INTRODUCTION


last update 5.08.2022 (see below)

Welcome to Armorial.dk, regrettably there is almost no artwork on this website. Instead it is the intention to provide a survey of medieval armorials, the surviving manuscripts and to present selected unpublished or hard-to-get armorials.

The material presented is a part of my ongoing study of medieval armorials a.k.a. rolls of arms.  It may be divided into six parts:

  • an inventory of armorials and manuscripts, where the content is mainly medieval;
  • a standard system of sigla or abbreviations of the armorials;
  • an ordinary of the coats of arms in medieval armorials;
  • an ordinary of crest (new)
  • identification of the individual items (arms) with appropriate documentation;
  • comparison of armorials in order to establish their relations and the editorial approach and knowledge;

Much of the material is published as free downloads of pdf-files on this website. For this Adobe Acrobat vs. 6.0 or later is needed:

Steen Clemmensen, Ordinary of Medieval Armorials,

The database and text versions (1.0) published on CD-ROM in 2006 has been revised in June-July 2017 as vs. 2.0 in sections ORDINARY and SURVEY.

The inventories and the table of siglas may be freely downloaded as pdf-files in the sections SURVEY and EXPLANATIONS. 

Individual armorials are published either as full editions or in blazon with individual identifications with reference to the Ordinary, with a survey of content, index of names and arms in the regional sections: ENGLAND, GERMANY and FRANCE (incl. Low Countries), or in the section TOURNAMENTS.

Selected papers and supporting data can be found in the sections: EDITING ARMORIALS, COATS of ARMS, and MISC. PAPERS.

There are links to websites with armorials, several in full facsimile or redrawn. Off-prints of some papers are also available on www.academia.edu .

Comments and questions are most welcome. Please remove the blank in the mail address.

In preparation:

  • Corrections and amendments to the armorials below.
  • Groups of arms and the use of brisures in medieval Europe.

Added august 2022:

  • The Parliamentary Roll of Arms, 1309 (E)

Added december 2021:

  • The barons Latimer and their use of brisures, c.1260-1411 (CoA)

Added august 2021:

  • An armorial of fief holders in the County Palatine a.k.a. Lehensbuch des Kurfürsten Friedrich i von Pfalz, LKF, 1471 (D)

Added july 2021:

  • The Trier Burgmannen armorial, BTB, c.1340 (D)

Added june 2021:

  • Editing armorials. Cooperation, knowledge, and approach by late medieval practitioners, vol.1+2, dr.phil thesis 2020 (EA)
  • An armorial of fief holders in the diocese of Speyer a.k.a. Lehensbuch des Bistums Speyer, LBS, 1468 (D)

Added july 2019:

  • The Gorrevod armorial, c.1460 (F)

Added november 2018:

  • The Powell Roll of Arms. A painted armorial of 1348 (E)
  • The Beauchamps of Warwick and Their Use of Arms (CoA)

Added june 2017:

  • Editing Armorials. Cooperation, knowledge and approach by late medieval practitioners, vol. 1+2; 380 + 220 pp; paperback, e-book (EA)
  • Ordinary of medieval armorials, vs. 2.0 in pdf and MS Access (O)

Added april 2017:

  • Bergshammar - blazons (F) + frames (5.02.2018 added)
  • Urfé - blazons (F)
  • Navarre - blazons (F)
  • Supporting documents to Editing Armorials (EA)

Added february 2017:

  • Nine Worthies and other Ternionen - revised, ordinary added (D)

Added january 2017:

  • Two published papers on early seals, with two tables as supplement (CoA)

Added november 2016:

  • The Lyncenich armorial, c.1440 (F)

Added may 2016:

  • The Newcastle (1319) armorial, formerly the Boroughbridge (1322) Roll of arms. (E)

Added october 2014:

  • The use of arms by the Châtillon-sur-Marne. (CoA)

Added may 2014:

  • 2 papers on the making of armorials by heralds or amateur armorists  (MP).

Added may 2013:

  • Nicolas de Lutzelbourg and Anthoine de Clémery. (F)

Added march 2013:

  • Jörg Rugen. (D)

Added may 2012:

  • Donaueschingen. (D)
  • Uffenbach. (D)

Added january 2012:

  • Sankt Gallen-Haggenberg. (D)
  • The Four of each Estate . Quaternionen der Reichsverfassung. (D)

Added november 2011:

  • Grünenberg - update, 1) corrections and amendments, 2) concordance with the Stillfried facsimile of 1875, edition Popoff. (D)

Added june 2011:

  • The Livro de arautos, a portuguese herald's collection of arms from Constance 1416. (D)

Added march 2011:

  • The arms of Montfort-l'Amaury. (CoA)
  • Ulrich Richental's Chronicle of the Council of Constance 1414-1418. (D)

Added december 2010:

  • Armorial casket from Quedlinburg, 1209. (D)
  • Crowning of Otto IV as king of the Romans, in Aachen 1189. (D)
  • Tournament in Bruges, 1393 flemish nobles. (T)

Added june 2010:

  • Stuttgarter Wappenbuch, 2 parts: c.1440, 1448. (D)

Added december 2009:

  • Conrad Grünenberg's Wappenbuch, finished 1483. (D)
  • The Nine Worthies and other Ternionen - a survey, revised 2017. (D)

Added september 2009:

  • Wappenrolle von Zürich, southern germans c.1345. (D)
  • Wappenfries im Haus zum Loch, southern germans 1306. (D)

Added august 2009:

  • The coats-of arms and crests in the Grosse Heidelberger (Manesse) and Weingartner Liederhandschriften. (D)
  • Willement Roll of Arms, of english nobles and gentry in the reign of Richard II, r.1377-99. (E)
  • William Jenyns' Ordinary, of english nobles and gentry in the reign of Edward II, r.1327-1377. (E)

Added february 2008:

  • An armorial of the Army of invasion of Flanders 1297: Chifflet-Prinet alias Ost-de-Flandre. (F)
  • Tournament at Chauvency 1285, a poem by Jacques Bretel with coats-of-arms. (T)
  • Tournament at Saint Omer 1377 in segment 46 of the Armorial d'Urfé. (T)
  • The heraldry of the Trie family of France. (CoA)

Added october 2007:
  • English section of Armorial d'Urfé, c.1380 (E)
  • Rouen roll of arms, c.1410 (E)
  • Armorials as evidence of medieval coats of arms. (MP)

Present July 2007:
  • Armorial de la Paix d'Arras or Peace at Arras, 1435 (F)
  • Ordinary of Medieval Armorials (revised 2017)
  • Survey and Sigla of Medieval Armorials (revised 2017)