whose early appreciation of the importance of a close attention to heraldic design we are much indebted, will not fail to favour the public at no distant day with an enlarged edition of that very useful and attractive volume, his Regal Heraldry, which has already been waiting too long for additions from his hand.
There are several coats, supposed on good grounds to have belonged to families of distinction or influence, that cannot at present be clearly identified. If a selection of these were appended, it might eventually lead to their being rightly appropriated.
Trusting that some endeavours will be made to collect authentic copies of existing remains of medieval heraldry, and such inscriptions as accompany them, either by societies or individuals, I will proceed to otter a few hints and suggestions for the assistance of those who engage in so commendable an undertaking, that the fruits of their labour may be the more satisfactory.
Every copy of arms should be accompanied by the name, not only of the parish and building, but also of the part of the building, where the original is to be seen: and when taken from a sepulchral monument, beside these particulars, the relative place which the arms occupy on the tomb or slab is often important, and should therefore always be mentioned; and it should be stated also whether there remain any traces of other coats on the same tomb or slab, and if any, how many there were originally, and at what parts of it; and all which remain should be copied. For, though the order in which different coats were arranged on a medieval monument is not well understood, there is good reason to believe some method was observed, which, if better known, would much assist in identifying the deceased, and in ascertaining the alliances of the family. An examination of a few early altar tombs and slabs enriched with several shields of arms beside that of the deceased, and a comparison of them with the pedigrees of the families, will suggest much on this point. A plan of the arrangement of the shields would often be found the easiest and best mode of conveying such information. In like manner whenever several escutcheons are found together in a window or elsewhere, it is expedient to ascertain the original number and sketch the order of the arrangement, as well as copy all that remain.
