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The age of knights, chivalry, and grand kingdoms holds an undeniable allure, and heraldry stands as the perfect embodiment of this era. Almost everyone has a fleeting curiosity about heraldry. Who hasn’t searched for their “family crest” online at least once?
While we recognize that knights bore coats of arms on the battlefield to identify themselves in full armor, our knowledge often ends there. For example, few understand how a father and son from the same lineage were differentiated in combat, or how a nobleman was distinguished from his illegitimate offspring.
Heraldry has thrived for centuries. As social hierarchy and lineage gained significance, it evolved into a structured discipline, complete with guidelines for designing and modifying coats of arms.
In this article, we present 10 intriguing and lesser-known facts about the fascinating world of heraldry.
10. The Origins of Heraldry
Despite becoming a hallmark of medieval nobility, the origins of heraldry remain largely enigmatic. The Bayeux Tapestry depicts knights with symbols resembling heraldry, yet these symbols vary across different scenes.
It took a hundred years for knights to begin adorning their shields with 'charges' (symbols) tied to their families. Richard the Lionheart, the first English monarch to adopt heraldry, featured a lion rampant (standing upright) on his shield.
However, it is also believed that he adopted the star and crescent as his personal emblem. This indicates that even by the late 13th century, individuals did not yet associate a single symbol exclusively with their family lineage.
The earliest instance of inherited heraldic arms involves Geoffrey Plantagenet and William Longespee. In 1127–28, Henry I presented Geoffrey with a blue shield adorned with golden lions upon knighting him. After Geoffrey's death, his heir, William Longespee (Longsword), adopted the symbol, as evidenced by his tomb depiction in 1226, where he bears the same shield. Thus, he inherited the emblem from his father.
Both men were part of the royal family and utilized lions in various forms and arrangements as their personal symbols. The modern royal arms of England, featuring three lions passant (walking), first appeared on Richard the Lionheart’s royal seal in 1198 and have been included in every royal seal since.
Over time, the royal family unified around the three lions, which became a symbol representing both their dynasty and the nation of England.
9. The Roll of Arms
As heraldry evolved into a more structured practice, the necessity to document and catalog coats of arms increased. A roll of arms, a type of manuscript, detailed and illustrated the emblems of knights, growing in length and prevalence throughout the Middle Ages.
The earliest surviving English example is Glover’s Roll from the 1250s, showcasing 55 coats of arms. The oldest French roll, The Bigot Roll, created in 1254, includes 300 coats of arms.
By this period, heraldry had not only matured but also become deeply rooted in Western Europe. The practice of documenting it expanded quickly. By 1285 in England, three manuscripts (The Heralds’ Roll, St. George’s Roll, and Charles’s Roll) collectively recorded over 1,500 coats of arms.
Although the College of Arms in England has maintained rolls of arms since the late 13th century, most were created locally by hired scribes or to document participants in tournaments or battles. Nearly all these arms adhere to the principles of heraldic design, especially the rule of tinctures.
8. The Rule of Tinctures
During the medieval period, heraldry's main function was to enable easy identification on the battlefield. To maintain clarity and visibility even from afar, coats of arms had to adhere to the rule of tinctures, an old term for colors.
The fundamental heraldic tinctures include: red (gules), blue (azure), green (vert), black (sable), purple (purpure), gold (or), and silver (argent). Gold and silver—depicted as yellow and white—are classified as 'metals,' while the others are referred to as 'colors.'
The rule of tinctures dictates that a metal cannot be placed on another metal, nor can a color be placed on another color. For instance, a coat of arms could not feature a blue lion on a black background or a yellow lion on a white background.
The rule of tinctures was enforced more rigorously in certain countries—and by specific heralds—than others. It was acceptable for a metal or color to partially overlap with another. For example, the coat of arms of William Marshal, one of the most renowned medieval knights, nearly violates this rule by featuring a red lion on a yellow-and-green background.
7. Degradation of Arms
Numerous myths exist about how coats of arms were marked to signify traitors, such as using specific colors (often dark red or orange) or adding particular symbols. However, these claims are almost certainly false. The earliest references date back to the 1500s, during heraldry's decline, and no contemporary examples of such practices exist.
Nevertheless, arms could be dishonored through abatement, the act of displaying them upside down. The town of Castello Rodrigo in Portugal is the sole known instance of a coat of arms featuring an abatement, displaying the reversed coat of arms of Portugal.
During the civil war of 1383–85, the town refused to open its gates to one of the Portuguese claimants to the throne. As a consequence of their disloyalty, they were punished by being granted an abated coat of arms after the war.
Abatement was typically applied to individuals. For instance, when Hugh Despenser the Younger was executed for treason in the 1300s, he was forced to wear a tabard displaying his coat of arms upside down on his way to the gallows. This practice became widespread in medieval England.
6. Lozenges for Women
The heraldic tradition remains quite conservative even today. Certain heraldic customs dictate that unmarried women from noble families display their family’s arms on a diamond or 'lozenge' shape rather than a shield, as the shield was viewed as a martial and masculine symbol by some.
Although many heraldic traditions have abandoned this custom, the British royal family still upholds it. When Kate Middleton was granted her personal coat of arms just before her wedding to Prince William, it was designed in an intricate lozenge shape. Other royal women, such as Princess Anne, also continue to display their arms on a lozenge.
5. Marriage and Impalement
In British heraldry, when a man and woman, both possessing their own arms, get married, their coats of arms are 'impaled' together on the woman’s shield, allowing her to display her arms in this manner.
Impalement involves combining both coats of arms into a single symbol. Typically, the man’s arms are placed on the left side of the shield, while the woman’s arms are positioned on the right.
For instance, after Meghan Markle’s marriage, her coat of arms was impaled with Prince Harry’s. However, if the woman is an heiress, her arms are displayed on a smaller shield (known as an escutcheon of pretence) at the center of her husband’s coat of arms.
In most other heraldic traditions, the arms of a married couple are displayed side by side, often with the corners of their shields touching. Any charges (such as animals or mythical creatures) on the shields are positioned to face each other.
4. Cadency Marks
The medieval battlefield was often chaotic and confusing, especially when multiple members of the same noble family were present. In such scenarios or during tournaments, it became essential to differentiate between family members by making slight modifications to their coats of arms.
Traditionally, this distinction was achieved by adding a 'label,' a small band with rectangular extensions, to an individual’s coat of arms. These additions were referred to as cadency marks or difference marks.
The British royal family has employed the same cadency mark system for centuries. Only the monarch can bear the true arms. The heir apparent uses the arms with a plain white label, while subsequent heirs display a white label adorned with small charges, increasing in number for those further down the line of succession.
However, the specific charge used is not fixed. For instance, Harry and William feature red scallops on their cadency marks, a symbol derived from the Spencer family arms, their mother’s lineage.
3. Corporate Coats of Arms
Coats of arms are not limited to families; they are also accessible to groups and organizations and have been for centuries. Many prestigious guilds in medieval times were granted their own arms. Today, numerous companies possess them, though they often choose not to display them.
For instance, Tesco in the UK owns a coat of arms but seldom showcases it. In contrast, the Hudson’s Bay Company is far more inclined to display its arms publicly.
According to the College of Arms website, an organization can commission an official coat of arms for approximately £16,000 on average. However, they are sometimes awarded for free to organizations engaged in charity work or other socially beneficial endeavors.
Interestingly, individuals can also apply for a coat of arms at a cost of £6,400, provided they have achieved enough to be deemed worthy of one.
2. Disputing Coats of Arms
Given the long history and nature of heraldry, it’s unsurprising that a formal process exists for disputing the ownership of arms. This method has been utilized for centuries, though the most recent case occurred in the 1950s.
When two or more parties contest the ownership of arms, they can bring the case to the High Court of Chivalry. The court evaluates each side’s evidence to determine who has the strongest claim. (Typically, the party with the oldest claim is favored.)
The High Court of Chivalry dates back to the 1300s. However, it is seldom used today, with only one permanent judge—the Duke of Norfolk.
In the past 200 years, the Court has convened only once, in the 1950s. At that time, it had to confirm its own existence before proceeding with the trial. Nevertheless, if you reside in England and believe you are the rightful owner of a coat of arms, there is an official body to which you can present your claim!
1. Illegitimacy Marks
What about illegitimate children who were not entitled to inherit the family title? Despite their status, they were still part of a noble family and retained the right to bear their family’s arms. However, since they were not considered legitimate heirs, they had to use distinct marks to differentiate themselves from the primary heirs.
The most widely used symbol for illegitimate heirs was the bend sinister—a diagonal stripe running from the top right to the bottom left of the shield. It’s important to clarify that these marks were not intended as symbols of shame or punishment but rather as identifiers for different family members, both on and off the battlefield.
Illegitimate children were also permitted to create their own personal coats of arms, provided they were distinct enough to avoid confusion with their family’s arms. Many embraced this opportunity enthusiastically.
