Medieval Guilds

Knights and nobles weren't the only ones who used coats-of-arms. Medieval Guilds would often display a coat-of-arms in their guild hall. A guild was a group of skilled craftsmen who did the same job. So, a group of shoemakers living in the same town would have formed a guild to make sure shoes were made to a certain standard of quality, to make sure that they sold for a fair price, and to make sure that their members had specific skills. To become a guildsman, a person had to go through three steps: apprentice, journeyman, and finally, a master. The two shields above represent the blacksmith guild and the shoemaker guild.

Heraldry in American History.

The Arms of George Washington, 1st President of the United States. His shield appears on the Purple Heart as seen below. The original Purple Heart was established by George Washington as a Badge of Military Merit when he was Commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, 1782. Today it is a United States military decoration awarded by the President to those who have been wounded or killed while in service since April 5, 1917.

Modern Day Heraldic Artist works magic!

The art of heraldry is practiced today. Andrew Stewart Jamieson creates magnificent coats-of-arms. See the video below.

Heralds record Coats-of-Arms in books called Rolls of Arms

Coats of Arms are more than just interesting colorful symbols placed on "awesome" shields. A Coat of Arms tells us about people and families that lived hundreds of years ago. In the middle ages it was a herald's job to know which coat of arms belonged to which knight or nobleman. Heralds often kept a record of coats of arms by drawing or painting them on a roll of parchment. It sometimes stayed in the form of a roll and other times it was made into a book. This record-keeping format became known as a Roll of Arms and it generally included rows of painted shields along with the name of the person who owned the coat of arms. Roll of Arms are important primary documents that preserve information about many generations of knights and families dating back to the 1200s and are still being made by 21^st century heralds today.

The above picture is of a page from the Hyghalmen Roll, Germany, dating back to 1485.

The Science of Heraldry

Heraldry, a system of using a variety of shapes and symbols on a shield or coat of arms to identify an individual or family, is almost 900 years old. The use of symbols on shields can be seen in the Bayeux Tapestry, a tapestry which we studied earlier this year and which is thought to have been made in the 1070's. It became a herald's job to create and keep records of the symbols and coats of arms. Go to the web site for the International Heraldry & Heralds to learn more and see amazing images:

http://www.internationalheraldry.com/

Below is a full achievement of arms

To play a heraldry game requiring skill,  Click Here! To create a shield online, Click Here!

Enjoy Our Illuminated Manuscripts!

Medieval Research and Manuscript Assignment

Ye shall research your assigned topic: Book of Hours.

Your final product will consist of the following:

An illuminated manuscript written in calligraphy on parchment. 

It should include the following:

• An illuminated letter
• A rubric…in Latin using calligraphy printing
• A historiated letter
• An inhabited margin
• A miniature painting 
• Text: should be a prayer, poem, etc. that you might recite at one of the eight times for prayer in your short version of a Book of Hours.