Burghers and Heraldry: On the Usage of Heraldic Signs by Burghers in Early Modern Hungarian Kingdom

Abstract

The study presents the state of research into burgher heraldry in Slovakia. It notes the perspectives and possibilities of further research, as well as the importance of the sigillographic study of burgher seals. On the basis of its fi ndings, it demonstrates discoveries on the uses of coats of arms, or more precisely, personal heraldic marks, by burghers in early modern towns of the Hungarian Kingdom (and includes, for instance, the issues of heritability of burgher marks and the ennoblement of burghers from a heraldic point of view).