What does “heraldry” study?

The story behind the answer

Heraldry is the medieval system for identifying people and lineages through armorial bearings—shields, crests, and badges—governed by strict rules. It arose so warriors could be recognized in battle and at tournaments. Practitioners developed a precise language called blazon to describe designs, with conventions for colors (tinctures), emblems (charges), and geometric patterns (ordinaries), along with rules of inheritance and cadency.

Although heralds also made proclamations, the discipline itself centers on designing, recording, and interpreting armorial devices, not on genealogy or flags (the latter is vexillology). The tradition lives on: universities, cities, and nations still use granted arms, administered by authorities such as the College of Arms in England and the Court of the Lord Lyon in Scotland—enduring heirs to a medieval visual code.