At the present day, except in the case of ceremonial dress such as the tabards of heralds, the only survivals are the crest and shield. The devices on the latter are now called a coat of arms, as in olden times they were, as already indicated, merely a repetition of those actually worn on the dress or coat armour.
Let us compare for a moment the first two figures which illustrate this chapter. In the first (see Figure [83]) we have a tiny device engraved on a ring that is worn on the little finger of the left hand. In the second (see Figure [84]) we have Sir Geoffrey Loutterell mounted on his charger in the act of receiving his helmet and shield from some of the ladies belonging to his family. All of the figures and the horse are decorated with armorial bearings. We wonder whether there could be a greater contrast. The knight has what is really his surcoat on his back displaying six martlets with a bend between them. The charges are repeated on a small square shield on his shoulder called an ailette, which was used apparently more as an ornament than as a protection, though it is said that ailettes were originally intended as a defence for the neck. Sir Geoffrey holds his helmet, on which, in the place of the crest, we again see his armorial bearings. They appear again on the pavon or small flag held by one of the ladies, and on the shield which the other carries. We find the same devices repeated five times on the trappings of his charger; and as if this were not enough, the ladies also have the bearings on their dresses. In the case of Lady Loutterell, who was the daughter of Sir Richard Sutton, there is shown also the lion rampant borne by her father.
Fig. 83.—The crest on a modern signet ring.
Fig. 84.—Sir Geoffrey Loutterell and the ladies of his family, showing the extent to which armorial bearings were worn in the middle of the fourteenth century. From a psalter, made for Sir Geoffrey (after Fairholt).
We give another illustration taken from the effigy of Henry, the first Duke of Lancaster, on a brass at Elsyng, in Norfolk. (See Figure [85].) On this figure the surcoat is very well shown, and on it are emblazoned the three lions (or leopards) of the Royal Arms of England. It is interesting, too, owing to the label which differences the arms and shows that the wearer was not the king himself. The label takes the form of three vertical bars joined by a horizontal one, and is like that which may be seen to-day on the Prince of Wales’s banner in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor. In this illustration, too (Figure [85]), the crest is very well shown.