History of Heraldry,
Coat of Arms, Crests, Seals,
and Surnames
Determing the origin and history of Coat of Arms is not a simple task.
We can rule out the
tales, such as the claim of the first mention of Coat of Arms being in
the imaginative poem
of Cretien de Troyes in 1170. Cretien was the weaver of the legends
of Lancelot, Percival,
Charlemagne, and Roland of the Marches, who would later embellish the romance
of King
Arthur by Mallory, Morte
d' Arthur.
Cretien was not an authority on history. He had a
different reason for his writing. It was to save the 'fair' sex from
the ravages of the not so
chivalrous knights of his time.
Here our focus in on the historic development of Coat of Arms, a confusing
subject with the
often highly emotionally charged convictions of yesteryear, of the wannabees,
and of the
traditionalists who recreate history to suit their particular convictions.
Where and when did the use of Coats of Arms originate?
History has traditionally assumed this time to be 1066 and by the ancient
Court of Chivalry
about 1285.
The rightful grant of a Coat of Arms could only be executed by the reigning
English Monarch,
beginning with Duke William of Normandy (William "the Conqueror").
This would nullify any
heritable rights of European families before the Norman Conquest of 1066.
The objective of
this ancient regulatory body was to guarantee that each Coat of Arms must
be different for
branches of the same family. Only one person could claim those Arms,
inherited by terms of
primogeniture (oldest son inherits).
This practice had noble and far reaching objectives, but it was not very
practical. Until the
year 1530, few people had been granted their Coat of Arms by any official
body or monarch.
90% of the existing Arms of the time had been assumed by individuals as
an heritable right
without question.
Coat of Arms, as we know them today, has been acknoweledged to be a Norman
invention.
Wealth, title, domain, government and crown for almost 300 years after
the conquest was
in the hands of Normans or their successors, this despite the claims
of Scottish Highland
Chiefs, or the so-called bearded Irish savages. Whether Arms were
invented before or after
the Norman Conquest has been a debatable point.
There seems to be a practical connection between seals and heraldry --
seals of the legal
variety. It was a Norman custom for the Lord to read his charters
at the gates of his castle,
publicly proving and enforcing his rights to his title and lands, claiming
allegiance, homage,
and loyalty from all in his kingdom. These charters were impressed
with the Lord's private
seal, and endorsed by granting parties or witnesses, possibly even the
monarch's seal.
With the Norman influence in Europe in the mid 11th century being as it
was, the standard
practice or custom of formally reading the charter over the domain came
to be in all the
lands of the Normans. Since "seals" have an heraldic significance,
there seems to be
strong evidence of a connection between seals and heraldic arms.
When the monarchy changed, it was your only proof of previous grants (or
attainders) and
sometimes proved a history of family allegiances, depending on who was
then in power.
Perhaps the seals were kept in monasteries with the rest of their valuables.
In 1215, King
John kept all his crown jewels in a monastery when under duress at the
time of the Magna
Carta. Evidentially, in 1154, it was reported with some disgust by
the Justicair of all
England, Robert de Lucy, that 'every little knight' had his own seal.
The proliferation even
by that time was way out of control.
The craft of seal making was obviously not learned
overnight, and craftsmen were
probably licensed. This legal identification tag, imprinting a traditional
sealing wax over
a tassel attached to a deed, charter or contract had to be quite unique
and distinctive to
its owner. It had to prove singular royal or baronial rights to grants
of estates, titles, and
positions, and was the evidential basis of all legal transactions.
This had been so, at
least since the Conquest.
The signet seal was not an overnight phenomena of the times. By the
end of the 13th
century, legal transactions to entitlement had emerged over centuries of
usage. A simple
"X" for identity was inadequate. An individual identity was created
as a Coat of Arms or
crest with which the seal sometimes bore great resemblance. Similarly,
forgery of 'seals'
was a big problem. Many complex devices were introduced to protect
the integrity of the
owner's rights and his unique identity.
It is claimed in English history that King Edward the Confessor invented
the "seal"
somewhere around 1050. It is certain that Duke William held a seal
before his conquest
of England. It is claimed the court of Charlemagne (crowned HRE 800
AD) used seals.
Even Coat of Arms have been mentioned in Norman history prior to the Conquest.
The crest was probably the earliest known heraldic device in history.
It was symbolic
regalia worn on the head and cloaking the arms of tribal chieftains in
central Europe as
adornment in ritualistic parades of power, frequently illustrating the
ferocity and
fearlessness of the clan. Many icon crests depicted fierce animals
or birds with mouths
and claws which dripped with the blood of their victims.
Norman sons were not allowed to use the surname
of the father during his lifetime. This
made adoptive surnames a requirement, and most often they assumed the name
of
their chief domain. As per typical practice, the eldest son would
eventually succeed to
the father's surname, and rarely did the younger sons. Younger sons
could use the name
Fitz, as in, John FitzGerald, Gerald being the father's font name.
Most younger sons
adopted their domain name, but this again was not passed on to all their
sons, only the
eldest.
The official claim contends that Coat of Arms did not exist in history
before Hastings and
is based on the Bayeux Tapestry, a pictorial tapestry of events before,
during and after
the Conquest, produced by women under the direction of Bishop Odo, the
King's half
brother. This thought is re-enforced by the fact that many knight's
shields woven into the
tapestry did not show properly devised Coat of Arms. A logical explanation
here would
be that these ladies probably didn't even know the particular Arms of any
given knight
with any consistency or accuracy. The ladies were not exactly authorities
on heraldry!
It can easily be concluded that, with the
small exception of the countries noted above,
that before 1530, (but probably more like 1650, depending on the slow progress
of the
visitations) it was the practice of families, not only in England but also
on the continent
of Europe, to declare their own Arms without an official grant. As
a result, duplications
could not be avoided, and this obviously happened. Appeals were made
to the Court of
Chivalry when duplications became known and were challenged. On the
continent, it
seems nobody bothered. The popular black eagle displayed on white
or silver appears
to be claimed at various times in history by at least 60 families.
Conclusion
Did Coat of Arms exist pre-Norman Conquest?
Were they actually an Italian (Norman)
invention? Perhaps even Roman. Were the existing records of
assumed or granted
Arms complete, or were they representative of claimants? For instance,
in the British
Museum in London there exists well over 20,000 manuscripts, records of
the Heralds
visitations of the 16th and 17th centuries. Some have a complete
genealogy, dating as
far back as the Conquest. Others a sketch of the claimed and allowed
Coat of Arms.
These were the authorities for grant of Coat of Arms to the claimants.
There is, however, in Coat of Arms, an element of commercialism.
There has been for
centuries. There is even an element of commercialism amongst many
'official' agencies
purporting to grant Arms. There is always what is known in the trade as
"Bucketshop
Heraldry" merchants, people are usually of unsophisticated knowledge, having
a few
basic books, and a reasonaable ability to interpret heraldic language.
Using one of these
agencies, you might or might nor get a shield related to your name.
Arthurian
Heraldry
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Sites
from which this Page was Developed,
and
Good Research Sources
Heraldry and Heraldic Design
Heraldry on the Internet,
Coats of Arms, Family Crests ...
Welcome to Heraldry on the
Internet. This site is designed to help you conduct heraldry ...
Description: Heraldic research on the Internet. Related topics: heraldic
research, charges,
dictionary of heraldry,...
The British Heraldic Archive...
sponsored by Heraldic Media Limited, contain a collection
of articles on heraldry and related subjects. These articles are intended
to be informative ...
Description: A collection of articles on heraldry and related subjects.
Tempus Peregrinator's
Little Heraldry Book Welcome to
Tempus Peregrinator's Little
Heraldry Book -- a guide for heraldic design
Beginner's
Heraldry Page ... Heraldry
began in the early Middle Ages of Europe to help
the knights and foot soldiers identify each other during a battle.
Since all of the knights
wore shiny armor ...
The
Heraldry & Coat of Arms Web Ring The
Heraldry and Coat of Arms Web Ring. ... If you
like heraldry this Ring will bring you plenty of information, pleasure
and recreation. ...
CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA:
Ecclesiastical Heraldry ... Join
... Ecclesiastical Heraldry.
Ecclesiastical heraldry naturally divides itself into various ...
ARTHURIAN
HERALDRY.compiled by Modar Neznanich.
The Arthurian legends date back
into the Middle Ages. As such there has been many changes throughout
time. One ...
Arthurian
Coats of Arms One of the Knights of the Round Table...Son of
... Uterpendragon
and a knight of the Round Table. ... ARMS:..Azure (blue), a pale Or ...
Arthurian Heraldry
... a number of armories of the knights of the Round Table were compiled
from 1440 on ... are a total of 43 coats of arms attributed to knights
named and ...
Britannia Heraldry: Good tutorial of shield design.
HERALDIC PRACTICES: Coosing
a Name/Creating a Personna: Guide
to Heraldic
Design
Medieval
Web ... Heraldry. La connaisance
du blason est la clé de l'Histoire de la France."
-Gerard de Nerval. Arthurian Blasons. These are a collection of Arthurian
coats of arms ...
The Litlle Heraldry BookSCA
Heraldic SocietyCanada/ Links Heraldry & Coat of Arms
WebRing. ... Arthurian database
Cambridge
University Heraldic and Genealogical Society -- The ... "Arthurian
Heraldry", Michael Maclagan, Esq., Richmond Herald. ...
Coats of Arms - Designs of Wonder
Genealogy and Genealogical Resource Sites
FamilySearch Internet Genealogy
Service The search engine on this site covers not
only the 35 million names in the Ancestral file, and 285...
The Genealogy Home Page. ...
To see these Genealogy pages as one single file see the
merged Genealogy Home Page. ... sponsored by Family Tree Maker Online.
Cyndi's List of Genealogy Sites on
the Internet ... Leaf Genealogy in the Media (40)
News, Radio & Television Updated August 26, 2001 See also: ...
Helm's Genealogy Toolbox
- Providing the Tools to Research ... Genealogy Online For
Dummies, 3rd Edition Released On February 1, 2001, the latest edition of
Genealogy
Online For Dummies was released by Hungry Minds, Inc ... Features Journal
of Online
Genealogy, queries, software links, and links to over 50,000 genealogical...
JewishGen: The Home of Jewish Genealogy
Routes to Roots A Walk in
the Footsteps of Your Ancestors Tracing Jewish Roots in
Poland, Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus ...
Genealogical Research
at the National Archives ... The Genealogy Page. Updated
June 22, 2001. 1930 Federal Population Census (updated May 19, 2001). ...
Part 5:
Genealogy Workshops and Courses. ... This area features genealogical resources
available at the National Archives and Records Administration
Interactive
Genealogy: Searches in Familly History (2001) ... Popular Searches.
Enter
two family surnames to find pages listing both names. Enter complete
names, and
browse for genealogy links. ...
RootsWeb.com Home Page ...
Mailing Lists Index (Browse All Lists) ROOTS-L Mailing
List Surname List Finder Interactive Search Threaded ... Web Sites Web
Sites at
RootsWeb Web Sites on ... Genealogical resource with searchable databases,
family trees,
mailing lists, and message boards.
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