Heraldry

The First Seeds of Heraldry
Heraldry has been practised for centuries and there
are many debates as to its origins.

Some consider heraldry borne out of the pre-dynastic
Egyptians’ use of the serekh, an emblem indicative of
the extent of a regime’s power and influence. Ancient warriors,
such as Greeks and Romans, whose features were hidden
beneath helmets, used symbols and patterns with mythological
themes to identify them as part of a particular warrior group.

However, armorial bearings used strictly for the purpose of personal identification cannot be clearly
evidenced until the year 1127. In a contemporary chronicle of Henry I of England,
the King hung a shield emblazoned with gold lions around his nephew’s neck on the occasion of his knighting.
The nephew, Geoffrey, was buried years later dressed in blue and gold and wearing this shield,
the apparel known as the first-ever-recorded coat of arms depiction.

Heraldry and Inheritance
It still wasn’t until a couple of hundred years after this indication that the seed of heraldry
as an established art form was beginning to sprout that heraldry became a formal,
highly-developed discipline. But heraldic emblems did become hereditary not long after,
in the middle of the twelfth century. This may have been in part due to the medieval tournament,
which was an event meant to entertain and show off the prowess of competing knights.
The inheritance of heraldic arms is responsible for their long history and rich heritage as
well as their profound meaning, established and evolved over time.

Heraldry and the Medieval Tournament
The popularity of the tournament where knights were identified by personal armorial bearings,
also increased the popularity of heraldry. ‘Tournament’, comes from the Old French,  toneiement, tornei.
The first usage of ‘tournament’ dates back to 1114 when Count Baldwin III created peace legislation that made
it law for peace keepers to leave the town of Valenciennes during tournaments.
The primary event at tournaments were the melees, big fights between two teams made up of all the
knights involved at the tournament. Jousts, competitions between two knights, were not actually the main event.

Heraldry as a Discipline and the Importance of Heraldic Arms
Heraldry, as a discipline, involves ruling on matters of rank and protocol and is practised by
government-appointed officers of arms. It relies on a strict set of rules that apply to the composition
of armorial bearings. All armorial bearings have a blazon, often referred to as the language of heraldry,
which is the formal description of a coat of arms. Heraldry is still practised today in countries around the world.
Both families and institutions, such as universities, are recognized by their coats of arms, shields and crests.
You can sport your family or institutional heraldic insignia to show your pride in their values, symbols and heritage.

A Coat of Arms is sometimes also called a Family Shield, Family Seal or Family Crest.

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