We wish to thank those who submitted their favorites for this list. Their names appear before each recommended list.
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For anyone interested in the history and design of Episcopal heraldry, I recommend +Bruno Bernard Heim's "Heraldry in the Catholic Church: Its Origins, Customs and Laws" (Van Duren: Gerrards Cross, 1979). It's a wonderful book -- scholarly, informative, interesting, and (believe it or not) fun.
What makes this book such a valuable resource is the fact that Bishop Bruno Heim was also a well- and widely-known artist and graphic designer. One of his most famous designs was that for John Paul I, whose reign lasted all of thirty-three days. I recommend the book highly.
Bishop Heim also worked in an often under-represented medium -- that of the rubber stamp. His block prints, and parish and diocesan seals, are really quiet beautiful (see pages 32-33 of "Heraldry"). If anyone out there is interested in rubber stamping (what a seque!), I'd like to plug M.O.R. Stamps, c/o Julie A. Wortman, 1659 Larkmoor Blvd., Berkley MI 48072. Their catalogue (available for $1.00) consists mainly of Anne E. Cox's eraser designs, and they specialize in Christian (and especially Celtic Christian) images, all quite striking.
Adams, Robert, (trans.), THE BOOK OF THE ORDER OF CHIVALRY, Huntsville, Texas: Sam Houston University Press, 1991.
Translated from the 1926 Early English Text Society publication of William Caxton's THE BOOK OF THE ORDRE OF CHYVALRY (in late Middle English) as translated from a French version of Ramon Lull's LE LIBRE DEL ORDE DE CAUAYLERIA.
Robert Adams, Professor of English at Sam Houston State University, was commissioned to translate and edit this modernized verson of Caxton's translation.
This translation, commissioned by James Weeks Tiller, Jr., faculty advisor to Gamma Tau Chapter of Kappa Alpha Order, is based on Caxton's text edited by Alfred T.P.Byles and published in London for the Early English Text Society by Humphrey Milford, Oxford University Press, 1926. Proceeds from the sale of this work are placed in the Sam Houston State Raven Gamma Tau (Kappa Alpha Order) Endowment Fund. Enquires should be directed to: THE START GROUP, 1213 Sam Houston Avenue, Huntsville, Texas 77340.
The suggestions are grouped by subject.
HERALDRY
Basic Heraldry. Stephen Friar and John Ferguson. New York: W.W. Norton, 1993. 200 pages. ($27.95, hard cover) ISBN: 0-393-03463-1
Comments: A good beginning text which covers the history of heraldry, heraldic practice and terminology, and lists contact addresses for a number of offices of arms. The illustrations by Ferguson are beautiful, and many are in color.
The Oxford Guide to Heraldry Thomas Woodcock and John Martin Robinson. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990. 233 pages. (approx. $30 - $35, soft cover). ISBN: 0-19-285224-8
Comments: An authoritative overview of heraldry from an essentially British perspective. Woodcock is Somerset Herald and Robinson is the Maltravers Herald Extraordinary. Many good illustrations and color plates. A good intermediate-level book and useful reference text.
CHIVALRY
Order of Saint Stanislas. Count Michael Subritzky-Kusza. Papakura, New Zealand: Three Feathers Publishing Co., 1994. 72 pages. ($15.00. soft
cover). ISBN: 0-473-02931-6
Comments: History, officers, organization, and general information on the
Sovereign Order of St. Stanislas. Includes a list of Grand Masters of
the order from 1765-present, and the Constitution of the order. Includes
illustrations and photographs. Publisher address:
Three Feathers Publishing Co.
P.O. Box 109
Papakura
NEW ZEALAND
The Knight in History. Frances Gies. New York: Harper & Row, 1984. 255 pages. ($11.00, soft cover). ISBN: 0-06-091413-0 (pbk.)
Comments: Traces the history of knighthood from its origins in the Carolingian Empire through the fifteenth century. Significant portions are devoted to the First Crusade, Troubadours, and the Knights Templar.
The Military Orders From the Twelfth to the Early Fourteenth Centuries. Alan Forey. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1992. 278 pages. (approx. $20.00, soft cover). ISBN: 0-8020-7680-7
Comments: Scholarly account of the origin and history of the major military orders during the period of the Crusades. A difficult read, but an excellent resource book for serious research and scholarship. Includes a number of maps, but no other illustrations. Extensive list of references and suggested further reading.
The Crusades: A Short History. Jonathan Riley-Smith. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1987. 302 pages. (approx. $15.00, soft cover). ISBN: 0-300-04700-2 (pbk.)
Comments: Excellent general history of the crusades, 11th to 13th centuries, with some history on other orders (Malta and the orders of St. John) through the 18th century. Includes maps. Good bibliography and extensive index.
NOBILITY
Historical Essays on the Kingdom of Munster. The MacCarthy Mor. Kansas City, MO: The Irish Genealogical Foundation, 1994. 315 pages. ($30.00, postage paid in U.S.A., hard cover). ISBN: 0-940134-29-2
Comments: One of the very few books devoted to the ancient Irish Gaelic
nobility. The book focuses on the Gaelic Kingdom of Desmond (1118-1596)
and the Kingdom of Munster (pre-1118), of which Desmond is a
subdivision. Includes details on the genealogy of the Royal House,
administration and governing of the Kingdom, and on the Niadh Nask, the
Dynastic Order of the MacCarthy Kings (which is still active today).
Publisher address:
The Irish Genealogical Foundation
Box 7575
Kansas City, MO 64116
The Monks of War: the Military Religious Orders by Desmond Seward; PenguinBooks, 1995 revised edition.
The revised edition includes many corrections of the earlier draft of the work. Provides a detailed history of the earliest military/religious orders from the crusades through modern times. Includes an appendix on the S.M.O.M. and each of its ancillary allied orders, as well as a few snippets aimed at the V.O.S.J. (UK) and, of course, a thorough trouncing of the "self-styled" St. John orders.
The Knights of Malta by H.J.A. Sire; Yale University Press, 1994. A very complete history of the S.M.O.M. and all the langues from crusades through today, including wonderful photos of knights, castles, investitures, heraldry, etc.
On heraldry
The Oxford Guide to Heraldry by Thomas Woodcock (Somerset Herald) and John Martin Robinson (Maltravers Herald Extraordinary); Oxford University Press, 1988.
A beautifully illustrated work covering all aspects of English heraldry as practiced by the College of Arms. Includes a chapter on Continental heraldry and some information about Scottish and Irish, but is primarily concerned with England. Includes a good chapter on the (brief) history of few attempts at official arms granting in America prior to the revolution. Overall, especially considering the b&w and color plates of armorial devices, it is an EXCELLENT work.
On royalty (British) (with a little heraldry and chivalry, too)
The Oxford Illustrated HIstory of the British Monarchy by Cannon & Griffiths, Oxford Univ. Press, 1996 reprint (paper).
Wonderfully illustrated and comprehensive from the earliest legends of pre-conquest kings to HM QE II.
Aspects of Britain; Honours and Titles from HMSO Publications Centre, PO Box 276, London SW8 5DT, UK, Telephoneorders +1718739090, Fax orders +1718738200, is available but there is not really any author named (some sort of PR-serie for UK)
A superb introduction to the British monarchy, its peerage and its Orders of Knighthood and Chivalry. I highly recommend this book as an introduction. 159 pages, illustrated and only £6.95
Debret's Correct Form by Patrick Montague-Smith, Headline Book Publishing. A must for everybody interested in the honours system in Britain as well as in America and other countries
HERALDRY, CUSTOMS, RULES AND STYLES by Carl-Alexander von Volborth, Blandford Books Ltd., 1981, ISBN 0-7137-0940-5.
Excellent book/overview that examines heraldic practice throughout Europe.
A NEW DICTIONARY OF HERALDRY by Stephen Friar, Alphabooks Ltd., 1987, ISBN 0-906670-44-6.
Another excellent book that examines the technical aspects of heraldry.
WOODWARD'S A TREATISE ON HERALDRY - BRITISH AND FOREIGN - WITH ENGLISH AND FRENCH GLOSSARIES by John Woodward & George Burnett, Charles E. Tuttle Co., 1971, ISBN 0-8048-0694-2.
This tome (nearly 4 inches thick) is a very wordy treatise on heraldry, yet written from an English point of view; only for the diehard heraldist.
DEBRETT'S GUIDE TO HERALDRY AND REGALIA by David Williamson, Debrett's Peerage Ltd., 1992, ISBN 0-7472-0609-0.
Anglo-centric, yet also gives information on the regalia of monarchy that still exist today in Europe.
EUROPEAN NOBILITY AND HERALDRY by J.H. Pinches, Heraldry Today, 1994, ISBN 0-900455-45-4.
Excellent book that examines the development of the Nobility, its history and the development of Heraldry on the European continent.
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