Written in Heraldry

Lions are noble; unicorns pure. Knowing how to decipher heraldry reveals the aspirations – and humour – of the regal past.

Suzannah Lipscomb | Published in History Today Volume 72 Issue 10 October 2022

Read my shield: Henry VI on horseback with a coat of arms, 15th century. — Henry VI on horseback with a coat of arms, 15th century. Bridgeman Images.

In the largely illiterate 14th to 17th centuries, heraldry could be read by all. As Victor Hugo wrote: ‘For those who can decipher it, heraldry is an algebra, a language. The whole history of the second half of the Middle Ages is written in heraldry.’

Heraldry proper consists of devices on a shield. A coat of arms is the design around that shield, typically – since the time of Henry VI – with real or mythological animal supporters and topped with decorative elements including a helm (helmet), coronet and crest.

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