”—and the tassels are red, thirty in number, fifteen on each side in five rows of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (fig. 12). For patriarchs, the hat is green with a ribbon of the same color and gold threads, and the tassels number thirty in the same arrangement as for cardinals (fig. 13); for archbishops and bishops immediately subject to the Holy See, it is green with green cord and tassels, twenty in number, ten on each side in four rows (fig. 14); for bishops, it is twelve, six on each side in three rows (fig. 15); for honorary protonotaries, it is purple with crimson cords and tassels, twelve in number, six on each side in three rows; while it is black with black tassels for honorary protonotaries. For prelates of the *fiocchetto*—Majordomo, Vice-Camerlengo, Auditor General, and Treasurer General of the Apostolic Camera—the hat is purple with twenty crimson tassels, ten on each side in four rows (fig. 17); it is purple for domestic prelates with twelve tassels of the same color, six on each side in three rows; and green for the Regent of the Chancery. The hat is black for chamberlains and secret chaplains with purple tassels, twelve in number, six on each side in three rows; black, with the same number and arrangement, for abbots, vicars general, archpriests, and deans (fig. 16); six tassels in two rows for beneficiaries—with gold threads for military and court chaplains—and for priors, guardians, and rectors (fig. 19).
Ecclesiastical arms are surmounted by a noble crown when the title is inherent to a church or granted by the Supreme Pontiff, the family arms being tolerated in such cases. The crown surrounds the cross, while for princely titles alone the helmet is placed between the crozier and the cross, all surmounted by the hat (fig. 14); above this, if the prelate is of royal lineage, only the mantle appears, and in this case the crown supports the mantle. This exception also applies to cardinals, for whom, otherwise, only the cross appears beneath the hat without any other ornaments of jurisdiction, office, or dignity, the cardinal’s office and dignity being considered superior to all others.
Civil personal ornaments are the insignia of rank in high state magistracies, especially those that elevate to the noble order, such as the toque and maces for supreme judges, and chivalric insignia that hang from the point of the shield, sometimes encircling its sides with ribbons. Military ornaments are likewise those proper to supreme commands in the armed forces. The Marshal displays the cross of St Andrew and batons as insignia of command; the Admiral, anchors; the Grand Master of Artillery, cannons. Equestrian personal ornaments belong to members of noble equestrian orders who place the relevant cross on their shield.
To all ornaments are added the *motti*, derived from ancient war cries. Written in black or red on a silver or gold ribbon, they are placed above the coat of arms; for ecclesiastics, they are inscribed on the pale issuing from the cross, where one exists.