1.
Heraldry
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The beauty and pageantry of heraldic designs allowed them to survive the gradual abandonment of armour on the battlefield during the seventeenth century. Heraldry has been described poetically as the handmaid of history, the shorthand of history, in modern times, heraldry is used by individuals, public and private organizations, corporations, cities, towns, and regions to symbolize their heritage, achievements, and aspirations. Various symbols have been used to represent individuals or groups for thousands of years, similar emblems and devices are found in ancient Mesopotamian art of the same period, and the precursors of heraldic beasts such as the griffin can also be found. In the Bible, the Book of Numbers refers to the standards and ensigns of the children of Israel, the Greek and Latin writers frequently describe the shields and symbols of various heroes, and units of the Roman army were sometimes identified by distinctive markings on their shields. The Book of Saint Albans, compiled in 1486, declares that Christ himself was a gentleman of coat armour, the medieval heralds also devised arms for various knights and lords from history and literature. Notable examples include the toads attributed to Pharamond, the cross and martlets of Edward the Confessor, and the arms attributed to the Nine Worthies. These too are now regarded as an invention, rather than evidence of the antiquity of heraldry. The development of the modern heraldic language cannot be attributed to an individual, time. Yet no individual is depicted twice bearing the arms, nor are any of the descendants of the various persons depicted known to have borne devices resembling those in the tapestry. A Spanish manuscript from 1109 describes both plain and decorated shields, none of which appears to have been heraldic, in England, from the time of the Norman conquest, official documents had to be sealed. A notable example of an armorial seal is attached to a charter granted by Philip I, Count of Flanders. Seals from the part of the eleventh and early twelfth centuries show no evidence of heraldic symbolism. One of the earliest known examples of armory as it came to be practiced can be seen on the tomb of Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou. An enamel, probably commissioned by Geoffreys widow between 1155 and 1160, depicts him carrying a shield decorated with six golden lions rampant. He wears a helmet adorned with another lion, and his cloak is lined in vair. A medieval chronicle states that Geoffrey was given a shield of this description when he was knighted by his father-in-law, Henry I, in 1128, but this account probably dates to about 1175. Since Henry was the son of Geoffrey Plantagenet, it seems reasonable to suppose that the adoption of lions as an emblem by Henry or his sons might have been inspired by Geoffreys shield. Richard is also credited with having originated the English crest of a lion statant and it is from this garment that the phrase coat of arms is derived
2.
Achievement (heraldry)
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An achievement, armorial achievement or heraldic achievement in heraldry is a full display of all the heraldic components to which the bearer of a coat of arms is entitled. The word hatchment in its usage is thus identical in meaning. However, in recent years the word hatchment has come to be used almost exclusively to denote funerary hatchment, archived from the original on 20 April 2011. An achievement is a formal display of a coat of arms
3.
Coat of arms
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A coat of arms is an heraldic visual design on an escutcheon, surcoat, or tabard. The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the heraldic achievement which in its whole consists of shield, supporters, crest. A coat of arms is traditionally unique to a person, family, state. The ancient Romans used similar insignia on their shields, but these identified military units rather than individuals, the first evidence of medieval coats of arms has been attributed to the 11th century Bayeux Tapestry in which some of the combatants carry shields painted with crosses. However, that heraldic interpretation remains controversial, coats of arms came into general use by feudal lords and knights in battle in the 12th century. By the 13th century, arms had spread beyond their initial battlefield use to become a flag or emblem for families in the social classes of Europe. Exactly who had a right to use arms, by law or social convention, in the German-speaking regions both the aristocracy and burghers used arms, while in most of the rest of Europe they were limited to the aristocracy. The use of spread to the clergy, to towns as civic identifiers. Flags developed from coats of arms, and the arts of vexillology, the coats of arms granted to commercial companies are a major source of the modern logo. Despite no widespread regulation, heraldry has remained consistent across Europe, some nations, like England and Scotland, still maintain the same heraldic authorities which have traditionally granted and regulated arms for centuries and continue to do so in the present day. In England, for example, the granting of arms is and has controlled by the College of Arms. Unlike seals and other emblems, heraldic achievements have a formal description called a blazon. Many societies exist that also aid in the design and registration of personal arms, in the heraldic traditions of England and Scotland, an individual, rather than a family, had a coat of arms. In those traditions coats of arms are legal property transmitted from father to son, wives, undifferenced arms are used only by one person at any given time. Other descendants of the bearer could bear the ancestral arms only with some difference. One such charge is the label, which in British usage is now always the mark of an apparent or an heir presumptive. Because of their importance in identification, particularly in seals on legal documents and this has been carried out by heralds and the study of coats of arms is therefore called heraldry. In time, the use of arms spread from military entities to educational institutes, the author Helen Stuart argues that some coats of arms were a form of corporate logo
4.
Escutcheon (heraldry)
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In heraldry, an escutcheon is a shield that forms the main or focal element in an achievement of arms. The word is used in two related senses, firstly, as the shield on which a coat of arms is displayed. Escutcheon shapes are derived from actual shields used by knights in combat, other shapes are in use, such as the roundel commonly used for arms granted to Aboriginal Canadians by the Canadian Heraldic Authority. Secondly, a shield can itself be a charge within a coat of arms, more often, a smaller shield is placed over the middle of the main shield as a form of marshalling. In either case, the shield is usually given the same shape as the main shield. When there is one such shield, it is sometimes called an inescutcheon. The word escutcheon is derived from Middle English escochon, from Anglo-Norman escuchon, from Vulgar Latin scūtiōn-, from Latin scūtum, from its use in heraldry, escutcheon can be a metaphor for a familys honour. The idiom a blot on the escutcheon is used to mean a stain on somebodys reputation, by about 1250 the shields used in warfare were almost triangular in shape, referred to as heater shields. That on the monument to the latters grandfather Geoffrey V. This almost equilateral shape is used as a setting for armorials from this classical age of heraldry. In the Tudor era the heraldic escutcheon took the shape of an inverted Tudor arch, continental European designs frequently use the various forms used in jousting, which incorporate mouths used as lance rests into the shields, such escutcheons are known as à bouche. The mouth is correctly shown on the side only, as jousting pitches were designed for right-handed knights. Heraldic examples of English shields à bouche can be seen in the spandrels of the timber roof of Lincolns Inn Hall. In this case the lozenge is without crest or helm, again objects of manly warfare, however, for the practical purpose of categorisation the lozenge may be treated as a variety of heraldic escutcheon. In general a female was represented by her paternal arms impaled by the arms of her husband on an escutcheon, in modern Canadian heraldry, and certain other modern heraldic jurisdictions, women may be granted their own arms and display these on an escutcheon. Life peeresses in England display their arms on a lozenge, an oval or cartouche is occasionally also used instead of the lozenge for armigerous women. Divorced women may theoretically until remarriage use their ex-husbands arms differenced with a mascle, the lozenge shape of quasi-escutcheon is also used for funerary hatchments for both men and women. Pretoria High School for Girls in South Africa is one of the few schools that was granted permission to use the lozenge as part of its coat of arms
5.
Chief (heraldry)
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In heraldic blazon, a chief is a charge on a coat of arms that takes the form of a band running horizontally across the top edge of the shield. Writers disagree in how much of the surface is to be covered by the chief. The former is likely if the chief is uncharged, that is. If charged, the chief is typically wider to allow room for the objects drawn there, the chief is one of the ordinaries in heraldry, along with the bend, chevron, fess, and pale. There are several other ordinaries and sub-ordinaries, the chief may bear charges and may also be subject to variations of the partition lines. The chief may be combined with ordinary, such as a pale or a saltire. The chief will normally be superimposed over a bordure, orle and tressure, in some medieval and Renaissance drawings of coats of arms, the chief is drawn even deeper, so that it fills almost all the top half of the shield. In some cases, it is drawn so wide that it look as though the shield is divided party per fess. There is a version of the chief, called a comble. A chief triangular can be found in French and English armory and this ordinary begins in the corners and extends to a point that is one quarter to one third the way down the shield. It is a line division variant of a chief. A chief enarched is drawn with a concave arch, there is also a double-arched version of a chief. In civic heraldry, a chief of allegiance may be added to the top of the shield and this is a form of the ruling states armory compressed into the space of a chief. Many Italian coats of arms have a chief containing a version of the arms of the Kingdom of Naples or of the Holy Roman Empire, a C Fox-Davies A Complete Guide to Heraldry, Thomas Nelson and Sons, London 1969
6.
Field (heraldry)
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In heraldry, the background of the shield is called the field. The field is composed of one or more tinctures or furs. The field may be divided or may consist of a variegated pattern, in rare modern cases the field is not a tincture, but is shown as a scene from a landscape. Landscape fields are regarded by many heralds as unheraldic and debased, as they defy the heraldic ideal of simple, boldly coloured images, the arms of the Inveraray and District Community Council in Scotland have as a field In waves of the sea. Division of the field Variation of the field
7.
Tincture (heraldry)
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Tinctures constitute the limited palette of colours and patterns used in heraldry. The need to define, depict, and correctly blazon the various tinctures is therefore one of the most important aspects of heraldic art, the colours and patterns of the heraldic palette are divided into three groups, usually known as metals, colours, and furs. In its original sense, tincture refers only to the group referred to as colours. Thus, when consulting various heraldic authorities, care must be taken to determine which meaning each term is given, the basic scheme and rules of applying the heraldic tinctures dates to the formative period of heraldry, during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The practice of depicting certain charges as they appear in nature, in the English-speaking world, heraldic terminology is based largely on that of British armory, which in turn is based on Norman French. The metals are or and argent, representing gold and silver, respectively, although in practice they are depicted as yellow. Or derives its name from the Latin aurum, gold and it may be depicted using either yellow or metallic gold, at the artists discretion, yellow has no separate existence in heraldry, and is never used to represent any tincture other than or. Argent is similarly derived from the Latin argentum, silver, notwithstanding the widespread use of white for argent, some heraldic authorities have suggested the existence of white as a distinct heraldic colour. Five colours have been recognized since the earliest days of heraldry and these are, gules, or red, sable, or black, azure, or blue, vert, or green, and purpure, or purple. Two more were eventually acknowledged by most heraldic authorities, sanguine or murrey, a red or mulberry colour, and tenné. Gules is of uncertain derivation, outside of the heraldic context, Sable is named for a type of marten, known for its dark, luxuriant fur. Azure comes through the Arabic lāzaward, from the Persian lāžavard both referring to the mineral lapis lazuli, used to produce blue pigments. Vert is from Latin viridis, green, the alternative name in French, sinople, is derived from the ancient city of Sinope in Asia Minor, which was famous for its pigments. Purpure is from Latin purpura, in turn from Greek porphyra and this expensive dye, known from antiquity, produced a much redder purple than the modern heraldic colour, and in fact earlier depictions of purpure are far redder than recent ones. As a heraldic colour, purpure may have originated as a variation of gules. Sanguine or Murrey, from Latin sanguineus, blood red, and Greek morum, mulberry, although long shunned in the belief that it represented some dishonour on the part of the bearer, it has found some use in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Tenné or tenny, from Latin tannare, to tan, is the second of the so-called stains and it is most often depicted as orange, but sometimes as tawny yellow or brown. In earlier times it was used in continental heraldry
8.
Division of the field
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In heraldry, the field of a shield can be divided into more than one area, or subdivision, of different tinctures, usually following the lines of one of the ordinaries and carrying its name. Shields may be divided this way for differencing or for purposes of marshalling, the lines that divide a shield may not always be straight, and there is a system of terminology for describing patterned lines, which is also shared with the heraldic ordinaries. French heraldry takes a different approach in cases from the one described in this article. g. in letters patent. A field cannot be divided per bordure, but a bordure can, a bordure can be divided or counter-changed. Neither can a field be divided per chief, for similar reasons, and a bordure per chief is shown in the arms of Roy, Canada. A chief is considered a charge in English heraldry and is considered layered atop the field, although it is alleged that per chevron enhanced is called mantled in English, this is a term of rare application. When the term rompu is applied to a division of the field, the arms of Lois Hole show Per chevron rompu Or and Vert, the centre section heightened of two points. A field pily, as in the arms of Baron Marks of Broughton, is similar to a field per fess dancetty, but Scottish heraldry does use tierced in pale A particular type of tiercing, resembling a Y in shape, is called per pall. g. Okakarara Technical Institute, Gules, chapé Azure, on the partition lines respectively a bend, shields may also be divided into three parts by a combination of two methods of division, such as party per fess, in chief per pale. Another example is in the arms of Clive Cheesman, per pale, a shield may also be party per chevron reversed, which is like party per chevron except upside down. With arched or bent lines it is called chaussé ployé, one common reason for dividing the field in heraldry is for purposes of combining two or more coats of arms to express alliance, inheritance, occupation of an office, etc. As this would sometimes yield confusing or misleading results, the practice was supplanted by impalement, according to Fox-Davies, the practice of dimidiation was short-lived and had already reached its peak in the early 14th century, while impalement remains in practice to modern times. Eventually quartering gained usage, and in the height of its popularity during the Victorian era, more usually, however, a quartered coat of arms consisted of four parts, as the name suggests. In the UK heraldries, complex systems of marshalling have developed, if the husband is a knight of any order, however, the ensigns of that order belong only to him and are not shared with his wife. A male peer impales the arms of his wife as described above, but including the supporters, coronet and helmet of the peer, if he is also a knight of any order, the two-shield method is used. It is also worth noting that one form in German-Nordic heraldry is quarterly with a heart. This may have stemmed from the practice of sovereigns placing their own hereditary arms inescutcheon over the arms of their dominions. The arms of Novohrad-Volynskyi, Ukraine, show a form of marshalling quarterly with a heart
9.
Supporter
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In heraldry, supporters, sometimes referred to as attendants, are figures or objects usually placed on either side of the shield and depicted holding it up. Early forms of supporters are found in medieval seals, however, unlike the coronet or helmet and crest, supporters were not part of early medieval heraldry. As part of the achievement, they first become fashionable towards the end of the 15th century. The arms of nutritionist John Boyd-Orr use two garbs as supporters, the arms of the USS Donald Cook, missiles, the arms of the state of Rio Grande do Norte in Brazil, letters of the alphabet are used as supporters in the arms of Valencia, Spain. Human supporters can also be allegorical figures, or, more rarely, specifically named individuals, the arms of the Congo provide an extremely unusual example of two supporters issuing from behind the shield. While such single supporters are generally eagles with one or two heads, there are examples, including the cathedra in the case of some Canadian cathedrals. At the other extreme and even rarer, the Scottish chief Dundas of that Ilk had three supporters, two red lions and the whole supported by a salamander. The coat of arms of Iceland even has four supporters, an example of whales non-rampant is the arms of the Dutch municipality of Zaanstad. However, medieval Scottish seals afford numerous examples in which the 13th and 14th century shields were placed between two creatures resembling lizards or dragons, further, on his retirement from office as Chief Herald, Robert Watt was granted supporters as an honour. Trees and other objects which are sometimes used are called Soutiens. Knights Grand Companion and Principal Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit are granted the use of heraldic supporters, originally, in England, supporters were regarded as little more than mere decorative and artistic appendages. In the United Kingdom, supporters are typically an example of royal favour. Hereditary supporters are normally limited to hereditary peers, certain members of the Royal Family, knights banneret were also granted non-hereditary supporters, but no such knight has been created since the time of Charles I. Tom Brown was so knighted by George II at the Battle of Dettingen, supporters may also be granted to corporations which have a royal charter
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