Saracen and Crusader heraldry in Joinville's history of Saint Louis

Heraldry — that is the systematic use of hereditary charges based upon the shield — had not come into being by 1095, the year of the Council of Clermont, but by 1300 the new science of Armory, as it is more correctly called, was in use throughout most of Christendom. The authors of the Chansons de Geste and historians such as Ambroise certainly mention heraldic devices on the banners and shields of both Western knights and Saracen amīrs , but their confused statements, although extremely illuminating as to Western views of Muslims, do not add a great deal to our study of contemporary heraldic practice. Their lowly position in the Crusading armies did not offer them many chances for really accurate observation. However, Jean, Sire de Joinville, who is dictating in about 1305/6 his account of events he had not only witnessed but in which he had played an important part in his youth, had been very close to the King and lived during the very period when Heraldry in the West became formalized on strictly controlled principles. He is a reliable historical observer, and it may well be that by examining specific statements he makes about both Western, and more importantly Muslim, heraldic practice we can further our knowledge of developments in the two systems

Ancient history · Art · Art history · Heraldry · SAINT · Classics · Historical and Linguistic Studies · History · Medieval History and Crusades · Medieval Literature and History

• Siyaset Ve Sanat Bağlamında İran’da Bir Memlüklü Arması Ve Çevgândar Sopası Renki

  Open Access•Resul YELEN•Sanat Tarihi Dergisi•2021

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