Heraldry, Sources, Symbols and Meaning

London: Black Cat / Macdonald. Very Good/Fair. 1988. Reprint. Hard Cover. 4to 0748101985 Dust jacket repaired, large chunks missing. Illustrated boards. No ownership inscription. 288 pages clean and tight. Heraldry: Sources, Symbols and Meaning is a thorough and richly illustrated history of the system, the art, and the craft that have grown from the honoured office of the herald. Each of the book's nine chapters explores onemajor element of heraldry, bringing a new order and clarity to the intricate, spectacular development of this ancient - and now worldwide - system of identification. The rise and decline of jousting tournaments, the chivalric code, symbols of battles won passed from fathers to sons, and eventually to the seals of great nations, the origin of the `bar sinister', emblems brought back by the Crusaders from the Middle East and still used today to represent various countries; all these have become part of the heraldic tradition. The book contains an extensive and thorough display of heraldic devices and historical illustrations, 1500 of which are in full colour, and there are many specially commissioned maps, charts and diagrammatic drawings. Dr Ottfried Neubecker has contributed numerous books and articles to the understanding of heraldry. He is Director of the German General Roll of Arms, on the board of the International Academy of Heraldry, and a past President of the Federation Internationale des Associations .Vexillologigues. The final chapter of Heraldry, on modern uses, has been contributed by ' J.P. Brooke-Little, Richmond Herald of Arms at the College of Arms, London, and author of many works on the subject. The cover design shows details of the Tristan Tapestry from the Weinhausen Convent near Celle in Lower Saxony. .