The 24th International Heraldry Colloquium will take place in Wageningen, the Netherlands, from 17 to 21 August 2027. It is organized by the Dutch Heraldry Society (Nederlands Genootschap voor Heraldiek). The conference website is now live at https://www.aih2027.info/
The Royal Heraldry Society of Canada invites you to an online lecture by Vivien Baumert and Noah Kim-Baumann on Sunday, July 19, 1:30pm EST (7:30pm CET). Abstract: With an estimated one million objects preserved, coats of arms were among the most ubiquitous visual phenomena of medieval and early modern Europe — yet their systematic analysis has remained a persistent methodological challenge. The project HERALDIC Identity in Context addresses this...
On Heraldica Nova Anna Pomierny Wąsińska has previously shown how heraldic imagery in Florence could operate as a form of political visual language. Discussing the abstract portrayal of Florence painted by Jacopo di Cione in the 1360s on the main vault of the Palazzo dell’Arte dei Giudici e Notai, she interprets this heraldic diagram as a “visual political treatise” that legitimised the hierarchy of communities and the city’s political...
We are pleased to officially announce the publication of the sixth volume of the series Heraldic Studies. Under the title “Heraldry in Medieval and Rennaissance Cities”, Torsten Hiltmann, Laurent Hablot and Matteo Ferrari present an interdisciplinary collection that examines the semiotic function of heraldic displays as an urban phenomenon in Medieval Europe, with particular regard to Italy, where heraldry appears as a prevalent form of visual communication. Heraldic Studies...
We’re pleased to announce the launch of the official website for HERALDIC Identity in Context: https://heraldic-identity.org/ The Heraldic Identity website is designed to offer a clear and structured overview of the project and its research, where visitors can explore: Project information: Learn about the aims, scope, and background of HERALDIC Identity in Context Research updates: Stay informed about ongoing work and recent developments Team and collaboration: Discover the people and institutions involved...
Since the mid-12th century, coats of arms have played a pivotal role in the visual construction and negotiation of identity across Europe. Traditionally understood as personal emblems used to distinguish knights in battle, recent research reveals a far more complex reality. Heraldic signs oscillated between the singular and the collective, the private and the public. They were not merely individual identifiers, but dynamic semiotic systems that expressed personal agency...
This is the third and final installation of a blog series taking a closer look at the fictional coats of arms in the Getty Murúa. The first post explored the cultural and historic environment of the manuscript’s author, Martín de Murúa whereas the second blog entry examined the depicted coats of arms and attempted to place them in a broader sociocultural context of the Americas. This final essay scrutinizes...
This is the second of a three part blog post series dealing with the fictional coats of arms in the Getty Murúa. In the previous part, the manuscript itself, its author and his environment were examined. This installation takes a look at the depiction of coats of arms in the Getty Murúa and attempts to situate them within a broader sociocultural context of the Americas. The third and final part...
During the summer of last year, Torsten Hiltmann had the opportunity to undertake a research stay at the Getty Library. As part of this visit, he was also able to learn more about a particular manuscript—the Getty Murúa—and to examine the original at the Getty Museum, which is the focus of the following blog post. This manuscript was met with a lot of curiosity and gave rise to even...
For a recently published essay on the rhetoric surrounding corporate coats of arms in grants, confirmations and augmentations of arms issued to London’s livery companies, I gathered quite a bit of information on these documents. While I did not set out to create an exhaustive list of grants to London guilds, the list did become rather expansive. I share it here in case it is useful to others interested...
From 16th to 19th August 2023 the Colloquium of the International Academy of Heraldry will again take place in Lund. The Académie internationale d’héraldique (AIH) is pleased to offer two bursaries each amounting to a maximum of 600 euros to assist early career scholars/professionals with travel, accommodation and registration at the Lund colloquium. In addition, the Societas Heraldica Scandinavica offers one bursary in honour of the late Antti Matikkala...
Some time ago, I started a little series on the Grünenberg armorial and its manuscripts. (Have a look here and here, if you like). As it turned out, Grünenberg’s work – which often is praised as one of the most important medieval armorials – is extant in relatively many manuscripts: in addition to the two famous copies at Munich and Berlin, Bernd Konrad, František Pícha, and I have identified...
Now Online: heraldic-identity.org
23/03/2026
