First comprehensive study of heraldic badges, from their first use in the fourteenth century to their decline in the early seventeenth. Heraldic badges occur in a wide variety of contexts – costume, furnishings, armour, warfare, tournaments, seals, flags, plate and monuments. However, despite their importance, and although many illustrations and descriptions survive from the late fifteenth century onwards, they have usually been treated as an incidental part of heraldry. This monumental work therefore fills a serious gap in the literature of heraldry, providing a comprehensive overview of the subject from the fourteenth to the seventeenth century. The first volume discusses the nature and use of heraldic badges, and our sources of information, while the second is a dictionary of heraldic badges, divided into two separate parts covering royal and non-royal badges. This is followed by ordinaries of heraldic badges and livery colours in the third volume. There are also extracts from unpublished records, a bibliography and full indexes. Overall, this will be an indispensable resource for anyone studying the visual inheritance of the English past.