Summary: There has existed since the 13th century in Europe a coherent and unbroken chain of emblems that were used as trademarks and decorative devices. These emblems, according to Harold Bayley, are actually thought-fossils or thought-crystals in which lie enshrined the aspirations and traditions of the numerous mystic and puritanic sects by which Europe was overrun in the Middle Ages. These heresies, though nominally stamped out by the Vatican, existed secretly for several centuries after their disappearance from recorded history. They were not only trade signs, but were also hieroglyphics, under which were revealed the mystical tenets of a forbidden sect, or, going even further back, the secret meaning behind some of our most basic myths and legends. --Page 4 of cover.