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.

Stories About Flags, Continued, and Description of An

5 pages in this part of Dame Heraldry.

Stories About Flags, Continued, and Description of An

"ACHIEVEMENT" - ORIGIN OF TITLES.

Stories About Flags, Continued, and Description of An: Cathedral

As soon as the war was ended, for which the aid of the flag was invoked, it was always the duty of the king, who had taken it from the…

Stories About Flags, Continued, and Description of An: Davenports

Sometimes the crests bestowed were not so satisfactory to the gentle spirits of the owners. This, alas! is said to be the case with that…

Stories About Flags, Continued, and Description of An: Bruce

The Kirkpatricks, too, whose blood the beautiful one-time Empress of all France is not ashamed to acknowledge as flowing in her veins…

Stories About Flags, Continued, and Description of An: Crawford

Now walks in the hero of our tale and the ancestor of the Polloks. His name was Captain Crawford; he offered to command a small but…

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.