Guide to Heraldry

by Ottfried Neubecker

At the crossroads of military history, political history, genealogy and art, the rules of the heraldic tradition began during the first few centuries of the 2nd millennium, and continue with little alteration to this day.  This handy reference book presents state coats of arms from across the world, along with signs, helmets, shields, and crowns, accompanied by a text that explains the symbols and meanings of each design.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Medieval

264 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1981

Reviews

[John]

A good overview of the subject, I think. It has a nice amount of historical background and context, detailed descriptions and explanations of all aspects of heraldic achievements, including the common meanings of many symbols and designs. There are tons of color and b&w images of various achievements (shields, helmets, full signs, etc.), and examples and discussion of modern applications, such as for states and nations.

It was an entertaining and informative read, and I think it'll be a great reference.

[Gwynfor]

I've owned this book for years, and am quite proud of myself for finally reading it through, especially since it's interesting and quite informative. However, it completely lacks any ending or summation--it just STOPS.

[Lucinda]

Overall well written, main problem was odd way of placing text and pictures, and often time the pictures used weren't very relevant to the text.

[Jim Short]

Difficult. If you aren't familiar with heraldry there are unexplained words that crop up in the text that you need to interpret.