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continued . . .
Coats of Arms
There is so much general confusion and lack of accurate information
about coats of arms that we believe you would like to know something
about the several parts of a coat of arms, and particularly about
the origin and significance of these parts.
Coats of arms are described by heraldry, the language of emblems,
(i.e. patterns, signs and symbols), which grew out of the military
life of the Middle Ages. Those "extraordinary times of reality and
romance, of barbarism and civilization" when the social order was
feudal. Of the various trappings of feudalism, only heraldry
survives. In continental Europe heraldry has been esteemed as a
privilege of nobility only. In England, however, a coat of arms has
always been "the indispensable appendage of a gentleman" and an
object of pride and display. In a real sense heraldry is coexistent
with man -- for always man has realized the need of a means by which
to identify himself.
Since armor or coat of mail was invariably worn by the warrior
class, there was no difficulty in distinguishing friend from foe
even at some distance for each man bore a shield of a unique design.
Blazoning is the heraldic term for describing a coat of arms; first
its color, i.e. the field (background) and second the bearings
(designs) all in their proper order and respective shapes, positions
and tinctures (colors).
The armor, or coat of mail, often became hot and a long, sleeveless
garment was frequently worn over it as protection from the sun. This
was called a surcoat (overcoat).
By the XIIIth century the surcoat had become short, and many knights
wore their emblems (also called bearings, or arms) on their surcoats
as well as on their shields. So grew the expression "coat of arms".
In the XIVth century an even shorter surcoat was worn, called a
jupon (skirt). To protect their heads from blows, knights also wore
a helm covered with a scarf called contoise, mantling or lambrequin.
To distinguish the helm it was topped by a crest. This was made of
feathers, leather or wood, sometimes similar to the device on the
shield.
The contoise, mantling or lambrequin was devised by the painter to
give prominence to the coat of arms and crest. It is believed to
have originated as a piece of cloth covering the helmet and hanging
down at the back to a point beneath the base of the helm. It was
intended to shield the warrior from the heat of the sun and to ward
off the rain.
The wreath was a twisted silken scarf wound about the joint where
the crest was attached to the helmet. Modern heraldry depicts the
wreath as if two colored scarves had been braided together, the
colors showing alternately. These colors are the same as the first
named metal and the first named color in the blazon, and are known
as "the colors". The wreath was, perhaps, copied by the crusaders
from the wreathed turbans of the Saracens. The first noticed is that
of Sir John de Harsich, 1384. |