Ihász István - Pintér János szerk.: Történeti Muzeológiai Szemle: A Magyar Múzeumi Történész Társulat Évkönyve 6. (Budapest, 2006)

II. Módszertan - Műhely - Közlemények - Gyulai Éva: Bocskai címeradományai - Ikonográfia és társadalom

Bocskai granting arms - Iconography and society Eva Gyulai The Royal Books (Libri Regii) kept at the chancellery contain the texts of the diplomas issued by Prince István Bocskai (1605-1606). Not all the grants were kept records of in the copy book, nonetheless the texts of 40 grants of arms issued by Bocskai were recorded. The blazonries indicate that Bocskai donated coat of arms and the belonging title of nobility to soldiers as the military was his main supporter during his short-lived state and war of independence. The central figure of the heraldic device is in most cases the beneficiary. He, the soldier of Bocskai is dressed in red attire and trousers, yellow boots, with a plumed cap or helmet on his head and a sword or a mace in his hand, which in the case of officers, was complemented with a coat from leopard skin (so-called "kacagány"). Representing valour and military service, a heraldic lower arm also appears, often while running a sword through a heavily bleeding Turkish head. Only a single coat of arms - that of János Bogácsi-Szabó illustrates the representation of the real enemy of Bocskai, the army of the Habsburg Emperor. This being a Walloon soldier's body and his head with tousled hair lying on the ground (caput Valonicum capillis hirsutis), which was cut off by a Hungarian soldier, the beneficiary of the coat of arms. Officers of the chancellery were also granted arms, where their work was represented by a quill. Bocskai 's heraldry exemplifies high-quality competence. The influence of contemporary heraldic fashion and emblems are discernible in the emblazonry.