Heraldic America

Abstract

The title of the article refers to Edgar de V. Vermont’s first American heraldic treatise for a reason. There are no seminal studies on US heraldry in the Russian language. Accordingly, the general public assumes that it does not exist at all. Thus, the purpose of the article, which presents a broad overview of American heraldic entities, is to prove the opposite. Despite considerable opposition on the part of Republican sceptics, heraldry in America is widely used by both individuals and institutions, public as well as private. Although no official heraldic body has ever been established in the United States, various private non-profit organisations are active in theoretical research and applied heraldic art, and specialised departments have been set up within government structures to meet the nation’s armorial needs. All of them maintain successful and fruitful co-operation with overseas heraldic institutes. The American historiography of heraldry, though meagre compared to that of the Old World, is still highly representative of the national American perspective on the phenomenon of coats of arms. The author touches on the themes of mass perception of heraldry among Americans: its historical reception, how it is used and interpreted by members of different social strata, contemporary trends, and the growing interest in it as part of historical heritage. She concludes that American heraldry is a distinctive and unique cultural phenomenon that deserves to be examined along with other “national” heraldic systems.