Scotland’s Heraldic Heritage: The Lion Rejoicing

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...