Fictitious and Symbolic Creatures in Art: With Special Reference to Their Use in British Heraldry (Classic Reprint) - Tapa blanda

Fictitious and Symbolic Creatures in Art- With Special Reference to their Use in British Heraldry was written by British author John Vinycomb as a survey of creatures that appear on British coats of arms and other heraldic items.

Vinycomb's work is a detailed examination of the origins and history of fictitious and symbolic creatures that appear in English heraldry. The book opens with a detailed introduction from the author, in which he explains the inspiration behind this work and the methods he has followed in compiling this collection. From there, the author's survey begins in earnest. The classic symbolic creatures are discussed in detail, including dragons, the Pegasus, gryphons, unicorns, mermaids, the heraldic pelican, and many more. In all, more than sixty different creatures are profiled. Detailed illustrations accompany the text, and assist the reader in contextualizing the information presented.

Fictitious and Symbolic Creatures in Art is a fascinating book for those interested in British heraldry. Vinycomb's work is well researched and equally well presented, his findings are revelatory and honest. The illustrations are well done and representative of what you would expect to find on a coat of arms.

For those interested in the subject matter, John Vinycomb's Fictitious and Symbolic Creatures in Art is a must read. Interesting and insightful, the book is a worthy addition to anyone's personal library.

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This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

INTRODUCTION Angels and ministers of grace defend us"-" Hamlet." ^HE human mind has a passionate longing for knowledge even of things past comprehension. Where it cannot know, it will imagine ; what the mind conceives it will attempt to define. Are facts wanting, poetry steps in, and myth and song supply the void ; cave and forest, mountain and valley, lake and river, are theatres peopled by fancy, and "as imagination bodies forth The forms of things unknown, the poet's pen Turns them to shapes, and gives to airy nothing A local habitation and a name." Traditions of unreal beings inhabit the air, and will not vanish be they ever so sternly commanded; from the misty records of antiquity and the relics of past greatness as seen sculptured in stupendous ruins on the banks of the Nile and the plains of Assyria, strange shapes look with their mute stony eyes upon a world that knows them but imperfectly, and

Table of Contents

CONTENTS; PAGE; Introduction i; Notes on Animated Beincs in Heraldic Art 13; The Symbolism of Attitude or Position 18 The Heraldic Spirit-Effective decorative Quality; essential in heraldry 22; Celestial Beincs 25; Ancels 27; Mistaken Modern Conception of Ancels 32; Medi/eval Art Treatment of Ancels 34; Cherubim and Serphim in Heraldry 44; The Cherubim and Seraphim of Scripture 47; Emblems of the four Evangelists 53 Chimerical Creatures of the Dracon and Serpent; Kind 57; The Dragon 59; The Dracon in Christian Art 69; The Dracon in the Royal Heraldry of Britain 83; The Crocodile as the Prototype of the Dragon 91; The Heraldic Dragon 92; The Hydra 96; The Wyvern 98; The Chimera 102; The Lion-Dracon 103; The Gorcon 103; The Cockatrice 104; Basilisk, or Amphysian Cockatrice 106; The Mythical Serpent 108; x CONTENTS; PAGE; The Scorpion 122; Other Chimerical Creatures and Heraldic Beasts 125; The Uni