Dame Heraldry

Why does a lion stand on his hind legs? What did a crusader's cross mean? An 1886 guide that teaches heraldry as bedtime stories — plus: design your own coat of arms.

◆ A Cabinet of Curiosities ◆

Beasts on the Shield

Strange creatures and stranger rules of the coat of arms.

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The Young People Who Suggested the Book

2 pages

Crusader Legends

1 page

Augmentations

5 pages

Debasement of Knights. - Tournaments

2 pages

What Heraldry Means. - College of Arms

4 pages

Classes of Arms. - Orders of Knighthood

4 pages

CHAPTER VII

5 pages

Stories About Flags, Continued, and Description of An

5 pages

Supporters. - Mottoes. - Shield. - Colors. - Metals. - Furs

4 pages

Honorable Ordinaries. - Sub-Ordinaries

15 pages

Other Decorations, Taken from Living Objects

5 pages

Decorations Taken from Other Sources

5 pages

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Highlights

Decorations Taken from Other Sources

THE reigns of Kenneth and Malcolm in Scotland, according to the traditions of many eminent Scottish families, seem to have been…

What Heraldry Means. - College of Arms

AND now that we have learned so much about the gay doings that went on when heraldry was at the very pinnacle of its glory, do…

Crusader Legends

In this way the evening's talk kept on until the little heads disappeared to hobnob with the pillows of their beds, and it…

Debasement of Knights. - Tournaments

ANOTHER shield on which you see an honorable augmentation was one of earlier date. It was during the time that Robert Bruce was…

Honorable Ordinaries. - Sub-Ordinaries

A COAT-OF-ARMS is not always colored, yet if properly engraved, every one familiar with heraldry can read at a glance the colors…

Supporters. - Mottoes. - Shield. - Colors. - Metals. - Furs

AND now we will look at the supporters. - In old tournament days when the knights placed their arms within the lists, previous to…

Blazon Your Own Arms

Pick your tinctures, ordinary and charge from the book's own grammar — get your shield drawn and correctly blazoned, and grant it to a friend by link.

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Design Your Arms

Answer six questions and receive the coat of arms you deserve, blazoned properly.

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13Chapters
1886Year
63Pages
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Rights & ReuseThe complete text of Dame Heraldry (1886) is in the public domain in the United States — like all works published before 1928 — and is free to read, download, quote, teach from, and reuse. This digital edition (its transcription, restored images, and site design) is © 2026 PhotoOpAI, and any editorial commentary we add is clearly marked as ours; the underlying public-domain text carries no such restriction.