The antient usage in bearing of such ensigns of honour as are commonly call'd arms with a catalogue of the present nobility of England / by William Dugdale ... ; to which is added, a catalogue of the present nobility of Scotland and Ireland, &c.
About this Item
- Title
- The antient usage in bearing of such ensigns of honour as are commonly call'd arms with a catalogue of the present nobility of England / by William Dugdale ... ; to which is added, a catalogue of the present nobility of Scotland and Ireland, &c.
- Author
- Dugdale, William, Sir, 1605-1686.
- Publication
- Oxford [Oxfordshire] :: Printed at the Theater for Moses Pitt ...,
- 1682.
- Rights/Permissions
-
To the extent possible under law, the Text Creation Partnership has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above, according to the terms of the CC0 1.0 Public Domain Dedication (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/). This waiver does not extend to any page images or other supplementary files associated with this work, which may be protected by copyright or other license restrictions. Please go to http://www.textcreationpartnership.org/ for more information.
- Subject terms
- Heraldry -- England -- Early works to 1800.
- Nobility -- Great Britain.
- Nobility -- Scotland.
- Nobility -- Ireland.
- Link to this Item
-
http://name.umdl.umich.edu/A36790.0001.001
- Cite this Item
-
"The antient usage in bearing of such ensigns of honour as are commonly call'd arms with a catalogue of the present nobility of England / by William Dugdale ... ; to which is added, a catalogue of the present nobility of Scotland and Ireland, &c." In the digital collection Early English Books Online. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/A36790.0001.001. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed May 29, 2025.
Pages
Page [unnumbered]
To the right Honourable ROBERT Earl of AYLESBURY, Deputy, with his Ma∣jesties approbation, to the most Noble HEN∣RY Duke of NORFOLK Earl-Marshal of ENGLAND.
My Lord
SUch have been the extravagant Actings of Paynters, and other Mechanicks in this licen∣tious Age; that, to satisfie those, who are o∣pen handed to them, they have not stuck to depict Arms only for divers younger branches of Families with undue distinctions, if any at all; but to allow them to such as do bear the same appellation, though of no alliance to that stock: the permission whereof hath given such encouragement to those, who are guilty of this boldness, that there are not a few who do already begin to prescribe, as of right thereto: so that these Marks of Honour, called Arms, are now by most people grown of little esteem: for apparent it is, that they make the Crescent, which is the known filial distinction for the second Son, to be also the only proper difference of the Grandson and heir of that second Son, and of his heires male; and a Mul∣let upon a Crescent, and a Martlet upon the same Mullet to be the distinction for a fourth Son of a third Brother, whose Father was the second Son of the chief stock: and according to that rule do, for the most part, frame their Differences for others.
Page [unnumbered]
Against this absurd usage therefore, I have thought it requisite, not only to offer to your Lordship the light of reason, which ought to be the principal guide; but the irrfragable Authoritie of several persons of great Learning and high estimation for their knowledge in points of Honour and Arms: and likewise to give instance by sundry important presidents, as to the usage of ancient times, when order and regularity were held in repute: not doubting but that your Lord∣ship will in this point be so far satisfyed, as that for the future some restraint may be put to those un∣due practises. Resting
Your Lordships most obedient Servant
WILLIAM DUGDALE
Garter principal King of Arms.
10. Junij 1681.