Željko Heimer: Propedeutica heraldica/Uvod u blazoniranje u 20 lekcija/Priručnik za studente (in English: Propedeutica heraldica/Introduction to Blazoning in 20 Lessons/Student Manual), publication series Katedarska knjižnica: Pomoćne povijesne znanosti, knjiga 2, Bibliotheca Cathedrae: Scientiae auxiliares historiae, Vol II, Zagreb, University of Zagreb Facutly of Humanities and Social Sciences – FF Press, 2025. Paperback, 190 pages, size 26.5 cm, ISBN: 9789533791692Transferred and translated fromhttps://www.hina.hr/vijest/12267170 (HINA – Croatian News Agency, author: Vesna Klanac, 11.03.2026. · 19:44):
The Book “Propedeutica Heraldica” by Željko Heimer was Presented
ZAGREB, 11 March 2026 (Hina) – The book “Propedeutica heraldica: Introduction to blazonry in 20 lessons” by Željko Heimer, about the basic heraldic terms used in blazonry – the professional description of coats of arms, was presented on Wednesday at the Society of Brothers of the Croatian Dragon.
The presentation of the book was organized by the Historical Section of the Society of Brothers of the Croatian Dragon and the Croatian Heraldic and Vexillological Association.
The manual is, as the author said, the result of many years of studying coats of arms and flags, and was created after a series of guest lectures since 2012 to history students at the Faculty of Humanties and Social Sciences of the University of Zagreb, later also at the Faculty of Croatian Studies, and since last year also at the Croatian Catholic University.
ZAGREB, 11 March 2026 (Hina) – The book “Propedeutica heraldica: Introduction to blazonry in 20 lessons” by Željko Heimer, about the basic heraldic terms used in blazonry – the professional description of coats of arms, was presented on Wednesday at the Society of Brothers of the Croatian Dragon.
The presentation of the book was organized by the Historical Section of the Society of Brothers of the Croatian Dragon and the Croatian Heraldic and Vexillological Association.
The manual is, as the author said, the result of many years of studying coats of arms and flags, and was created after a series of guest lectures since 2012 to history students at the Faculty of Humanties and Social Sciences of the University of Zagreb, later also at the Faculty of Croatian Studies, and since last year also at the Croatian Catholic University.
It was published in 20 lessons as volume 2 in the publishing series Departmental Library: Auxiliary Historical Sciences published by the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb – FF Press.
“Heraldry is a specific phenomenon of a system of symbols that has been developing in European society since the 11th century. Heraldic practice has developed a special way of describing coats of arms, the figures in them and the decorative equipment that surrounds them. Such a description is called a blazon, and the process of describing it is called blazoning,” explained Heimer.
Heimer, as he said, while studying graduate theses noticed significant deviations in the way coats of arms were described in Croatian, which he warned the participants of the 5th Congress of Croatian Historians in Zadar in 2016, concluding that there was no adequate Croatian literature that would teach students how to correctly describe coats of arms.
“Heraldry is a specific phenomenon of a system of symbols that has been developing in European society since the 11th century. Heraldic practice has developed a special way of describing coats of arms, the figures in them and the decorative equipment that surrounds them. Such a description is called a blazon, and the process of describing it is called blazoning,” explained Heimer.
Heimer, as he said, while studying graduate theses noticed significant deviations in the way coats of arms were described in Croatian, which he warned the participants of the 5th Congress of Croatian Historians in Zadar in 2016, concluding that there was no adequate Croatian literature that would teach students how to correctly describe coats of arms.
“I then took upon myself the obligation to correct this deficiency, and this Propedeutics is an attempt in that direction,” said Heimer.
“In heraldry, the blazon represents the formal definition of the coat of arms and has prescriptive priority over the drawing that depicts it. Therefore, a correct description of the coat of arms is important for anyone who encounters heraldic symbols in their work,” added the author.
Propedeutics, (from the Greek προπαιδεύειν: to teach before), denotes an introduction to the foundations of a science in order to acquire prior knowledge, an introduction to a science and/or its methods.
“In heraldry, the blazon represents the formal definition of the coat of arms and has prescriptive priority over the drawing that depicts it. Therefore, a correct description of the coat of arms is important for anyone who encounters heraldic symbols in their work,” added the author.
Propedeutics, (from the Greek προπαιδεύειν: to teach before), denotes an introduction to the foundations of a science in order to acquire prior knowledge, an introduction to a science and/or its methods.
Heimer has also been studying municipal coats of arms and flags in Croatia for years. Namely, since the administrative reforms of 1993, counties, cities and municipalities have been given the right to adopt a coat of arms and a flag, and this process requires obtaining approval from the central state administration body responsible for local administration and self-government, which provides a description/blazon of the approved coat of arms.
Heimer has collected hundreds of these blazons, analyzed them and published a monograph “Syntax of the Modern Croatian Heraldic Blazon of the Coat of Arms and Vexillological Description of the Flags”.
Željko Heimer is a retired Lieutenant Colonel of the Croatian Army (HV), president of the International Federation of Vexillological Associations – Fédération Internationale des Associations Vexillologiques (FIAV) and president of the Croatian Heraldic and Vexilllogical Association, and a member of the Council of the Jewish Community of Zagreb.
He graduated and received his master’s degree from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing in Zagreb (FER). He received his doctorate in 2013 from the postgraduate study of sociology at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb with a dissertation “The Identity of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia Expressed by Flags from the Homeland War and After It”.
For his work in the promotion and preservation of national heritage, he was awarded the Order of the Croatian Wattle in 2010, and in 2017 the Order of the Croatian Morning Star with the effigy of Marko Marulić for special merits in culture in the field of heraldry and vexillology.
He graduated and received his master’s degree from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing in Zagreb (FER). He received his doctorate in 2013 from the postgraduate study of sociology at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb with a dissertation “The Identity of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia Expressed by Flags from the Homeland War and After It”.
For his work in the promotion and preservation of national heritage, he was awarded the Order of the Croatian Wattle in 2010, and in 2017 the Order of the Croatian Morning Star with the effigy of Marko Marulić for special merits in culture in the field of heraldry and vexillology.
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