Ringrose's Heraldry The Relation of the Science with History, Poetry and the Arts

London, England: Seymour Press. Very Good-. 1913. Trade Edition. Hardcover. B&W Illustrations; This book is in Very Good- condition and is lacking a dust jacket. The book covers have some bumping, rubbing and wear to the spine ends and corners. The front cover cloth has several small wrinkles (due to production issues) . There are some ink markings to the bottom edges of both the front and rear covers. The text pages are clean and bright. There is a previous owner's bookplate on the front pastedown page. "Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory) , as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branch of heraldry, concerns the design and transmission of the heraldic achievement. The achievement, or armorial bearings usually includes a coat of arms on a shield, helmet and crest, together with any accompanying devices, such as supporters, badges, heraldic banners and mottoes. Although the use of various devices to signify individuals and groups goes back to antiquity, both the form and use of such devices varied widely, as the concept of regular, hereditary designs, constituting the distinguishing feature of heraldry, did not develop until the High Middle Ages. It is often claimed that the use of helmets with face guards during this period made it difficult to recognize one's commanders in the field when large armies gathered together for extended periods, necessitating the development of heraldry as a symbolic language, but there is little support for this view. " (from Wikipedia) .