Blazon

Embroidered blazon for the New York police. Embroidered blazon for the New York police.

A blazon is originally a medieval term for a coat of arms. The word derives from the Old French blason for 'shield'. The term is used in heraldry for the formal description of a coat of arms, and for the design of a coat of arms itself. Blazons are displayed on a wide range of materials, notably glass, metal and stone. In addition, they are sometimes displayed in woven, appliqué and embroidered forms.

The term blazon is sometimes used to describe medieval Mamluk emblems, but these were used to identify official positions at the Mamluk court, rather than having the specific function of identifying a particular person or family.

The first illustration of a medieval blazon can be found on the Bayeux tapestry from the eleventh century. See here.

Source: Shorter Oxford English Dictionary: 'Blazon'

Wikipedia (retrieved 21 April 2017).

Digital source of illustration ((retrieved 21 April 2017).)

GVE

Last modified on Friday, 21 April 2017 12:34