Dr. Faustino Menéndez Pidal de Navascués
Civil Engineer at the Special School of Civil Engineering, Madrid, 1952. He received his doctorate from the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 1964. He has been a full member of the Royal Academy of History since 1991, Member of the Academy's Board since 1998 and Honorary Member of the Academy, Director . Numerary Academician of the Real Academia Matritense de Heráldica y Genealogía since 1988 and director of this institution from 1993 to 2009; Numerary Academician of the Académie Internationale d'Héraldique (1977), being appointed Vice-President between 1984-2000 and Councillor since 2001; Correspondent of the Real Academia de Buenas Letras de Barcelona, 1982 and 'de mérito' Academician of the Academia Portuguesa da História, 1993; 'Associate Expert' of the Comité International de Sigilografía, of the Conseil International des Archives, since 1982. He was appointed 'partner Honorary' of the Portuguese Institute of Heraldry in 1978. Honorary Member of the Société française d'Héraldique et de Sigillographie, 2000. Full member of the Centro de Estudios Sorianos, of the Spanish Confederation of Local Centres, 1985. Medal of Honour of the high school de Ingenieros de Caminos, Canales y Puertos, 2001. 'Dragón de Aragón de Honor' of the Institución Fernando el Católico of the Diputación de Zaragoza, 2002. board member of the board of trustees of the Instituto Valencia de Don Juan, 2009.
He has developed several lines of research in relation to sigillography, heraldic emblems and sources for History, focusing mainly on the Age average.
His scientific publications include: Heráldica medieval española, I La casa real de León y Castilla, 1982. Matrices de sellos españoles, siglos XII al XVI, 1987, (with E. Gómez). Apuntes de Sigilografía española, 1993. Los emblemas heráldicos: una interpretación histórica, 1993. Sellos medievales de Navarra, estudio y corpus descriptivo, 1994, (with M. Ramos and E. Ochoa de Olza), Los emblemas heráldicos en el arte medieval navarro, 1996 (with J. Martínez de Aguirre). Caballería medieval burgalesa: el libro de la cofradía de Santiago, 1997. Lions and Castles: heraldic emblems in Spain, 1999. Libro de armería del reino de Navarra, 2001, (with J.J. Martinena). Sigillography at the Fundación Lázaro Galdiano, 2002. Il messaggio dei sigilli, (Rome), 2002. The coat of arms of Spain, 2004. The nobility in Spain: ideas, Structures, history, 2008.