CHAPTER VII.
Crests, Supporters, Badges, etc.
| (Gilderedge. | Bourchier. | Exmew.) |
Hitherto our attention has been principally directed to the escocheon and its charges. It now remains to treat of those heraldric ornaments which surround the shield, as crests, helmets, wreaths, mantlings, supporters, scrolls, mottoes, and badges: and first, of crests, and their accompaniments.
Every one must have remarked that when the heraldric insignia of a family are represented in full, the shield or escocheon is surmounted with a helmet, the antient covering for the warrior’s head. These helmets are drawn according to certain fixed rules. Although their general shapes are as various and fanciful as those of shields, their positions, &c. are regulated by the rank of the bearers: for instance, the sovereign’s helmet is of gold, full faced, and open, with six bars; that of dukes is of steel, placed a little in profile, and defended with five gold bars; that of baronets and knights is of steel, full-faced, the visor up, and without bars; and that of esquires and gentlemen is also of steel with the visor down, ornamented with gold, and placed in profile. According to some authors, the helmets of bastards should be turned to the sinister or left side, to denote their illegitimacy.[166]
Upon the top of the helmet is the wreath, which was originally a kind of chaplet surrounding the warrior’s head. It was composed of two bands, or skeins of silk twisted together and tinctured of the principal metal and colour of the arms. The wreath is used in the majority of bearings, but occasionally a ducal coronet or a chapeau occurs instead.[167] From this ornament, whether wreath, chapeau, or coronet, rises the Crest.
The word crest appears to be derived from the Latin crista, the comb or tuft which grows upon the heads of many species of birds. The idea, as well as the name, was doubtless borrowed from this source. The crest was sometimes called a COGNIZANCE from cognosco, because by its means the wearer was known or distinguished on the field of battle.
Crests were originally worn by military commanders upon the apices of their helmets as the proud distinction of their rank; and, by adding to their apparent stature, served to give them a formidable aspect. They also enabled their soldiers to rally round their persons, and to follow their movements in the confusion of the battle. The tall plumes of birds, human heads, and figures of animals in a rampant posture, seem to have been among the earliest devices made use of.