The spanish heraldry of the Early Modern Age and its perception in the picaresque novel (1554-1668)

Abstract

In this paper I analyze meticulously twenty seven picaresque novels from the Spanish Golden Age, as sources for the knowledge of heraldry during the Modern Age. Specifically, I explore: 1) the frequency of coats of arms, metaphors of heraldic inspiration and blazon terminology in the picaresque; 2) news on formal aspects of the coats of arms; and, especially, 3) the uses and the social function of the coats of arms during this period. To all this I add the realization of an armorial, through the collection and classification of different family, institutional or imaginary coats of arms included in the picaresque novel.