A Handbook of Pictorial History

by Henry W. Donald

It is not believed that the Normans at the Conquest bore any “arms” on their shields. There are certain markings shown on the shields in the Bayeux Tapestry, but they were probably bands and bosses used for the purpose of strengthening them.

As a system, heraldry was not organised until the twelfth or thirteenth century. It was probably introduced into England from France, as all the terms used in the practice are French.

The two great factors in the extensive and almost universal practice of heraldry were the tournaments and jousts, and the Crusades. All the sovereigns of Europe, and particularly the Kings of England, encouraged the former, because of the excellent practice in the use of arms and the rigorous training they gave.

Clothed, as the combatants were, in their armour, their features concealed within the heaumes or helmets, it became a necessity for them to bear some distinctive marks or devices, either as “crests” on their helmets or as armorial bearings or “arms” upon their shields, their surcoats, their pennons and banners.

The retainers of a knight followed their master, and rallied around him, recognising him by these features, and their battle cry became, in many cases, the family motto, and has so remained until this day.

At first the crest, which was of large size, was made of leather, but later on it was made of wood or steel. Originally the devices upon the shields were few and simple, and consisted of bands fastened to the shields in various positions (Figs. 1 to 18) to strengthen them. These were termed “honourable ordinaries.” When the surface of the shield was coloured, these bands would be coloured differently. As the custom of bearing these devices became more universal, and the number of knights increased, it became necessary to add many others and to modify and differentiate in many ways the existing ones. The simplest “arms” are consequently held to be the most honourable, as they imply greater antiquity. Many devices were granted and borne in recognition of feats of arms or of important duties performed, as, in later days, the Douglas family were privileged to bear on their shield a heart (later on surmounted by a crown), in commemoration of the fact that a Douglas had the honour of bearing the heart of Robert Bruce to the Holy Land. (Fig. 21.) Often, after the performance of a particularly heroic deed on the battlefield, knights were rewarded by being granted the right to wear some suitable commemorative device upon their shields. These had a similar significance to the V.C. or D.S.O. awarded nowadays, with the additional advantage that they were hereditary.

In the Crusades, which formed the other great factor in the growth and practice of heraldry, it became necessary to distinguish the knights of different nations from one another. The English wore a white cross on the right shoulder of their cloaks. Similarly the French wore a red one, the Flemings a green one, and the warriors from the Roman States two keys crossed as in a St. Andrew’s cross or Saltire.

As a special inducement to the warriors of the West, the Pope promised that any soldier, whatever his rank or station, who slew an infidel in battle, should be declared noble, and be at liberty to adopt any device he might choose as a memento of the part he had taken in the Wars of the Cross. Hence, many devices connected with the Holy Land and the Crusades were introduced into and remain in heraldry—e.g., the scalloped shell, the palmer’s staff, bezants (gold coins of Byzantium), water bougets (leathern water-bottles), crescents, stars, scimitars, Saracens’ heads, and the numerous forms of the cross. Probably from the same source came such mythical creatures as the dragon, the wyvern, and the cockatrice.

In time, the arms of knights became hereditary. A man, on the death of his father, received proudly his father’s sword and his shield, and appreciated the dignity of thus being associated with the honourable achievements of his parent.

Before this practice had become general, a young knight commenced his knightly career with a perfectly plain (argent) shield, and he achieved or won the right to bear devices upon it; hence the arms which were displayed on it were called his achievements. The whole surface of the shield was called “the field” because he performed his deeds, recorded on the shield, on the “field of battle.”