A few years ago a Scottish university, at great expense, commissioned a new logo. It was nothing but a slight variation on their existing coat of arms. The heralds of a bygone age had devised a symbolic language more sophisticated than anything the graphic designers of the twentieth century could manage. This example shows that heraldry is not just of interest to antiquarians: indeed, as the authors point out, such is the modern preoccupation with ancestry that the heralds have never been busier, so a book on this subject is likely to sell well. Its authority is unquestionable, as the senior author is Ross Herald at the Court of Lord Lyon. Scottish heraldry differs from that of England not only in its organisation, but also in some of its rules. The authors explain the principles of heraldry in a concise manner, greatly assisted by the use of coloured illustrations throughout. These have been chosen so as to show the differing styles of heraldry from its origins to the present: it continues to develop to accommodate modern innovations such as new types of local government areas demanding new emblems. Other illustrations are humorous in style, for instance, the one which aptly compares the purpose of a coat of arms in the Middle Ages to that of a football strip today, both demonstrating which side of a conflict the wearer is on. Examples are shown of the decorative use of heraldry on buildings, furniture, silverware, tombstones and even in a heraldically designed flower garden.
As the book is quite short, there is not room to explain everything, so that no attempt is made to catalogue the numerous animate and inanimate objects (“charges”) which may appear on a shield, and the researcher who wishes to know whether the exotic beast he has spotted is a griffin or a wyvern will have to look elsewhere: a short bibliography is provided, along with an index and a list of places where good examples of Scottish heraldry may be seen (though I was surprised not to find St Andrews on it). This book is a reliable and moderately priced guide to a subject which illuminates our past and enlivens our present.
