Although the College of Cardinals is the most prestigious and venerable body at the heart of the Catholic Church, no consolidated work on its members has appeared in well over 150 years, and at this time there is not even an authoritative roll of its members. Similarly there is no authoritative source on the coats-of arms used by the members of the College.
It has taken the author some thirty years to unearth all the coats-of arms used. Even now a handful have not been located, if any trace of them still exists. The work has been researched in the Vatican Library and Archives, the Bibliotheque National in Paris, the British Museum Library, and in church archives on all continents. The work has been fully illustrated by the author, giving full entitlements for each cardinal, including civil entitlements where they apply.
A work of this nature is a unique record of the College and is designed as the ultimate source book for the College, both from a biographical and heraldic perspective.
Heraldica Collegii Cardinalium A Roll of Arms of the College of Cardinals(VOL I)
The work contains:
- A complete nominal roll of all Cardinals given in the order of their creation by pontificate
- Some 1100 line drawings of all Cardinals’ coats-of-arms
- All papal coats-of-arms for the period
- Full heraldic descriptions of the arms
- Full details of titular churches, sees held and other titles as appropriate
- A detailed introduction in English, Italian, French, Spanish and German
Appendices which give:
- A list of Titular Churches
- A list of Primates of the Church
- Coats-of-Arms of Religious Orders
- Coats-of-Arms of Sees occupied by Cardinals
- A full bibliographical listing
- A detailed list of sources used
A full index