Medieval and Middle Ages History Timelines

Heraldry

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Origins of Heraldry

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"I am Walter the Herald, servant of sigils and keeper of noble lineages. If it please thee, allow me to be thy guide into the storied realm of medieval heraldry, where banners speak, and colours carry the weight of honour, blood, and ancient oath.

"Come forth, and let us walk among the crests of kings, the beasts of battle, and the sacred marks that set knight from knave, and house from house. The scrolls are unrolled, the ink is still fresh, and the tale of arms awaits thee.

"Lo, in an age long lost to the mists of time, were designs of arms first devised — not as mere ornament, but as sacred tokens of might and lineage. These coats of arms, as folk now name them, were created to mark one noble soul from another, that he might be known upon the field, whether in deadly battle or honorable tourney.

"The ancient chronicles speak not clearly of when first this craft of marking came to be, yet by the first half of the Twelfth Century (circa 1100-1150 by common reckoning), knights of renown began to emblazon their banners and shields with unique sigils — griffins rampant, lions passant, fields of red or blue, and other such fantastic emblems.

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"These tokens were not lost to time, nor forgotten, but passed from sire to son, mother to daughter, and so became the seal of an entire bloodline. Thus, a man's device came to signify not just his own self, but the honor and name of all his kin.

"The term coat of arms springs from the surcoat — a fine and noble garment worn over mail and plate, upon which the same design as the shield was stitched or painted. So armed in symbol and in soul, the knight rode forth — not as a lone blade, but as a banner of his house, to be feared by foes or hailed by friends.

Coat of arms were not only used by knights for military purposes, they were used by ordinary people for marking their territory or possessions. They were also used as seals on documents to prove their authenticity.

The formal use of designs in the early twelfth century may have begun because of the popularity of tournaments where a knight in armour could only be recognised by some kind of design on his flag or shield. It may have become popular during the Crusades for identifying those men who associated themselves with a particular knight.

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An important member of the king's and nobles' household was the herald. They were used in an organisational role and as messengers. One of their many roles was to organise the tournaments that the upper classes of medieval society enjoyed so much.

The work that heralds did is known as heraldry, but over time the heralds became experts in the production and record keeping of these designs, and so the term heraldry came to be specifically associated with the design of coat of arms.

When the word achievement is used in heraldry it refers the who design including the shield, the crest, the motto, etc. The word arms should only mean the design of the shield, but it has come to mean the same as achievement.

A heraldic design on an old medieval table

Grammar (Blazon)

Over time a common set of designs were developed and a grammar of heraldry was defined. This meant that the layout of a shield could be described in words. The description of a shield and its layout is known as the blazon and with the description anyone who understood the grammar could reproduce the design of the shield. The description not only defines the colours and shapes but also defines the way that animals are facing and posed.

Rules

The herald has a standrd set of colours that can be used on the shield. The first two are are the metals, gold and silver. These are represented by the colours yellow and white. The names of these are Or (gold) and Argent (white) from the French language. There are five main main colours, Gules (red), Azure (blue), Vert (green), Sable (black) and Purpure (purple). Less common colours are called 'stains' which are Tenne (light brown), Murrey (redish brown), and Sanguine (blood red).

An object shown on a shield may be painted in its natural colour and this is known as 'proper'.

A metal shall not lie on a metal; nor a colour on a colour
Furs are technically neutral
The background of the shield is known as the 'field'
Any object on the field is known as a 'charge'

Points of the Shield

When describing the position of objects on the shield the herald imagines themselves standing behind and holding that shield. So the left-hand side to the herald (sinister) becomes the right-hand side when looked at from the front by the viewer.

This is the same for the right-hand side (dexter) which appears on the left to the viewer from the front.

A: Dexter Chief
B: Middle Chief
C: Sinister Chief
D: Honour Point
E: Fess-point (middle of shield)
F: Nombril / Naval point
G: Dexter Base
H: Middle Base
I: Sinister Base

Sections

These next series of pages take you through the basics of heraldry.

Section 1: Tinctures

Tinctures in heraldry are the names given to the standard colours, metals and furs that cover the shield or flag. There are four main colours (black, red, blue and green). These are also known as sable, gules, azure and vert respectively. Click the link below to see details of the heraldry tintures.

Section 2: Divisions

In heraldry a shield can be divided into major sections. These are known as the Divisions of the field. The major divisions and their terms are shown below. Each name starts with the term 'party per'. But the word 'party' can be left out so that 'per fess' or 'per bend' is enough to describe the division. Click the link below to see details of the heraldry divisions.

Section 3: Division Line Styles

The lines that divide the parts of a shield do not have to be straight. Explore the styles of line that can be applied to the division types.

Charges

A charge is really anything that is drawn on the shield or on another charge. Charges have been grouped into several categories including the important major shapes known as the ordinaries and the less important known as the sub-ordinaries. Other charges are grouped into categories such as crosses, animals, birds, monsters, reptiles and fish, etc.

Section 4: Ordinaries

Ordinaries are basic geometrical shapes that are placed on the shield. There are several ordinaries that are concidered to be the orginal designs used in heraldry and these are sometimes known as the Honourable Ordinaries. This section shows the ten honourable ordinary shapes along with their names.

Section 5: Crosses

The Christian cross emblem was very common in medieval heraldry and was used extensively by the Christian soldiers during Crusades. It became so widespread that variations were required to differentiate one design from another. The main shield shown here has the cross as an ordinary and it extends to the edges of the shield. The variations are charges and as such are held within the shield, not touching the edges.

Section 6: Common Charges

Common charges

A charge is any emblem or device that is placed on a shield or coat of arms. It's essentially one of the key design elements used to decorate the field (the background) of the shield. Charges are a major part of what makes each coat of arms unique, and their placement, number, colour (called tincture), and style are all carefully regulated by heraldic tradition.

Section 7: Beasts

Beasts of all kinds have been used in heraldry, but the most important of them all is the lion. Over time lions in different positions were developed so that enough variations could be used and shape on the shield could be filled.

Glossary