Early examples of evidence of documented heraldry include the great east window of Gloucester Cathedral (image above) which is described as the earliest war memorial in England. It was installed by one of the warriors of Agincourt and contains at the base the coats of arms of some of the fighters who were there in 1415. Consequently when we say that the use of coats of arms arose in Europe in the 12th century we have to depend on indirect evidence, which fortunately is available. The Bayeux Tapestry is a great aid in this respect. The Tapestry was created in the 11th century, and it shows the process of the Norman Conquest from the period of the latter part of Edward the...
When did the use of Heraldry begin in Europe? The adoption of Coats of Arms began in Western Europe in the 12th century. In the 12th century no daily journals were published and the few historians were monks who did not go out of their way to chronicle things unless they were of enormous national importance or were concerned with the affairs of the monastery. No one bothered to write about the origins of coats of arms, any more than anyone bothered to write about the changes in body armor from 1066 to 1455. We gather our information on subjects like these from incidental records such as the brasses in churches, the carvings on the tombs, the illustrations in stained...
One common misconception is that the terms “Coat of Arms” and “Crest” are interchangeable. People often say that they have a crest, when they mean that they have a coat of arms, this is strictly incorrect as the crest is the part of the coat of arms that is above the helmet and a coat of arms is the correct term for the whole armorial achievement. This includes, shield, helmet, crest, mantling, and sometimes supporters. The essential part is the shield, without which there can be no coat of arms, the crest is merely an addition made much later. The term “Coat of Arms” is derived from the practice of covering over the armor of knights in the Middle Ages...
The language of Heraldry was formed from a combination of Old English and Normandic French and has a beauty and romance all of its own, the fact that it is one of the few languages ever created that is not spoken only adds to its beauty and adds an air of romance to the subject of Heraldry.Heraldry can be described as the shorthand of History, while this is a neat and tidy description it does not properly describe the broad strokes of medieval life contained within the art of heraldry. When we speak of Heraldry we usually mean coats of arms, crests, etc. and not merely the ceremonial or other functions of a herald. Originally the word “Heraldry” meant the...
Mankind has created numerous systems of signs since the dawn of time for communication and assimilation of information. Today it is difficult to imagine past and present civilizations without ancient hieroglyphics, letters, numbers, allegorical figures, road signs, morse code and other sets of unified symbols. Coats of Arms, which first appeared in the Middle Ages also belong in this list. Their difference, compared to other signs, is that they have more than a practical significance. Coats of Arms symbols made meaningful the pursuits, ideas, ambitions, and even specific events of society. Victor Hugo once wrote, “ To the person who can read heraldry- the coat of arms is algebra; the coat of arms is a language. The entire history of...
