57
votes
Was the flag of Iceland originally fimbriated in silver?
Silver means white.
The art and science of classic European flag design is called "Heraldry". Classic heraldry refers to color as "Tincture". Tinctures are separated into 5 colors:
Azure (blue)
...
- 1,131
32
votes
What is this flag?
Technically, it's not a flag it's a surcoat. It represents the coats of arms of her family. In heraldic terms, the display of these arms are known as impalement. In this case, the arms on the dexter ...
- 4,781
13
votes
Was the flag of Iceland originally fimbriated in silver?
No.
The Icelandic flag never had any actual silver colour in it and was never meant to contain any silver.
In the quote argent is meant to convey just white. It is used in an outdated and imprecise ...
- 80.8k
13
votes
In the coat of arms of Georg von Frundsberg, where does the ostrich come from?
The arrangement of separate coats of arms on a single shield or other field is called marshalling in English heraldry.
It is common to display the coats of arms of a married couple by dividing the ...
- 19.1k
12
votes
Accepted
What does this Swiss banner/blazon/coat of arms/flag stand for?
That's Biel / Bienne, see its coat of arms:
By Aliman5040 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
Swiss historian Markus Kutter confirms it in Zwischen Jura, Vogesen und Schwarzwald, 32. Hinter die Fassade ...
- 647
12
votes
Accepted
Can anyone find an image of Henry Bolingbroke's Sovereygne Feather Seal?
The Erenow site has an image of the seal on it's page titled The Fears of Henry IV, although it isn't particularly high resolution, and doesn't provide further details for the source of the image:
...
- 77.3k
11
votes
Accepted
Are the Swiss flag and the flag/coat of arms of Piedmont related?
Short Answer:
The Swiss and Piedmontese coats of arms and flags might both possibly, repeat possibly, have originated as symbols of loyalty to the Holy Roman Empire.
Long answer:
Flags and coats of ...
- 19.1k
10
votes
Accepted
Is this costume plate from Theatrum Orbis Terrarum correctly colored?
As far as I call tell, unless the spiritual electors wore their clerical vestaments, and they do not in those images, their elector's robes and those of the secular electors should have been the same ...
- 19.1k
9
votes
How does a heraldic eagle become a nazi symbol?
Simply by using (or abusing) it. An heraldic eagle (or any other heraldic symbol) on its own is neutral. Remember the 3 powers of advertising: repeat, repeat and repeat.
I live in Thailand were the ...
- 20.9k
8
votes
How does a heraldic eagle become a nazi symbol?
However, no apparent sign appeared to me to link this type of symbolism directly to nazism (especially since it wasn't known if the eagle was carrying any swastika).
Well, the eagle as displayed the ...
- 4,629
8
votes
Are there churches that belong to the German Armed Forces?
Short Asnwer:
In my opinion, it is probable that you saw the Leechkirche on Rittergasse with a Teutonic Knights cross painted on the doors, instead of a garrison church of a hypothetical German army ...
- 19.1k
7
votes
Why did England consistently adopt red as their primary colour for insignia and uniform?
Actuallly it goes back to the English Civil War, and Cromwell's raising of the 'New Model Army'- This was the first british army to be given a formal uniform, one piece of which was a leather jerkin- ...
- 71
7
votes
Is (or was) there a version of the Maltese Cross with the right arrowhead missing? Does it have a name?
This order is quite old and previously called Hospitaller. The earlier designs were much simpler crosses and not really "arrow-like". The design is quite varied over the medieval period and ranged ...
- 80.8k
7
votes
Accepted
Has the "lion dormant" ever been used in heraldry?
The lion dormant was not unused in heraldry, as a skim-thru of old books shows.
Page 150 of Alexander Brunet's 1839 The regal armorie of Great Britain, from the time of the ancient Britons to the ...
- 5,819
7
votes
Could someone help to identify this Japanese mon found on what appears to be a late Edo Period Jingasa?
That is a bishi (菱, lit. "rhombus") mon, specifically, a maru-ni mitsu bishi (丸に三つ菱, lit. "circle with three rhombuses").
(Left: mitsu bishi mon | Right: maru-ni mitsu bishi mon
...
- 97.4k
7
votes
Accepted
What have warriors that would typically bear a coat of arms done to their heraldic achievements to indicate they have deserted or defected?
Warriors didn't change their coats of arms, if any, when they changed their allegiance. Coats of arms were considered to be hereditary rights.
You should read about the famous case of Scrope v ...
- 19.1k
7
votes
Why does the Spanish Military Medical Corps use the Amalfitan Cross?
En concreto, el emblema que identifica a este cuerpo es la Cruz de
Malta, un símbolo que identifica al personal militar sanitario desde
que en el siglo XII la utilizara la Orden de Malta, una orden
...
- 584
6
votes
Accepted
Do the Chadwyck-Healey baronets have a coat of arms?
Yes - the coat of arms is recorded in Burke's Peerage & Baronetage, the 1999 edition of which is available to borrow for free on archive.org and includes the description of the Chadwyck-Healey ...
- 797
5
votes
Accepted
What is the historical significance of the Tryzub to Ukrainian diaspora?
The oldest antecedent on Wikipedia is Sviatoslav's. It doesn't much resemble a trident.
Vladimir the Great added the middle element, according to the list of historical coats of arms:
About the ...
- 27.6k
5
votes
What is this flag?
As killing time says in his answer, Princess Isabella (called "The She Wolf of France" by historians centuries later) is wearing a surcoat with the coats of arms of her husband Prince Edward of Wales ...
- 19.1k
5
votes
Accepted
Does the rule of tincture apply within a variation of the field?
I couldn't remember whether I knew of any barry or paley fields with color beside color or metal beside metal.
The first place I looked was Wikipedia.
The most basic rule of heraldic design is the ...
- 19.1k
5
votes
Accepted
Under German-Nordic heraldic tradition, can arms pass through the female line?
Heraldry was invented sometime in the 12th century (1101-1200) and rapidly spread among the high nobility and also upwards to royalty and downwards to lower nobles, knights, farmers, merchants, ...
- 19.1k
5
votes
Accepted
Why did the San Marco Marine Brigade adopt the winged lion of Venice?
According to the Italian Navy:
In 1915 the “Marine” Brigade was reformed and included an Artillery and an Infantry Regiments , both organized in three battalions, raised to five during World War I. ...
- 1,379
4
votes
Where can I research fifteenth century French and Italian coats of arms?
The coat of arms of Guillem de Clermont-Lodève, ancestor of Tristan of Clermont, is described in Documens historiques et généalogiques sur les familles et les hommes remarquables du Rouergue (Vol. 1, ...
- 797
4
votes
Accepted
What do the letters "L" and "G" mean on the coat of arms of the city of Liège?
The official site of the city of Liège states that
The letters L and G on the coat-of-arms correspond to the Latin expression "Libertas Gentis", which means "Freedom to the People".
Interestingly, ...
- 2,266
4
votes
What do Florence, Genoa, Milan and Venice have in common?
This question seems to be based on a bit shaky grounds in terms of presentation.
That would make answering the title question more than tricky. Without required updates within the question as asked, ...
- 80.8k
4
votes
Accepted
What is the meaning of the elements of this emblem?
The double eagle at the top points towards the Austrian(-Hungarian) empire.
But above that is a Erbritterkrone with only three pearls (well, actually four, three of them visible…). This is apparently ...
- 80.8k
4
votes
Accepted
Does a description of the original design for the Great Seal of the United States by Simitiere survive?
The description of du Simitiere's initial design for the Great Seal is included on the Great Seal website:
"The shield has six Quarters... pointing out the Countries from which
these States have ...
- 77.3k
4
votes
What is the historical significance of the Tryzub to Ukrainian diaspora?
This diagram shows the development of the Rurikid's coat of arms. Some suggest the Tryzub depicts a descending bird of prey. Looking at all of these symbols together does give the impression of this.
...
- 3,340
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible