Heraldic Badges in England and Wales: this very significant contribution to heraldic scholarship by Michael Powell Siddons, Wales Herald Extraordinary, has been published for the Society of Antiquaries by the Boydell Press. This monumental work in four volumes fills a serious gap in the literature of heraldry, providing a comprehensive overview of the subject from the fourteenth to the early seventeenth century. It may be ordered from the publisher here.
Illustrated right is a page from the College of Arms manuscript A17, bearing a painting of two standards and Arms and dating from circa 1513. Each standard features the cross of St George, with on the fly, a beast between a scattering of smaller badges. The upper standard is that of George (Nevill), Baron Bergavenny, and bears the pied bull of the Nevills between interlaced double staples. The lower standard is that of Walter (Devereux), Baron Ferrers of Chartley, later Viscount Hereford, and bears a talbot between the badges of a 'french wife's hood' and the Ferrers badge of a horseshoe. The motto is LOIALLE SUYS (I am loyal).
Welcome to the twenty-second edition of the College of Arms Newsletter