The Origins of Heraldry/Coats of Arms

Heraldry may be defined as the" the art of blazoning, assiging, and marshalling coat armour", or more particularly" the art of arranging and explaining in proper terms all that relates or appertains to the bearing of Arms, Crests, Badges, Quarterings, and other hereditary marks of honor."

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According to Burkes General Armory the origin of badges and emblems may certainly be traced to the earliest times, and the enthusiasm of some of the primitive writers on the subject has led them to gravely assert the even Noah and Japhet had distinctive armorial bearings! But while it may be admitted that in the ancient world warlike nations bore on their shields and standards distinguishing devices, it is not clear that our Heraldry can be traced to a more remote period that the twelth, or furthest, the eleventh century.

Single Coat of Arms

The most ancient Coat of Arms was found by Pere Menestrier in the Church of St. Emeran, at Ratisbon a monumental effigy of the Count of Wasserburg bearing his ensigns and dated 1010.

According to Sir John Ferne the science of Heraldry was borrowed from the Egyptians. Sir George Mackenzie ascribes it to the age of Chaulemagne, and says that it began and grew with the feudal laws, but took its origin, perhaps, in the time of Jacob, who, blessing his sons, gave them marks of distinction, which the twelve tribes afterwards bore on their ensigns.

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There are also those who believe that Hereldry started in England in 1200. And those who believe that its birth may be found amoung the archives of the Holy Wars and matured during the chivalrous age of Feudalism.

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The earliest Heraldic document that has been handed down to us is a Roll Of Arms, made between the year 1240 and 1245. It includes the names and arms of the Barons and Knights of the Reign of Henry III.This important document along with three others offer a contemporary testimony of the exact bearings of the ancestors of some of our most distinguished families.

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With the decline of chivalry the study of Heraldry was neglected, but a taste for the study of antiquities has gradually revived the use of Heraldry as a key to history and biography.

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