by dhwriting

Created on: January 04, 2009

Coats of Arms and Heraldry

In heraldry, the official symbols of a family, a state or another grouping of people are known as coats of arms. Blazons such as coats of arms are highly stylized graphic representations that often are quite striking in appearance. The reason for this, and the reason for their existence, is that they utilize imagery rather than words in order to convey their meaning.

The use of arms as heraldic symbolic devices began in Europe during the early Middle Ages - the colorful and often bloody feudal period. With its lords, nobles, knights, battles and tournaments, feudalism was the perfect environment for the development of heraldry, and it flourished during that era. In those bygone times, hardly anyone other than priests and monks could read or write, and pictures and symbolic images were crucial to effective communication. Heraldic blazons and other armorial devices and emblems filled the desperate need of feudal lords and knights to quickly identify themselves, their property and their men-at-arms.

Medieval knights used their heraldic coats of arms and crests to quickly and easily identify themselves during tournaments and battles. For example, a knight typically wore a cloth surcoat or tunic - decorated with his coat of arms - on top of his armor. And his shield, helmet and pennant or banner were painted with pictures that were derived from the same coat of arms, such as his heraldic crest. These images were highly visible and recognizable to everyone, and a knight's or lord's particular coat of arms quickly became inextricably linked to him and, over time, to his family as well.

Various types of heraldic coats of arms exist in addition to family arms. Towns, cities, provinces, regions and states, Roman Catholic Popes and the Anglican Church, fraternities, sororities and other fraternal societies and organizations, military regiments, battalions and other units, trade guilds and professional societies, and colleges and universities frequently have their own coat of arms or some other armorial bearing.

Very specific symbolic devices, colors and patterns are used to create a heraldic coat of arms. Each of the design components meaning the images, the colors and the ways that they are combined - tells a part of the story of the family or organization that the coat of arms belongs to. The meaning of a civic, national, military or organizational coat-of-arms is often easy to ascertain. But deciphering the meaning of a family coat of arms is sometimes much more difficult. Many personal heraldic arms were granted to the original bearer many hundreds of years ago, and the characteristics and deeds of the owner that the arms were based on have simply been lost in time.

The use or display of a heraldic coat of arms is sometimes governed by the laws of the originating country. In those countries which regulate their use, a coat of arms is the legal property of its owner, and only certain individuals the owners and sometimes their relatives, or the organization and sometimes its individual members - are entitled to use or display a specific coat of arms. But in many other countries, coats of arms can be displayed by anyone. And because these armorial devices are both beautiful and highly decorative, they often are displayed, as symbols of pride and as purely decorative pieces.

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