The History and Art of Heraldry

This study day is available as both an in person and a recording only event. The recording will be made available to ALL attendees on the Monday following the event and will be available for 4 weeks.

Over the course of 900 years, heraldry has become one of the world’s most iconic and idiosyncratic forms of art and design. Coats of arms, crests and other ‘armorial bearings’ have proven fertile ground for visual creativity, even while bound by heraldry’s many rules and conventions, and its practical and social functions. Focusing mainly on English heraldry, this study day will consider the system’s historical development and the ways in which different artists and different eras have addressed its creative challenges.

Lecture 1 – The Purpose and Origins of Heraldry
The opening lecture gives an overview of the purpose and unique qualities of English heraldry, the system’s medieval origins, and the earliest approaches to heraldic design.

Lecture 2 – Heraldry as a Status Symbol
The second talk considers how heraldry became a symbol of social status in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and how this affected its usage.

Lecture 3 – ‘Good’ and ‘Bad’ Heraldry
The third session explores the decline and eventual revival of artistic standards in English heraldry across the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Lecture 4 – Creating New Heraldry
The final lecture discusses how new coats of arms are designed, depicted and used in the present day.