Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Symbolical Character Of Mediæval Heraldry And Its Connection With Freemasonry.
SYMBOLICAL CHARACTER OF MEDI ? VAL HERALDRY AND ITS CONNECTION WITH FREEMASONRY .
ON THE
( Illustrated . ) "Heraldry is a glorious Hieroglyphic , a symbolical language , more universal than any tongue . Latin not excepted . "—1 ' OOLE . THERE is perhaps no science wliich so completely depends upon , and is illustrated bysymbolsas Heraldry . Symbolsin factare tlie very
, , , , groundwork in which that science rests , and are the component parts of its essence ; and it is only by examining their meaning , by ascertaining the extent of their application to different objects , and by decipheringthe mystic but beautiful language they speak to the mind , that the Heraldry of the Middle Ag-es can be rightly understood , correctly studied , ancl properly appreciated . We say Mediccval Heraldry , because it was during the chivalrous period of the Middle Ages that the
science ' existed in its greatest purity , and consequently in its highest perfection . Brought , together with pointed Architecture , by the Crusaders from the East , the then newly-introduced system comprised , as was most natural , the signs and symbols of their Christian warfare ; the Holy Cross in every describable variety of form and design ; the Crescent , the ensign of their vanquished foes , aud other figures symbolical either of their profession as Christians and Warriors of the Cross , or indicative
of their mental or personal qualities and deeds of prowess 111 the field . "Heraldry , " says LordLyndsay , * "is in fact tlie last remnant of the ancient symbolism , and a legitimate branch of Christian Art ; the griffins and unicorns , fesses and chevrons , the very tinctures or colours are all symbolical ; each has its mystic meaning , singly or in combination ; and thus every genuine old coat of arms preaches a lesson of chivalric honour ancl Christian principle to those that inherit it . "
The study of armorial bearings in the Middle Ages , was not an art practised only by those whomade it their profession , butascience , the rules of which were generally known and its princip les universally cultivated .. Imperfect as the education of the people was , they knew hoiv to appreciate bravery and worth when they saw their ensigns ; though they could not read Missal or Breviary , they could trace the history of Saints and Martyrs of the Church in the " storied windowsrichly dig-lit "
, , a-nd on the "dazzling glories of the frescoed wall ; " in the same manner , though treatises on Heraldry were inaccessible to them , and even if accessible , useless from their inability to read them , they were able to decip her the emblazoned achievement , and trace the warrior's deeds of fame from the ensigns depicted on his escutcheon . That this was the case we have ample proof . Chaucer , inhis Canterbury Tales , describes the remarks made by the Pilgrims on the emblazoned shields displayed
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Symbolical Character Of Mediæval Heraldry And Its Connection With Freemasonry.
SYMBOLICAL CHARACTER OF MEDI ? VAL HERALDRY AND ITS CONNECTION WITH FREEMASONRY .
ON THE
( Illustrated . ) "Heraldry is a glorious Hieroglyphic , a symbolical language , more universal than any tongue . Latin not excepted . "—1 ' OOLE . THERE is perhaps no science wliich so completely depends upon , and is illustrated bysymbolsas Heraldry . Symbolsin factare tlie very
, , , , groundwork in which that science rests , and are the component parts of its essence ; and it is only by examining their meaning , by ascertaining the extent of their application to different objects , and by decipheringthe mystic but beautiful language they speak to the mind , that the Heraldry of the Middle Ag-es can be rightly understood , correctly studied , ancl properly appreciated . We say Mediccval Heraldry , because it was during the chivalrous period of the Middle Ages that the
science ' existed in its greatest purity , and consequently in its highest perfection . Brought , together with pointed Architecture , by the Crusaders from the East , the then newly-introduced system comprised , as was most natural , the signs and symbols of their Christian warfare ; the Holy Cross in every describable variety of form and design ; the Crescent , the ensign of their vanquished foes , aud other figures symbolical either of their profession as Christians and Warriors of the Cross , or indicative
of their mental or personal qualities and deeds of prowess 111 the field . "Heraldry , " says LordLyndsay , * "is in fact tlie last remnant of the ancient symbolism , and a legitimate branch of Christian Art ; the griffins and unicorns , fesses and chevrons , the very tinctures or colours are all symbolical ; each has its mystic meaning , singly or in combination ; and thus every genuine old coat of arms preaches a lesson of chivalric honour ancl Christian principle to those that inherit it . "
The study of armorial bearings in the Middle Ages , was not an art practised only by those whomade it their profession , butascience , the rules of which were generally known and its princip les universally cultivated .. Imperfect as the education of the people was , they knew hoiv to appreciate bravery and worth when they saw their ensigns ; though they could not read Missal or Breviary , they could trace the history of Saints and Martyrs of the Church in the " storied windowsrichly dig-lit "
, , a-nd on the "dazzling glories of the frescoed wall ; " in the same manner , though treatises on Heraldry were inaccessible to them , and even if accessible , useless from their inability to read them , they were able to decip her the emblazoned achievement , and trace the warrior's deeds of fame from the ensigns depicted on his escutcheon . That this was the case we have ample proof . Chaucer , inhis Canterbury Tales , describes the remarks made by the Pilgrims on the emblazoned shields displayed