Main Page
| Shield of the Day |
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| 23 May 2013 |
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| Holc-0088 |
The Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in the City of Lincoln, is one of the largest and finest gothic buildings in Europe[1]. Dramatically placed on a limestone ridge visible for miles it has a thousand year history. Although first and foremost a religious building, much of that history is written and revealed by heraldy - there are almost 200 heraldic devices throughout the fabric of the Cathedral and its surroundings.
In this website we will explore the history and meaning of this heraldry; hear the stories of those who bore arms; learn the art of blazonry and admire the skill and craftsmanship that created these images.
You can search through every part of the Cathedral and its precincts, finding the heraldry within. Or search the family names of all those commemorated by their arms; whether made in stone, wood, glass or tapestry. You can follow themed tours, exploring Royal Heraldry, or the Heraldry of Animals. Test your knowledge with our ever-changing, ever-challenging quiz or simply wander at random through the collection of objects, locations and images.
This website is a personal project by Karl Wilcox and has no official connection with Lincoln Cathedral; the official website can be found in the Useful Sites section on the left. If you like this site, please let others know by clicking on the Google +1 button in the Toolbox to the left.
How To Use The Site
For a quick start, look at the location maps, or take one of the themed tours.
If you want to look in more depth you should know that the Cathedral and its surrounding streets have been split into various Locations. Within each location there are Objects which have one or more heraldic Items. Each item has one or more Owners, those who bear the arms. Everything is illustrated with photographs and diagrams, almost all especially created for this website. Every fact includes a citation to its source - in many cases a full extract is provided.
The site is fully cross-referenced, so if you visit a location page you will see a list of all the heraldic items there. Each owner page shows all the items that include that person's arms, and each item page links to the location, the object and the owners. In addition heraldic items grouped can be listed by other categories, like the material they are made from, their size, date of origin and so on. See this page for a complete list.
As of today, 23 May 2013, 112 different heraldic items have been fully catalogued, out of a total that I estimate to be around 200.
Other Information
As well as the main catalogue pages above, there is a growing body of other material related to heraldry and the Cathedral.
- An article by the author on the Status and Meaning of Heraldry Within the Cathedral
- A list (with links) to Heraldic works present in the Cathedral Library
- Some background on the challenges of photographing church heraldry
- Acknowledgements and Information sources, also information about copyrights
- Information about how this site is organised and managed
- How you can help help to make this site better!
- Complete Site Index (To be done)
Links To Related Sites
(You will find a few of the most useful in the "useful sites" box to the left on every page).
- ↑ The Very Reverend Philip Buckler, http://lincolncathedral.com/visit-us/ visited 14/9/12
