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.

Augmentations

5 pages in this part of Dame Heraldry.

Augmentations

AMONGST the Italian tales connected with the Crusades is that of Otho Visconti, one of the early lords of Milan, and Duke of Lombardy. He…

Augmentations: England

An augmentation is some little ornament, a rose, perhaps, or a dagger, a star, a lily, or, at the very most, a lion from the shield of…

Augmentations: Scotland

Such a mark of kingly favor as that of the wreath, or tressure, of Scotland, which, if you look on the shield of the great English admiral…

Augmentations: Henry

We see the Tressure on another coat-of-arms, that belonging to the noblest peer in all the realm, one who through many generations has…

Augmentations: Blanche

The duke himself, at the close of the battle, gave to his retainers, as a badge to wear upon their left arms, the white lion of his own…

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.