Heraldry and Territory: Coats of Arms and the Representation and Construction of Authority in Space

In this chapter we analyse coats of arms as a powerful and versatile tool of late medieval communication. We explore how territorial titles and claims of kings, princes, nobles, and urban elites alike were translated into heraldic signs and communicated to socially diverse audiences. The ubiquity of territorial heraldry is demonstrated in manuscript sources, including armorials, chronicles, illuminations and account books, as well as for visual and material sources such as heraldically decorated objects such as banners, painted walls, and stained glass in town halls, churches, and noble palaces. We examine the interplay of heraldry and territory in its textual, visual, material, and performative dimensions in order to show how heraldic communication was used to represent and (re)construct complex territorial structures in the Late Middle Ages.