Heraldic scroll

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Zurich coat of arms around 1330/1340: Lines of the Tübingen Count Palatine

A Wappenrolle (fr. Rôle d'armes , Eng. Roll of arms or armorial ) is a collection of arms on long rolls of parchment .

After the first appearance of the parchment coats of arms scrolls in the 13th century, the expression was transferred to many other forms of combinations of coats of arms (for example in the 15th / 16th century on heraldic books and since the 17th century on officially created heraldic registers ). Only when a scientific evaluation of medieval heraldic collections began in the 19th century, when using the expression “ heraldic rolls”, a distinction was made as to whether these inscriptions to the authorized persons contained only purely verbal descriptions of the coats of arms or drawn or painted images of coats of arms and in what media-technical appearance they were available (in book form, as a sculpture, painting, glass painting, carpet, etc.).

The expression "coat of arms" has held up to the present day for the coat of arms register of a heraldic association or a heraldic society. With the development of the Internet, it is sometimes also used for an “online coat of arms collection”, whereby heraldry differentiates between an “online coat of arms collection ” and an “(online) coat of arms roll ”.

history

Two coats of arms from "Wappenroll-Werk" by Matthäus Paris (* around 1199, † around 1259): Wilhelm von Holland
Armorial Gelre (Folio 62r), between 1370 and 1414

The oldest known roll of arms was created on the occasion of Otto IV's coronation in 1198 in Aachen ( Aachen roll of arms ). Heraldry is one of the earliest “heraldic rolls” from the oeuvre of Matthäus Paris (* around 1199; † around 1259). It contains more than 100 heraldic shields, which are the oldest evidence for numerous English princely families (1244). This is followed by the "Glover's Roll" (after 1258) and the "Tournoi de Cambrai" (1269). One of the best-known parchment coats of arms scrolls is the Zurich coat of arms scroll , which was made around 1335/1345 by an unknown chronicler as a register of coats of arms. The Gelre Armorial dates from between 1370 and 1414.

In the early days of the 12th to 14th centuries, coats of arms were only occasional works that were made during major campaigns or tournaments. They were arranged hierarchically in the presentation. In the 15th and 16th centuries, the roll of coats of arms changed, also under the influence of letterpress printing , to constantly updated registers of coats of arms, from which official registers of coats of arms emerged.

→ Main article: Heraldry books

It was not until later that coats of arms were sorted alphabetically, as is typical with today's scans of these works on the World Wide Web . In the 19th century and after the dissolution of the state heraldic offices in Germany, primarily non-profit heraldic associations took on the task of maintaining the coat of arms. These organizations have scientifically recognized coats of arms. The term “coat of arms” is understood to mean an open printed work carried out according to scientific and club-specific criteria, in which entries and registrations are made after heraldic, genealogical and graphic quality checks. Sufficient publicity in a permanent form should be sought in order to keep the entries available for research in the future. Examples are (all with printed editions):

In the course of the Internet development, online coat of arms registers are being created either as a supplement or as an alternative. These include, for example:

  • Roland Perleberg coat of arms (RWP), sponsoring association: Prignitz Herold e. V. (2008)
  • preferold , sponsoring association: Wappen-HEROLD, German Heraldic Society e. V.

The criteria of permanent documentation and general availability at typical display points are missing, unless a printed version is offered.

Function, form and meaning

With the help of heraldic rolls, coats of arms are systematically recorded, published and preserved for posterity. A central and complete coat of arms register in which all coats of arms are recorded has never existed in Germany. Heraldic scrolls recognized by specialist circles are mostly produced and managed as printed editions in Germany by non-profit heraldic associations on the basis of private law.

→ Main article: Heraldic Association

The individual printed works can be viewed and researched at key libraries and relevant display points. If neither a printed edition exists nor other independent availability is ensured, the criteria of publicity and documentation for a coat of arms are not met.

There is no obligation to register coats of arms in a coat of arms roll. However, this is often used as a publication medium by the founders of the coat of arms. Legal protection according to the German Civil Code can be enjoyed without an entry in a coat of arms, but in case of doubt the entry serves as proof.

Civil and noble coats of arms, old and newly established coats of arms, are registered and published after examination in heraldic, genealogical and legal aspects at cost price. The donors of the coat of arms receive a letter of coat of arms issued by the associations to confirm their registration .

Individual traditional heraldic associations reject multiple registrations of coats of arms. This is justified with the note that the legal protection sought for a coat of arms within the meaning of § 12 BGB was already achieved with the first publication . The reason for rejection is rarely stored in accordance with the statutes and is sometimes extended to coats of arms that have already been published in an online coat of arms collection, regardless of whether these coats of arms meet all heraldic criteria or not.

Classification

The heraldist Stephen Friar classifies heraldic scrolls as follows:

  • Occasional : These are heraldic rolls that were created in relation to a certain event such as an expedition, a tournament or a siege (so-called "occasional coat of arms").
  • Institutional : These are coats of arms that may have been put together over many years in connection with foundations, a religious order or knighthood.
  • Regional : These are coats of arms roles that only have a regional or local meaning (in this context, the English district roles of the 14th century are to be mentioned in particular).
  • Illustrative : These are heraldic scrolls that are used in whole or in part to illustrate a story or a chronicle.
  • General : These are coats of arms, which are composed of the combination of a large number of collections and criteria.
  • Online heraldic scrolls (with the advent of the internet)

Demarcation

The bearers of (online) coats of arms organized by association are primarily artistic, historical-scientific, archival and / or legal, independent of private pursuit of profit. Unprotected names such as "coat of arms", "coat of arms collection", "coat of arms archive" are also used by municipal coats of arms , online coat of arms collections and by commercial companies and other collections of coats of arms (e.g. to characterize business services).

Municipal coat of arms scrolls

In addition to the personal and family coats of arms, which are administered by associations, there are municipal coats of arms in Germany, which are maintained in cooperation with the state archives and interior ministries (communal heraldry) and partly published on the Internet. These include B .:

  • "Schleswig-Holstein municipal coat of arms"
  • "Bavaria's municipalities: coat of arms"
  • Coat of arms of the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania

Online coat of arms collections

"Online coat of arms collections" and / or "coat of arms indexes" must be strictly separated from the (online) coat of arms roles of registered associations. Both use the Internet as a medium to present coats of arms to a broad audience in the context of heraldic collections. However, the operators of the online coat of arms collections usually do not issue any coats of arms letters , even if they carefully check the submitted coats of arms for heraldic accuracy, graphic quality and genealogical plausibility before publication (which is not the case with every coat of arms collection).

Arms trading companies

“Coat of arms companies” and other “coat of arms companies” are mostly organized in private companies (e.g. GmbH, KG, OHG, GbR). Officially registered associations (e.V.) are usually not to be understood as such. Coats of arms that were created with the help of a coat of arms trading company are rarely included in a coat of arms collection or in a classic coat of arms roll such as the DWR.

Web links

German National Library

  • DNB 011324724 : German coat of arms roll, ed. vom Herold, Association for Heraldry, Genealogy and Related Sciences in Berlin
  • DNB 949164089 : Complete edition of the Lower Saxony coat of arms, zsgest. from the Heraldic Association "Zum Kleeblatt" from 1888
  • DNB 550554637 : Hessian coat of arms scroll. Working group d. Family history Ges. In Hessen
  • "Der Wappen-Löwe", Heraldische Gesellschaft (GND 236151-6 )
  • DNB 018432808 : Münchner Herold coat of arms from Münchner Wappen-Herold e. V.

Municipal coat of arms scrolls

Others

Commons : Heraldic Scrolls  - collection of images, videos and audio files
Commons : Heraldic Books  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Cf. Václav Vok Filip: Introduction to Heraldry. Franz Steiner Verlag, 2000, ISBN 3-515-07559-3 , p. 129.
  2. ↑ a b Cf. Ottfried Neubecker: Wappenkunde. Bassermann, 1988, ISBN 3-8094-2089-1 , p. 26 ff.
  3. ↑ See Sabine Obermaier: Animals and mythical creatures in the Middle Ages. Walter de Gruyter, 2009, ISBN 978-3-11-020137-6 , p. 166.
  4. ↑ Stephen Friar: A New Dictionary of Heraldry. 1987, ISBN 0-517-56665-6 .
  5. ^ The procedure - government portal MV. Retrieved January 27, 2020 .
  6. ↑ See Handbook of Heraldry. Crest brooch. Neustadt / Aisch. 2002, p. 169.