“The so-called arms of the town of Guildford have nothing heraldric about them,” that is, they are not framed in accordance with the laws of blazon. To say that they are not heraldic, would be to say that they do not declare war, attend coronations, wear a tabard, or perform any of the functions of a herald—a gross absurdity.
A literary friend, who objects to my reasoning, thinks that the one word, heraldic, answers every purpose for both applications. That it has done so, heretofore, is not certainly a reason why it should after the distinction has been pointed out. Besides, my doctrine is not unsupported by analogy. We have a case precisely parallel in the words monarchal and monarchical; and he who would charge me with innovation must, to be consistent with himself, expunge monarchical from his dictionary as a useless word.
Lewes; Dec. 1844.
Contents.
| CHAP. | PAGE | |
| [I.] | THE FABULOUS HISTORY OF HERALDRY | [1] |
| [II] | THE AUTHENTIC HISTORY OF HERALDRY | [15] |
| [III] | RATIONALE OF THE FIGURES EMPLOYED IN HERALDRY | [49] |
| [IV] | THE CHIMERICAL FIGURES OF HERALDRY | [89] |
| [V] | THE LANGUAGE OF ARMS | [105] |
| [VI] | ALLUSIVE ARMS—ARMES PARLANTES | [119] |
| [VII] | CRESTS, SUPPORTERS, BADGES, etc. | [133] |
| [VIII] | HERALDRIC MOTTOES | [151] |
| [IX] | HISTORICAL ARMS—AUGMENTATIONS | [161] |
| [X] | DISTINCTIONS OF RANK AND HONOUR | [197] |
| [XI] | HISTORICAL NOTICES OF THE COLLEGE OF ARMS | [219] |
| [XII] | BRIEF NOTICES OF DISTINGUISHED HERALDS AND HERALDRIC WRITERS, WITH QUOTATIONS FROM THEIR WORKS | [245] |
| [XIII] | GENEALOGY | [281] |
| [Appendix.] | ||
| [A] | ON DIFFERENCES IN ARMS, NOW FIRST PRINTED FROM A MS. BY SIR EDWARD DERING, BART. | [297] |
| [B] | THE ANTIENT PRACTICE OF BORROWING ARMORIAL ENSIGNS ILLUSTRATED FROM THE ARMS OF CORNISH FAMILIES | [309] |
| [C] | ABATEMENTS | [313] |
| [D] | GRANT OF ARMS TEMP. EDW. III. | [315] |
| [E] | NOTICE OF AN ANTIENT STEELYARD WEIGHT DISCOVERED AT LEWES | [317] |
Errata.