About Heraldry

 

Heraldry is a language of emblems (patterns, signs & symbols) which grew out of the military life of the Middle Ages. It probably developed as it did from the need of recognizing Knights and their men in the field of battle.

With the coat of mail being uniformly worn, it was difficult to distinguish a friend or enemy by his clothes. But he could easily be identified at a distance by his shield, since each man had one of a different design.

As the coat of mail became hot in the sun, a long sleevless garment was worn over it. This was the surcoat (meaning: over-coat).

In the XIIIth century the surcoat became short and it was often the custom to bear the emblems (also called bearings or arms) of the wearer on it. So came the expression “coat of arms”. In the XIVth century an even shorter surcoat was worn, called a jupon.

To protect their head from blows, Knights also wore a helm and they covered it with a scarf called contoise mantling or lambrequin in order to shade it from the sun. To distinguish the helm, a crest was worn over it. This was made of feathers, leather or wood, sometimes similar to the device on the shield, but often different from it.
Everyone is familiar with this sort of arrangement. It is called an achievement of arms and it is made up of:

A - Crest

B - Crown (often a wreath)

C - Helm or helmet

D - Mantling

E - Shield

Sometimes a motto is added on a scroll .(F).

Sometimes there are also animals or mythical creatures standing on each side ; these are called the supporters. Because the original scarf being worn by a Knight in battle was apt to be torn, and because this was considered to be honorable, the mantling seen in achievements of arms is often cut up into flame or leaf-like shapes.

Blazoning is the heraldic language. To blazon a coat is to describe the coat: first of what color it is, i.e. the field (background) and secondly the bearings, all in their proper order and respective shapes, positions & tinctures.

Shields were made of wood covered with cloth or fur, or of metal. The early shields were rather triangular & long. Later they were made shorter. The later shields were of a generally rectangular shape and, as they were used mainly in jousts and tournaments, a notch was cut in the dexter chief (upper left corner) to hold the long lance. Their shape was often elaborated in other ways.

The points of the shield are nine:

1 - Dexter chief

2 - Middle chief

3 - Sinister chief

4 - Dexter base

5 - Middle base

6 - Sinister base

7 - Honor point

8 - Fesse point

9 - Nombril point

The dexter (meaning right) side of the shield itself was on the right hand of the man who carried it. The sinister (meaning left) was on his left. The dexter is considered more honorable than the sinister. The chief (meaning: head) is the most honorable of all.
Tinctures are of three kinds:

1 - Metals

2 - Colors

3 - Furs

 

Use of Tinctures: There is a fixed rule that two metals or two colors must not come next to each other. The arms of the Papacy, which are gold and silver are an exception.

In parted (divided) fields, the tincture first mentioned in the blazon occupies the chief or dexter position.

Parted fields are called according to the kind of partition:
Partition lines may be varied as follows:
For example:

a - Per pale indented silver and sable.

b - Per fesse embattled sable and silver.

c - Per chevron raguly ermine and sable.

d - Per bend wavy counter ermine and silver.

 

Charges: Whatever is placed on a field is termed a charge.

There are three kinds of charges. 1. Honorable ordinaries. 2. Subordinaries. 3. Common charges.

Ordinaries are nine, with three diminutives, twelve in all.
When a charge is placed upon a parted field, the tinctures of the field may be reversed in the charge which is then said to be counter-changed. E.g.: Per pale azure and silver, a chevron counter-changed.

A pair of little lines on each side of a pale, bend & fesse are called endorses & cotises.
A - A pale endorsed.

B - A bend cotised.

C - A fesse cotised.

Ordinaries and their diminutives may be varied with the different types of lines given previously, thus forming a great variety of different patterns. For example:
a - Azure a chief indented argent.

b - Or, a fesse between two cotises dancetty sable.

c - Argent, a pale engrailed azure.

 

Subordinaries in most frequent use are:
When several subordinaries or other charges appear in a shield, their number & position must be indicated in the blazon. For example, the following are: five roundels
When the number of charges exceeds six, they produce the appearance of a pattern & the field thus covered is called semee (sowing) or said to be powdered. For example:

a - Semee of mascles, or masculy.

b - Semee of billets, or billety.

c - Semee of crosses or crusily.

d - Fretty etc.

Ordinaries may also be made up of an indefinite number of subordinaries or charges.

For example:

a - A pale of roundels.

B - A fesse of lozenges.

C - A bend of fusils.

 

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