02-04-2016, 10:25 PM
(02-04-2016, 07:31 PM)R. Sale wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view....Heraldry is a topic with which the educated person, living in the potential time VMs composition, might possess a high degree of familiarity. And as we can see, in the modern age the origins of old traditions have been forgotten. Especially when presented in a medieval way - through the use of heraldry, with a bit of trickery.
In the middle ages, heraldry defined a person's status in society. It was very important. Customs were so strict that many towns had a "uniform" (national dress) that identified its citizens in addition to totems or heraldic designs. Unlike today, where people dress as they wish (at least in some societies they do) and anyone can draw a design and put it on their car, house or T-shirt, in those days, a person needed permission from the king to wear a banner, or permission from the Guild to hang a trade mark.
Whether the VMS author cared about heraldry for its societal implications or simply created patterns by the same process as they were created for heraldry designs such that they have some superficial resemblances isn't clear. Many heraldry-like symbols were used to embellish churches, monasteries, and universities, and may also have been inspiration for VMS patterns without coming directly from heraldry.
It wouldn't surprise me if parallels to heraldry were found, since it was so pervasive, but it will be a challenge to determine whether they come directly from heraldry and add significance to the text or to the people in the illustrations, or whether they are embellishments to make the pictures (or the task of the illustrator) more interesting.