Roll of arms

A Roll of Arms (or armorial) is a collection of coats of arms which may be recorded in a variety of ways; written (blazon), painted, drawn or carved. They are usually arranged as a row shields accompanied by the identity of the person bearing the arms.

Types of Roll

The heraldist Stephen Friar [A New Dictionary of Heraldry 1987] classifies Roll types as:

* Occasional.: Those rolls relating to a specific event such as an expedition, tournament or a siege.
* Institutional.: Rolls associated with foundations, orders of religion or chivalry possibly compiled over many years.
* Regional: It is almost peculiarly English to have regional or local rolls - County rolls of the 14th century.
* Illustrative: These are sometimes used to illustrate stories or chronicles.
* General: A combination of a variety of collections.

With the advent of the Internet;

* Online rolls: A number of heraldic, family, clan societies maintain rolls of their members.

Armorials

Written

* Johann Siebmacher (Begr.), Horst Appuhn (Hrsg.) "Johann Siebmachers Wappenbuch von 1605", München : Orbis-Ed., 1999, ISBN 3-572-10050-X

* "Armorial Gelre" is a well known medieval roll of arms.

Online

* [http://www.armorial-register.com/"Burke's Peerage International Register of Arms", International Register of Armorial Bearings (Coats of Arms)]
* [http://usheraldicregistry.com/"US Heraldic Registry", An American armorial that offers free registration of contemporary and historical heraldry]
* [http://riag.es/"Registro Internacional de Armas Gentilicias-RIAG, Spain

References