Why do we have heraldry?
In days of old, when knights were bold ………
On the battlefield everybody looked the same – friend and foe. Knights started to wear colours and patterns on their surcoats that made them distinctive and easily recognisable, particularly on the battlefield . These colours and patterns began to be used on banners and standards as rallying points on the battlefield.
They were then applied to the knight’s armour and his horse’s accoutrements. Eventually the knight’s retainers wore his colours.
The knight took his armour and standards home with him at the end of the wars or the tourney and then hung them up where they were easily seen. Wherever these colours and patterns were seen, the knight was easily recognised when he travelled round the country and the civilian population soon knew who was who.
In days of old, when knights were bold ………
On the battlefield everybody looked the same – friend and foe. Knights started to wear colours and patterns on their surcoats that made them distinctive and easily recognisable, particularly on the battlefield . These colours and patterns began to be used on banners and standards as rallying points on the battlefield.
They were then applied to the knight’s armour and his horse’s accoutrements. Eventually the knight’s retainers wore his colours.
The knight took his armour and standards home with him at the end of the wars or the tourney and then hung them up where they were easily seen. Wherever these colours and patterns were seen, the knight was easily recognised when he travelled round the country and the civilian population soon knew who was who.
The Crest
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If the knight was unhorsed he would not be easily seen on the battlefield. To enable his men to recognise him he would put an animal ‘totem’, made of light wood or boiled leather, on top of his helmet
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Mantling
He also used a piece of cloth called a mantle to protect his neck from the hot sun.
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The mantling was kept in place by a twisted wreath of silk, in the knight’s colours. The higher up the social scale you were, you used a chapeau (a kind of hat) or a crest coronet to keep the mantling in place.
Parts of a Coat of Arms
Tinctures
Tinctures are the colours used in heraldry, though a number of patterns called "furs" are also regarded as tinctures. Since heraldry is essentially a system of identification, the most important convention of heraldry is the rule of tincture.
The Rule of Tincture
You may not place a colour on a colour,
a metal on a metal, or a fur upon a fur.
a metal on a metal, or a fur upon a fur.
Ordinaries
In the early days of heraldry, very simple bold rectilinear shapes were painted on shields. These could be easily recognized at a long distance and could also be easily
remembered. They therefore served the main purpose of heraldry—identification. As more complicated shields came into use, these bold shapes were set apart in a separate class as the "honorable ordinaries." They act as charges and are always written first in a coat of arms description (blazon).
remembered. They therefore served the main purpose of heraldry—identification. As more complicated shields came into use, these bold shapes were set apart in a separate class as the "honorable ordinaries." They act as charges and are always written first in a coat of arms description (blazon).
Pale
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Fess
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Cross
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Bend
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Bend
Sinister
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Chevron
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Saltire
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Pall
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Chief
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Pile
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Charges
A charge is any object or figure placed on a heraldic shield or on any other object of an armorial composition. Any object found in nature or technology may appear as a heraldic charge. Charges can be animals, objects, or geometric shapes. Apart from the ordinaries, the most frequent charges are the cross—with its hundreds of variations—and the lion and eagle.
Divisions for Marshalling
Marshalling is the art of correctly arranging armorial bearings. Two or more coats of arms are often combined in one shield to express inheritance, claims to property, or the occupation of an office.
Party Per Pale
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Party Per Fess
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Quarterly (Party Per Cross)
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Party Per Bend
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Party Per Bend Sinister
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Party Per Chevron
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Party Per Saltire
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Party Per Pall (Tierced in Pall)
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The Helm and Crest
The crest rests on top of a helmet which itself rests on the most important part of the achievement—the shield. The crest is usually found on a wreath of twisted cloth and sometimes within a coronet. When the helm and crest are shown, they are usually accompanied by a mantling. This was originally a cloth worn over the back of the helmet as partial protection against by hot sunshine.
The Motto
An armorial motto is a phrase or collection of words intended to describe the motivation or intention of the armigerous person or corporation. This can also form a pun on the family name as in the Neville motto "Ne vile velis."
Cadency
Sons of arm-bearers have special marks of cadency overlaid on the family coat of arms.
Crowns
Crowns and coronets show the rank of the arm-bearer.
Helmet
Four types of helmet are also used on coats of arms – they indicate the rank of the bearer. The Direction in which they look and the metal is important.
Canting
These are coats of arms that use puns in the design.
Supporters
These are the animals – human and otherwise – that are used to support the arms at either side.
The Lion and the Unicorn were fighting for the Crown – a nursery rhyme with a heraldic meaning. The Lion is the English supporter and the Unicorn is the supporter for the Scottish coat of arms – the wars between the Scots and the English were occurring during the time that heraldry was evolving. The Unicorn is in chains as it is regarded as the most dangerous creature.
Blazon
The description of a coat of arms, in heraldic terms, is called a blazon.
Churchill
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Quarterly 1st and 4th Sable a lion rampant on a canton Argent a cross Gules; 2nd and 3rd quarterly Argent and Gules in the 2nd and 3rd quarters a fret Or overall on a bend Sable three escallops of the first and as an augmentation in chief an in escutcheon, Argent a cross Gules and thereon an in escutcheon Azure, three fleurs-de-lis Or. |
Printable Files
| handout_heraldry.pdf |
