Customer Reviews

A Complete Guide to Heraldry

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a classic work of heraldry, covering a vast range of knowledge. Fox-Davies' provides in-depth analysis of the history behind charges used in heraldry, explains many famous devices in heraldry and dispels many common heraldic myths. If you are interested in heraldry, this is the book to get

I can not possibly imagine a more complete guide to Heraldry. This engaging book really brings you into the world of crests, family honor, and ancestry. It gives a comprehensive guide to all the symbols used, and their various meanings. If you are even remotely interested in Heraldry, pick this up today.

A.C.Fox-Davies:HERALDRY

I already had a great respect for Mr.Fox-Davies, having two of his great books:THE ART of HERALDRY and HERALDRY-the magnificent pictorial archive for artists and designers. And I expected to learn quite a lot from the HERALDRY book.Guess,I was right.

.The texts are very,very good,BUT,there are just too many unnecessary and detailed descriptions of British and Scotch Armory.Was it because Mr.Fox-Davies wanted to show off( with his long description of many personal Arms,which I doubt had any great interest for the general reader-mentioning only a few Im sure he could have got his point) or maybe,he was just carried away by his wish too make a good(fat)book?Nevertheless,Mr.Fox-Davies is among the VERY FEW experts who dared mention the painstakingly long and slow development of Armory,from Moses and the Scriptures onwards,explaining that it were first the personal signs and symbols which existed long before the Heraldry proper.And are still going strong,not as Arms,but LOGOTYPES of more or less famous brands.

There is no" Deus-ex-Machina "Heraldry for Mr.Fox-Davies .It was a slow and painful process influenced by both the traditions and technology,development of society , classes and unfortunately.warfare..And I guess,Mr.Fox-Davies leans too much on the Crusades Myth,closed HELMETS etc..

By the way,closed helmets existed long,long before the iron clad warriors ! Many of the drawings and other examples are very good,so that the small percentage of superfluous ones,do not play a significant role.All in all,for anyone willing to learn more,and think while reading the book,the number of lines and pages should not be tiring.It is satisfying to know that even in the days when the book first appeared,there was somebody who was NOT a stereotype,somebody who really loved the job and loved the knowledge he so willingly transferred to his readers.

This work is basically an abridged version of the same author's "The Art of Heraldry", and makes a fine introduction to the science. It covers all the important areas of heraldry, without getting bogged down with too much historical trivia. One should note, however, that there are different editions- I have seen copies of this book with colour plates and with b&w reproductions of the same.

Good book - just wish it explained more simply and clearly - in a concise way - the symbols.

The book I ordered was "used" so I expected it to look at least a little disheveled - but it looked almost new! Plus it arrived very quickly. Thank you for prompt and excellent service!

This was purchased as a birthday gift, and it was a big hit! My daughter liked it very much. She has done a lot of work looking into our family's history, and so this was very helpful to her.

A great resource to not only learn about the history and mechanics of heraldry, but also for inspiration for creating one's own coats of arms. I mainly picked this up to create heraldry for my strategy table top war game, but the historian in me enjoys it as well for scholarly purposes.

This might be the most thorough introduction to the study of family crests and medieval coats of arms readily available today. It clearly explains the origin and meaning of dozens of symbols and emblems. The best part is that it includes lots of photos and illustrations (including several color plates)which are invaluable in trying to trace one's heritage.