«Che li sia concesso d’usare loro solite armi e sigilli»: Jewish heraldry in Savoy Piedmont

Abstract

Italy is the country where Jewish heraldry developed the most, from the end of the Middle Ages onwards. The duke of Savoy was one of the few European princes to recognize the right to bear coat of arms only to those authorised by him: thus the Piedmontese Jews between the 16th and 17th centuries resorted to him to protect their insignia. The age of the ghetto put an end to this relative freedom, and heraldry survived within Jewish communities, with peculiar characteristics. Following emancipation, the liberal monarchy established a new «heraldic» relationship between the Jews and the house of Savoy.