Heraldry conjures up images of knights in shining armour, of chivalry and flashing swords. The word heraldry is synonymous with armoury, the science of armorial bearings. As this scholarly book points out, in all ages and areas of the world distinguishing symbols had been adopted by chieftains or families, by tribes or nations. Once the idea of hereditary armorial symbols was adopted by the nobles and knights of Western Europe, true heraldry had a sudden and remarkable development. The experts, even today, can't agree on a specific date or period. Yet we do know that the first English sovereign who appears on his great seal with arms n his shield is Richard I. His seal of the 1189 shows his shield 'charged with a lion ramping towards the sinister side.' Strikingly colourful and authentic illustrations are the life blood of this vibrant work which contains 56 full-page plates the great majority in colour, and 106 illustrations in text.