Heraldry: A System of Visual Communication in Renewal from the Middle Ages to the Present Day

In 20 th century, the study of Heraldry was confronted with epistemological and methodical challenges that raised it as meeting point for different historiographical approaches.

The study of heraldic culture, i.e., the gathering of reflections, concepts, and practices associated to this type of emblems was systematized for the Middle Ages. However, it is vital to study the social uses of heraldic emblems in a similar manner to what Roger Chartier did for writing: not to detach the analysis of symbolic meanings from the analysis of the material forms that transmit them, and therefore putting into question the traditional division between interpretive and descriptive sciences, between hermeneutics and morphology.

The analysis of heraldic social and political uses must conceive heraldry as a visual phenomenon, that is, a coherent repertoire of images set up in a system and serving a political and social purpose. Those emblems should be thus studied as a communicational and semiotic phenomenon, allowing to apply to Heraldry the analytic framework created for Visual Studies, i.e., focusing on production, circulation, and reception of these images in modern society, from a transdisciplinary framework underpinned in two main epistemological focuses: the theory of perception and aesthetics, and the social uses of visual materials.

Therefore, the analysis of heraldic performances benefits from considering not only the intrinsic connection between those heraldic images and the models and artistic works, but also their relationship with spatial appropriation purposes.

This thematic volume aims to present a variety of articles that reflect the epistemological and methodological renewal that Heraldry has undergone in recent times. It also aims to establish a fruitful dialogue between academics from different backgrounds, both from the point of view of their scientific fields (History, Art History, Archaeology, Archivistics, Anthropology, Visual Studies, Diplomatics, Numismatics, etc.) and in terms of their institutional affiliations and geographical origins, thus breaking down the national historiographical barriers that persist.