The International Congress of Genealogical and Heraldic Sciences is a biennial conference for topics of heraldic and genealogical interest. The Congress convenes scholars and other interested persons from Europe and throughout the world.
The first Congress was held at Barcelona in 1929; at the second Congress, held in 1953, it was decided that future meetings would be held every two years (there being two exceptions).
The 22nd Congress at Ottawa in 1996 was memorable '"for the first time beyond the birthplace of modern scientific studies in genealogy and heraldry"' Boudreau, Claire.Vachon, Auguste.Cogné, Daniel."Genealogica & Heraldica .Proceedings of the 22nd International Congress of Genealogical and heraldic Sciences in Ottawa from August 18 to 23,1996. Message from his Excellency, The Right Honourable Roméo LeBlanc, Governor General of Canada, Patron of the 22nd Congress". p. 21 with HE the Rt Hon. Roméo LeBlanc, Governor General of Canada and his wife Dr Diana Fowler LeBlanc as patrons. The 2006 Congress at St Andrews, had HRH The Princess Royal as its patron, and HE the Rt Hon. Michaëlle Jean was patron of the 2008 Congress at Quebec City.
The main themes of the Congresses have changed greatly over the years, and some disciplines have ceased to form any part of the Congress' study. Abandoned subjects include sphragistics and iconography, which were dealt with at Paris, and vexillology, which was to have been one of the themes at Congresses after Bern. Genetics, which had been a subject of discussion at Stockholm in 1960, did not reappear until the Ottawa Congress of 1996. Chivalric orders were another discarded subject, despite featuring in the Congresses held at Rome/Naples, Madrid, Stockholm and Edinburgh, as well as in a few papers presented at Madrid in 1982.
List of Congresses The Congress rotates being hosted in different countries:
+NrCityYearDatesPatronThemeIBarcelona1929HM King Alfonso XIII of SpainIIRome/Naples195323-25 SeptemberPrince Ranieri, Duke of CastroIII Madrid 19556-11 OctoberInfante Juan, Count of Barcelona IV Brussels 1958HM King Baudoin of the BelgiansV Stockholm 196021-28 AugustHRH Prince Bertil, Duke of HallandVI Edinburgh19628-14 SeptemberHRH The Duke of EdinburghVII The Hague196420-26 JuneHM Queen Juliana of the NetherlandsVIII Paris1966Charles de GaulleIX Bern196830 June-6 JulyKing Umberto II of ItalyX Vienna1970Prince Karl von SchwarzenbergXILiège197229 May-3 JuneHM King Baudoin of the BelgiansXII Munich1974HSH The Prince of LippeXIII London1976HRH Princess AnneXIVCopenhagen198025-29 AugustHM Queen Margrethe II of DenmarkXV Madrid198219-25 SeptemberHM King Juan Carlos of Spain XVI Helsinki198416-21 AugustGrand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich of RussiaXVII Lisbon19867-13 SeptemberDuarte Pio, Duke of BraganzaXVIII Innsbruck19885-9 SeptemberArchduke Otto of AustriaXIX Keszthely19902-6 OctoberHI&RH Archduke Andreas Salvator of Austria XX Uppsala19929-13 AugustHM King Carl XVI Gustaf of SwedenXXI Luxembourg199428 August-3 SeptemberHRH The Grand Duke of LuxembourgXXII Ottawa199618-23 AugustHE The Rt Hon. Roméo LeBlanc & Dr Diana Fowler LeBlancFamilies and Symbols Transcending FrontiersXXIII Turin199821-26 SeptemberHE Dott. Ugo BarziniXXIV Besançon20002-7 MayHenri, Count of ParisXXVDublin200216-21 SeptemberProfessor Mary McAleeseGenealogy and Heraldry: Their Place and Practice in Changing TimesXXVI Bruges20046-11 SeptemberHM King Albert II of the BelgiansXXVII St Andrews200621-26 AugustHRH The Princess RoyalMyth and propaganda in heraldry and genealogyXXVIII Quebec200823-27 June HE The Rt Hon. Michaëlle Jean The Meeting of Two Worlds, Quest or Conquest XXIX Stuttgart201012-17 September Georg Friedrich Prinz von PreussenIdentity in Genealogy and Heraldry XXX Maastricht201224-28 SeptemberHRH The Prince of OrangeFrontiers in Genealogy and HeraldryXXXIOslo201413-17 AugustHM King Harald V of NorwayInfluence on Genealogy and Heraldry of Major Events in the History of a NationXXXII Glasgow201610-14 AugustDr Joseph Morrow, Lord LyonOrigins and EvolutionXXXIII Arras20182-5 OctoberHSH Albert II, Prince of MonacoGenealogy and Heraldry, between War and PeaceXXXIVMadrid202020-23 October HM King Felipe VI of SpainXXXVCambridge202215-19 AugustHRH Prince Edward, Earl of WessexReformation, Revolution, RestorationXXXVIBoston202424-28 SeptemberBrady Brim-DeForest, Baron of BalvairdOrigins, Journeys, DestinationsXXXVIISan Marino202706-10 AprilHE The Captain Regent of San Marino
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