This is the first in a series of volumes designed to enable those with a working knowledge of heraldry to identify medieval British coats of arms. The project is the result of a bequest to the Society of Antiquaries in 1926 for the production of a new edition of Papworth's Ordinary which has remained, since its publication in 1874, the principal tool for the identification of British coats of arms. An Ordinary, in this context, is a collection of arms arranged alphabetically according to their designs, as opposed to an armory which is arranged alphabetically by surname. The present work is the first of a four volume Ordinary covering the period before the beginning of the heraldic visitations in 1530. Its publication will mean that historians, antiquaries, archaeologists, genealogists, heraldists, antique dealers and collectors will be able to identify arms on tombs, monuments, seals, textiles, metalwork, glass and other medieval artifacts with a far greater degree of accuracy than has hitherto been possible. Even those without knowledge of the subject will be able, by means of the index, to discover the blazons of arms recorded under particular surnames in the Middle Ages. This volume covers arms whose descriptions fall alphabetically between Anchor and Bend.
