violin

Music was as popular in the middle ages as it is today and musical instruments are frequently to be found in coats of arms A Complete Guide to Heraldry, A.C. Fox-Davies, Bonanza (re-print of 1909 Edition), New York, 1978, P292. Sometimes these are a “play on words” such as the trumpets appearing for Trumpington Boutell’s Heraldry, J.P. Brooke-Little, Warne, (revised Edition) London 1970, P 100, but sometimes just for the pleasure and ease of identification that these objects allow. The violin is an example of this. In common with most instruments, Wade believes that the symbology of these devices is “ready for the fray”. The Symbolisms of Heraldry, W. Cecil Wade, George Redway, London, 1898 P109