[History] History and Components of European Heraldry

[Raglan]

Author: Thomas Hospitaller
Original Article: History and Components of European Heraldry

History and Components of European Heraldry

Basics of European Classical Heraldry - Heraldry in the High and Late Middle Ages

Many people, when seeing a coat of arms for the first time, have a sense of wonder; after all, omnes ignotum pro magnifico(1). However, upon careful inspection of the rules of classical heraldry, one becomes aware of the simplicity of this fascinating subject.

I. A Brief and Condensed History.

Early attempts at developing identification symbols for groups of men in Europe had not been unheard of. Roman legions are well-known for having been carriers of standards. Known as "eagle"s, these banners were held high above a legion to identify where its members had moved over the course of a battle. One cannot simply look into a man's face during a battle to identify him, for in the split second it takes to do this, one is often struck by the fatal blow. The Romans had the excellent idea of holding their eagles high (example: the "Eagle of the Ninth", Legio IX) in battle, and the standard-bearer of a certain group of men was held in high esteem. Likewise, losing your legion's eagle in battle was considered a great shame, akin to the later shame amongst Vikings of having their spear broken in battle, or of a modern Police Officer losing his side-arm. A system of simple coins, badges, insignia, and banners, as well as inscriptions on barracks walls (for example: "Here were the barracks of Legio X, during the reign of Consuls A and B") was developed so that men could know which Legion they had come across.


Fig. 1: A Renaissance depiction of then-recently discovered late Roman shields and symbols

As the Roman Empire fell apart, systems of identification through coin and banner inevitably collapsed with it. The Legions were disbanded, Popes took over the seat of power in Rome, and Italy split into its regions of Liguria, Lombardy, Umbria, Tuscany, et. al. There could no longer be any sort of system which bound a massive empire or expanding republic to itself. Individual, sovereign city-states rose once more, and with that rise, each city began to develop the first progenitors of heraldric blazonry. All cities found it most convenient to give official letters and orders wax stamps using their personal symbol. Out of this necessity to communicate quickly and easily - in a time of low literacy rates - was heraldry born.

One famous example of early heraldry was that of Venice, soon declared by its leaders to be a "Most Serene Republic". The original image associated with Venice was simply that of water sitting next to land surmounted by the words "Pax tibi, Marce, evangelista meus"(2), which represented the lagoons of Venice and its status as a port, as well as the city's Christian patron saint, Mark the Evangelist. As heraldry developed in time, the Venetian coat of arms evolved to include all the trappings of a modern coat (such as mantling, supporters, helm, coronet, crest, and various charges, all explained herein). For example, the shorthand for "Mark the Evangelist" was a lion, as he was most renowned for having tamed a wild lion in the desert. Additionally, and inn order to represent Venice's role as a sea-trader and explorer of the Mediterranean islands, wings were added to Mark's Lion, thus completing the modern symbolism. A final symbol of the arms came when a new and important title was created; a corno ducale, or "duke's crown", was added to the crest to symbolize and honor the city's highest official, the Doge of Venice.


Fig. 2: Badge (shield only) of the Coat of Arms of the Serenissima Repubblica di Venezia; Doge of Venice

As Heraldry spread out across Europe and developed, men of a military mind began to see a use for it once more. Not only did it have a potential to emblemize cities and families, but it could be used as a helpful symbol in battle. During the 11th century, the fashionable conical helmets which only covered the top of the head made it difficult for soldiers to see their generals, but faces could still be recognized in the heat of battle. As the 11th century turned into the 12th century, however, and men began to wear heavier armor, men could no longer identify their leaders on the field of battle. By the time of the Third Crusade (1189-1192), knights who had managed to purchase the very best equipment found themselves at a loss on the field. Massive hauberks of chain mail protected the chest from glancing blows, and "great helms" encased the entire head for excellent skull protection, but no one could be recognized by any commanders! It was left to heraldic designers to create badges and charges (images) which could be sewn on to surcoats and shields so that armigers(2) could recognize each other in the chaos of battle.

[As a side note, helms changed radically over the next three hundred years precisely because of the inability to recognize anybody, and the terrible field of vision a full helm provided. It was with the hinged, movable visor that men could uncover their face without endangering the entire head. The action of moving ones' visor up to get a better view of the field, and to allow men to see their commanders' faces, eventually evolved into the modern military salute. Also, heraldry was most important in the identification process; in the Middle Ages, it was a great business venture to capture a nobleman on the field. Peasants were of no worth to be ransomed, so they were killed without mercy. Nobles, however, carried expensive armor that could be bargained for their lives, and thus heraldic symbols were useful in denoting who was the most powerful man to be caught and sold for ransom. A tricky system, indeed.]


Fig. 3: Ulrich von Liechtenstein showing the coat of arms of the von Liechtenstein family.
Ulrich von Liechtenstein was created a Knight of Austria A.D. 1223, and was Duke of Liechtenstein and Styria. Note the extravagant ceremonial crest atop the Duke's Helm, not likely to have been displayed in actual battle.

II. On the Terminology of Classical Heraldry

It is of the utmost importance to remember that heraldry is a symbolic, as well as a pragmatic, system of representation. A great number of terms and florid parts of heraldry developed over the 900 years of its height, and an example is required to make sense of this. Each and every coat of arms was required, by law, to be completely unique. This very law is the reason for the existence of the British Royal College of Arms, which keeps a set of tomes that record every armigerous(3) family in the United Kingdom. Each nation has, or had, a college of arms in order to keep various symbols in order, and to keep a record of which family owned which arms.

A list of the most important terms is required. There are hundreds of varying stances, words, names, and descriptions for arms. This list is not exhaustive, and those of an interested mind should look to the links below for resources on heraldic terminology.

II.1. On the Language and Structure of Heraldry

Heraldry uses a set of words and terms from a language that is very similar to Middle English. Combined with a certain Medieval French dialect, these two languages, which were spoken from around the time of the Norman conquest of England (1066) to the end of the Hundred Years' War (1453), influenced heraldry. Most of the early forms of heraldry did indeed develop in what are today England and France, with separate traditions developing in Scandinavia, Germany, and Hungary.

At the very base of a proper coat of arms is a motto. This is, traditionally and stereotypically, a Latin phrase, such as "Ab imo pectore" ("From the bottom of my heart") or "Pro Deo et Rege" (For God and King), which showcases a positive trait of the armiger. Someone who considers his cardinal virtues to be "truth and love", for example, might have as his motto "Veritas et Caritas". The motto is always situated at the bottom of the arms, and is not an indespensible part of the blazon, so it can be changed at will. An exception to this rule is Scotland, where family arms have their motto at the very top of the entire coat of arms, and that motto comes with the arms itself, so it cannot be changed.

If one was/is considered to be of importance, or of great wealth, the next section of a coat of arms after the motto would be a patch of ground on which the arms sat. This patch of ground extended horizontally below the shield, and was stood upon by two supporters, one on each flank of the coat of arms. The system of supporters was created to give an extra sense of pomp, circumstance, and importance to a certain coat of arms. Supporters are often animals - most popularly, lions - but can also be human beings. Supporters are automatically granted to people who have been Knighted (CBE, KBE, etc.) in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth nations, and automatically goes to coats of arms for cities and corporations.


Fig. 4: The Coat of Arms for the Dutch Municipality of Zaanstad.
Two whales act as the supporters of this shield, although there is no motto attached.

Above the patch of ground, and between the two supporters, was the central aspect of a coat of arms: the shield, or escutcheon. In Figure 4, the area between the two whales is the escutcheon. The shield itself presents every man who sees it with the main symbols of the family, and each symbol on the escutcheon is representative of something important to the family. A symbol, in heraldry, is called a charge, as it is charged on to the shield. For example, if a man has fathered four (legitimate) children, he may create his coat of arms with four charges of any type; say, four salmon if he loves fishing, or four pen-quills if he is a writer. Each and every charge on a coat of arms may contain several meanings, and, further, the way in which one charge interacts with another charge next to it may indicate something of importance. A Christian may charge his coat of arms with a cross, for example, and Jewish person may put a Magen David (Star of David) charge on his arms. A violinist might choose to represent the f-holes of a violin, or the four strings of the instrument. Practically any symbol can be used as a charge.

Most importantly in the realm of escutcheons, each area of the shield has a certain name. Shield directions are named according to their position relative to the bearer of the shield, not relative to the person who is looking at the arms. Thus, the names of the shield directions are rather like a mirror; each side is inverted. Dexter is the term for the right side of the shield (which appears, to the viewer, to be the left half of the shield), and Sinister is the term for the left side of the shield (which appears, to the viewer, to be the right half of the shield). Chief is the term for the top of the shield, and Base is the term for the bottom of the shield. In a related matter, any creatures which appear on a coat of arms share this system of direction-labeling for their hands. If, for example, one has a coat of arms with a lion whose two paws are prominent, its left paw would be called "sinister paw", and its right paw "dexter paw".


Fig. 5: The Directions of a Shield

Various images and levels of relation between images are observed in coats of arms. Charges may bend (tilt to the dexter), they may bend sinister (tilt to the sinister), they may be counterchanged with other images (in Figure 4, a red lion on a white background is counterchanged with a white lion on a red background), and they may be in splendor (shining with a golden light). There is an infinite selection of possibilities and varities of heraldic charges.

Worthy of brief note is the fact that many coats of arms have a small medal or medallion hanging from the base of the escutcheon. This Order Decoration is merely a sign that the armiger who owns the arms in question is part of a Knightly Order, or that he has been knighted by a monarch.

One of the most important parts of a coat of arms is a set of three components which make up the top half of the entire coat. These consist, from bottom to top, of a helm, a coronet, and the crest. The helm is a symbol of social status; armigers of a low status(4) typically had a helm on which the helm's visor is closed. Those of a high status(5) often had a helm whose visor was open, as a symbol that this was a person whose face needed to be seen on the battlefield, so that troops might rally around him. Very often, the helm was a good indication of the occupation of the owner of the coat of arms in question.


Fig. 6: These two helms are generic examples of the helms used by a Priest (left) and a Bishop (right)

Atop the helm (and sometimes below it) rests the coronet, a small circular diadem which often had tines atop consisting of leaves or fruits. These symbolized the fruit of the armiger's land, and often the agricultural produce of the region that this particular armiger ruled. If the coat of arms is that of a king or of a sovereign territory, the coronet often displays the National Flower (such as the White York Rose) in its tines.

At the very chief of the entire coat of arms rests the crest, second in importance to the escutcheon in identifying an individual. Apart from the shield, the crest has the greatest potentiality for variety and individual flashes of expression. A crest can be a beaver, a dragon, a lion, a man, a human arm holding a sword or mace, or it can be a house. The number of symbolic crests that can be created on a coat of arms is nearly as infinite in variety as the possible charges on a shield. Historically, crests were granted to secular male armigers exclusively, as the crest was used in tournaments and jousts, events which clergy and women were forbidden to participate in. [In Medieval II: Total War, the Teutonic Knights are depicted as wearing lavish crests that look like horns, fists, animals' heads, and peacock feathers.]

An important note to make on crests is that a single coat of arms is often wrongly called a "family crest". The crest is exclusively that symbol which rests atop the helm, and does not consist of anything else.


Fig. 7: The elements of a classical coat of arms.

1. Motto
2. Decoration of Knighthood/Order membership
3. Escutcheon/Shield
4. Coronet
5. Helm
6. Crest
7. Scottish motto
8. Supporters

II.2. On Tincture

Tincture is the heraldic word for color, or hue. Heraldry, throughout its development, has attached to its practice a specific set of colors and hues that may be used. One explanation for the limited colors may simply be a question of the sun. If the sun is shining upon a particularly colorful coat of arms in the field of battle, it may have actually ended up blinding soldiers.

Heraldry was kept to a certain set of tinctures at all times, and new arms granted in the modern period still follow this rule. There are seven tinctures: Purpure (purple), Argent (white/silver), Sable (black), Vert (green), Azure (blue), Gules (red), and Or (gold). No coats of arms are to be observed which strayed from this set of seven. The only variation in tincture is a distinction between shades; azure, for example, can be light blue or dark blue. Orange, however, was not used in heraldry, and is simply not observed in the historical record. Discolorations in old manuscripts may turn red into orange, but this does not mean that one should now call gules by the name of "orange".

Tinctures were divided, for artistic and expressive (i.e. subjective) purposes, into two subsets: Metals and Colours/colors. Metals are often used in the representation of arms and armor, and the Colours are often used to represent nature and the natural world. The reason for this distinction is evident if one takes to examining the difference between Metals and Colours. When one puts a Metal on a Colour (for example: Vert a sword Or, a golden sword on green background) the effect is naturally very pleasing to the human eye. When one puts a Metal on a Metal, though (for example: Argent a sword Or; a golden sword on a white/silver background), the effective is of dissonance. This rule of "always put metal on colour, or colour on metal; never put metal on metal, or colour on colour", is known as the Rule of Tincture, and was instrumental in the development of modern art and colours.

[An experiment may be done by the reader to explain why this rule exists. Colour a canvas with bright silver paint, then attempt to paint gold atop this silver. The resulting effect is one of blending, and it is not pragmatic to use as a symbol on the battlefield, for it may blind soldiers in the sun!]


Fig. 8: The Seven Tinctures of Heraldry.

III. A Note on Blazons and Differencing.

When looking at coats of arms, one may see a phrase that sounds like nonsense, such as "Azure, a bend Or"; in fact, this is the language of heraldry, and that phrase is a blazon. A blazon, simply put, is a name for the description of a coat of arms. "Azure, a bend Or" is a blazon meaning "the shield's color is blue, and upon the shield is a rightward-pointing sash colored gold. The number of possible blazons is, like the number of possible charges on a shield, impossible to list here. Each blazon is entirely different from the last by virtue of the fact that every coat of arms must be different.


Fig. 9: Azure, a bend Or


Fig. 10: Argent, a bend sinister Gules

One may ask the questions: "If one coat of arms represents a whole family, what happens if a father and son want to use the coat of arms to identify themselves? How will anyone be able to tell who is who?" This is a valid couple of questions, because they bring me to the subject of differencing, or cadency. Differencing is the process whereby a whole family is made able to display the same coat of arms simultaneously. It consists simply of taking the coat of arms of the head of the family (the father) and adding a distinctive symbol to the shield of each new child. The first son has a distinctive shield, the second son has a distinctive shield, etc.

The most common form of differencing involved the first son. When a man creates his coat of arms (say: Azure, a cross Or), it is his own. When this same man has a son, he will not simply share his coat of arms with the son, but a distinctive charge called a "label", a strip of cloth with three equidistant flaps hanging down, is added to the son's coat of arms. Thus, the father's coat of arms is simply blue with a golden cross, but the first son's coat of arms is blue with a golden cross surmounted by a label in chief. When the father dies, the first son merely removes his label and takes his father's titles and coat of arms. This process is repeated ad infinitum.


Fig. 11: An original escutcheon for a nobleman (left) with a differenced esctucheon for his first son (right)

Thus Concludes a Basic Review of Classical European Heraldry.

Notes:

(1) - "All ignorances work for magnificence". This means that those things we are ignorant of seem magnificent and wonderful at first; explanation dispels all wonder.

(2) - "Peace to you, o Mark, my evangelist".

(3) - An "armiger" is a man or woman who is legally given the ability to be "armed"; that is, to have a coat of arms. To be "armigerous" means that a family or person is under the status of being legally able to display arms. An armiger is armigerous, as it were.

(4) - Knight, Baron, Viscount, et. al.

(5) - Count, Earl, Marquess, Marquis, Duke, Prince, Grand Duke, King, et. al.

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I heartily believe that heraldry is one of the greatest and most beautiful forms of European art, but it is also a part of history. The national flags of the world would not exist as they do today without heraldry! It is really amazing how much these things have changed over the 900 years of their real existence, and yet they remain a part of life. Rules handed down from A.D. 1150 are retained in the modern world, and, as has been said, heraldry's influence on art theory has been significant.

It is truly amazing!

As this is not a formal essay, I do not feel the need to give sources. However, for the interested student of heraldry (my own status ), and for the sake of spreading the knowledge of history, I have listed a few sources which I used in typing this article.

Most beloved is the Oxford Guide to Heraldry, an excellently written history.

http://www.amazon.com/Oxford-Guide-Heraldry-Thomas-Woodcock/dp/0192852248

The Royal Heraldry Society of Canada has many links and much information!

http://www.heraldry.ca/

World Civic Heraldry is an excellent site with resources and a gigantic list of compiled blazons from across the world!

http://www.civicheraldry.com/

Heraldry on the Internet is another upstanding website with information about heraldic symbolism.

http://www.digiserve.com/heraldry/symbols.htm

If you have anything to add, or can point out mistakes in this thread, please do so! I rely on others' expertise, being an amateur myself, and it is important for me to tell history truthfully and accurately.