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Since the pioneering works of Kelvin and Helmholtz, vortices have provided a fascinating object of study in fluid mechanics as well as in other physical fields such as electromagnetism, superconductivity, superfluidity and, by analogy, in the theory of line defects such as dislocations and disclinations in both solid and liquid crystals. The fascination certainly comes from the intimate relationship between the notion of vortex and that of field singularity, the latter always an a priori annoying feature in physics. The present book is concerned with the general notion of vortices in nonlinear field theory, whether the latter concerns some of the already mentioned fields, the equally fascinating formation of nonequilibrium patterns, or recent advances such as cosmic strings. This is sufficient to emphasize the up-to-dateness of the book which gathers modern results and older ones, but all in a very modern presentation. The author starts by briefly reviewing the notions of ordered media and of broken symmetry with the accompanying notion of order parameter in a Lagrangian framework. A complex scalar field is introduced as a basic example allowing for the introduction of the topological theory of defects together with the notion of homotopy group. The energy integral and evolution equations associated to a Lagrangian and gradient flows come next, following the general ideas of Ginzburg and Landau. Examples of media exhibiting broken rotational symmetry (ferromagnets, uniaxial liquid crystals, nematics in external fields, smectic C and biaxial nematics) complete the first chapter of introductory nature. Indeed, this chapter provides basic notions such as phase singularity, examples of static solutions, vortices in linear fields (e.g., in optics), and a comparison between energy properties and topology of patterns. Chapter 2 is devoted to dissipative motion. Here it is dealt with the so-called far field dynamics (i.e., far from defect locations). The Ginzburg-Landau (GL) equation (or Landau-Stuart equation) serves as a prototype equation for this study. This separates the studies of phase and amplitude. The phase field of a moving vortex propagating at constant speed is an outcome of this. A velocity estimate can be obtained from the expression of the dissipation integral, and the rich notion of Peach-Köhler force (known in dislocation theory) emerges as the energetic dual of the time change in intervortex distance. The applied-mathematical method of matched asymptotic expansions play here the fundamental role in making far and near field consistent in an intermediate region, between the core region and the far field. This matching generally involves nontrivial mathematics. The phase field appears to be the dominant cause of vortex motion in extended homogeneous systems, but inhomogeneities and pinning, by affecting the background amplitude, may also set vortices into motion. Among the resulting effects is a possible quenched disorder. The dynamics of coarsening of thin layers in liquid crystals illustrate the phenomenon of vortices in such media. Defects in three-dimensional nematics also give examples of textures appearing under these conditions. Chapter 3 is devoted to dislocations in patterns. Stripped patterns (such as convection rolls in a fluid heated from below) and the motion of dislocations are the precise subject of this chapter. The Newell-Whitehead-Segel (NWS) equation is the model amplitude-governing equation for this, a dislocation being a topological singularity of the phase field. In the motion of dislocations, special attention is paid to the nature of the driving force and also to the fact that the core structure at mobile defect locations seriously affects the computation of large-scale patterns. Negative diffusivities may appear in cautionless computations. Zipping technique imitating short-scale dynamics in the immediate neighborhood of the defect may be needed. Particularly, dislocations are studied in an isotropic system on the basis of the NWS equation. The consideration of dislocations in resonant patterns and in three-dimensional structures completes this chapter. Chapter 4 considers vortices in superfluids. Having rapidly described the nature of the superfluid state and given basic equations, the author considers first the conservative dynamics with the motion of point vortices, a fluid-mechanical interpretation of the field equation (the so-called Madelung transform known from quantum mechanics), and integrals of the motion. Vortex-sound generation is the interesting phenomenon that comes next with the notion of second sound, acoustic radiation by moving vortices, acoustic drag, and acoustic Magnus force. Dissipation and instabilities are dealt with for the two-fluid model (after Landau-Lifshitz and Khalatnikov). Of particular interest are the dissipative vortex drift and the stability, and flow and nucleation of vortices. The motion on an inhomogeneous background illustrated by optical vortices in a non-uniform beam and the interaction of vortices in central field conclude this chapter. Chapter 5 deals with the motion of line vortices and its application to dissipation. However, it starts with conservative motions and the inevitable Biot-Savart integral of electromagnetism (but this is recurrent in other theories such as vortex kinematics of fluids, superconductors, etc.). The conservative motion involves evaluation of core expansion and matching, and that of canonical quantities such as energy and momentum. Oscillations and instabilities are examined next, in particular with the consideration of perturbations of a straight-line vortex and that of parallel vortices, the oscillations of a ring vortex, and acoustic effects associated with oscillations. The chapter naturally ends with dissipation and turbulence, in particular in the framework of local induction approximation (LIA) for computations. Vortex reconnection, pinning and depinning provide final remarks of this chapter. Vortices in superconductors are the focus of chapter 6. The gauge-invariant Lagrangian density provides here the starting point. The symmetry breaking causes the appearance of a ``mass'' term in the resulting equations for magnetic field. After rescaling a system of dimensionless Euler-Lagrange equations, the so-called London gauge is obtained where a crucial role is played by the GL parameter. Its value distinguishes pure metals (small value, type I superconductors) from alloys (large value, type II superconductors). The critical value is well-know as \(1/\sqrt 2\). At this critical value one obtains the so-called Bogomolny equations which are of first-order only. But for arbitrary high values of this parameter, a circularly symmetric solution of the general London gauge equation exists that corresponds to a straight-line vortex. The corresponding total magnetic flux is quantized, and the Peach-Köhler force can be estimated. There also exit anisotropic vortex structures (e.g., with quadrupole anisotropy). The conservative dynamics, the Hamiltonian point dynamics, and the curvature-driven binormal motion are also envisaged. In the dissipative case corresponding to a gradient flow, normal motion can be driven by curvature, and inhomogeneities and vortex pinning play again an important role. Chapter 7 deals with non-potential and nonlocal models. Spiral waves appearing in the complex GL equation are dealt with at length, including their instabilities and interactions. This yields complicated wave patterns which are duly discussed, as well as their three-dimensional extensions in the form of rotating scroll waves. Nonlocal nonlinear response relates them to the so-called mean-field models. Treated applications include vertical vorticity in convective patterns, mean flows near a threshold, the interaction of a dislocation with mean flow, driven and interacting defects, and dislocation in a spiral wave. The case of anisotropic fluids is examined in chapter 8. This implies the study of vortices in complex vector fields and the study of coupled GL equations. The main application concerns vortices in superfluid Helium \(({^3\text{He}})\). The corresponding study of the topology of the so-called B-phase and A-phase is particularly deep. It may be appropriate to remind the reader that, in fact, it is the intricate topology of superfluid phases of \({^3\text{He}}\) which prompted the first applications of homotopy theory in condensed matter physics by G. Toulouse and M. Kléman in the 1970s. The book concludes with a chapter devoted to relativistic vortices and strings, i.e., vortices associated with scalar fields in space-time, hence in a Lorentz-invariant context. The order parameter of relativistic symmetry-breaking models is here the hypothetical Higgs field that is supposedly responsible for transitions from a ``false'' vacuum to a true one. The vacuum state thus created after the very high temperatures at the Big Bang and subsequent cooling, and prevailing at the present epoch, seems to be analogous to a superfluid state or an ordered liquid crystalline one. Topological defects may appear during this transition, and vortex motion should logically accompany these defects. Accordingly, this final chapter develops some of the most recent ideas concerning these speculations in non-Abelian field theories, Yang-Mills Lagrangian, Nambu strings, etc. This book demonstrates a direct involvement of its author in the field in practically all of its aspects. The book, well-written and richly documented, is also generously illustrated and is rigorous in its mathematics. But it also succeeds to keep a matter-of-fact style that may hide some difficulties. It certainly is a must for all professional scientists concerned with vorticity under any of its disguises. Physicists of condensed matter physics, in particular those studying defects and their motions, with a mathematical-physics bias, will find in this book a beautiful source of concepts in a somewhat unified framework.