The volume comprises a selection of twelve papers delivered at a one day symposium entitled ‘Emblems and Enigma’, which took place at the Society of Antiquaries on 26 April 2014. The remaining eight papers can be found at https://heraldics2014.wordpress.com/publication-semy-de-lys.

The twelve chapters of the book are presented in roughly chronological order from the fifteenth through to the twentieth centuries. The medieval era is represented by some of Michael Carter’s research on the Cistercian abbeys, in which the abbots placed their stamp upon building works using an intermixture of standard heraldry, badges, personal rebuses, monograms and mottoes. Timothy Hunter presents a matching pair of secular heraldic embroideries from the Renaissance period, each charged with a magnificent castle bearing a strong resemblance to the castle of the kingdom of Castile, but with the central tower of each surmounted by a crowned figure. The most likely usage for the embroideries is considered to have been as decoration for a burse that once carried the great seal of the kingdom of Castile. An alternative explanation not considered by Hunter would be that they formed a diplomatic bag for the ostentatious carriage of important official documents by a Spanish king of arms. The crowned figure on top of the castle in this context could be either the king that the envoy represented or the king of arms himself. Such an explanation might account for the survival of the embroideries in England.

From Tudor England Tessa Murdoch presents the four Dacre beasts purchased by the V&A in 2000. They date to c 1520, as confirmed by dendrochronology, and therefore belong to the same period as similar beasts that were created for Henry viii as ornamental flag staffs at the Field of the Cloth of Gold. Tessa Murdoch recounts that the beasts were salvaged from a fire at Naworth Castle in 1844. A late source states that the beasts were brought thence from the ruins of Kirkoswald Castle. Some interesting tidbits include that what now appears as a ram supporter may originally have been a unicorn, as was recorded by Grose in 1760; that the bull supporter’s masculine attributes were once emphasised by gilding, which caused some outrage in 1850; that the fish, or dolphin, supporter somewhat incongruously has a brazier on its head; and, finally, that the black griffin supporter was used by John Tenniel as an illustration for Alice in Wonderland following a stay at Naworth. The key question is for what purpose the beasts were created, given their size and heaviness. The consensus of opinion has them being created for Thomas, Lord Dacre KG (d. 1525), who rebuilt the Great Hall at Naworth c 1520. Murdoch is reluctant to consider the possibility that the beasts were in fact created for the hall of Naworth, the only place they are known certainly to have resided.

A number of chapters cover the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods. First, Jane Eade delineates the important convergence of portraiture and heraldry, a link that she underscores with the little-known fact that William Segar, Garter King of Arms (d. 1633), was both a herald and a portrait painter. Eade provides some interesting examples of heraldic symbolism from this context, beautifully illustrated. Kathryn Will demonstrates that the wide interest in, and study of, heraldry by the aspiring new men of this era led to a popularisation of heraldic parody in literature, some of it with decidedly sexual undertones. Adrian Ailes considers how popular awareness of heraldic symbolism spilled over into satirical artwork well into the eighteenth century. Continuing the literary theme, Fiona Robertson notes the popular use of heraldry in nineteenth-century fiction, making the interesting observation that the sloppy use of the term ‘crest’ instead of coat of arms saw its origins in Sir Walter Scott’s novels. Shaun Evans deals with the Five Courts of Mostyn in Tudor Wales. Michael Snodin provides a synthesis of Horace Walpole’s interest in heraldry as displayed at Strawberry Hill; Walpole enjoyed creating heraldic ‘pedigrees’ for his cherished objects as a means of vaunting previous distinguished owners. Peter Lindfield considers what drove the eighteenth-century Lancashire saddler Thomas Barritt to become an important collector of heraldic art.

Clive Cheesman gives us a fascinating insight into the rising interest in the swastika in the early twentieth century, such that it rather unexpectedly came to be used in English heraldry. Interest was sparked by Schliemann’s discoveries at Troy, following which the device became elevated to ‘an unprecedented pitch of semiotic potency’. This led the Norfolk historian, Walter Rye, to adopt a shield charged with three swastikas, which to modern eyes appear disturbingly National Socialist.

The volume is rounded off by Patric Dickinson’s consideration of personal symbolism displayed on coats of arms, with examples ranging from the medieval to the modern. This beautifully illustrated volume both titillates and inspires. It successfully captures the theme of the symposium, which sought to bring together historians from many different disciplines in an appreciation of the diverse roles that heraldry has played over the centuries.