Herald :: Essays Papers

Herald The early on Middle Ages were when Heraldry began. Knights needed a way to identify each other. The horrible families developed different patterns and symbols that they would paint on their shields. These symbols served the purpose of representing their families and excessively, establishing who the enemy was and who the associate was in a battle. They termed these shields, coats of ordnance. Any family could have a coat of arms but for them to be considered official, they had to be recognized by The College of Arms. The College was where heralds trained to contract and write and memorize the existing coats of arms. therefore they were able to identify the enemies and the ally if needed to do so. A coat of arms, or blazon of arms, as they were some whiles called consisted of several parts. These components were the shield, the c perch, the helm, the wreath and the mantle. The shield contained the symbols and their food colors. The crest is what goes on evanesce of the helmet. The helm or helmet varied in accordance with the rank of the knight, the time period, or the heralds preference. The wreath consisted of the metal and the primary color. And the design of the mantle also varied with the heralds preference. The heralds used a variety of colors like gold, silver, red, blue, leafy vegetable and black on the shields. But the colors were not there for decoration. They symbolized precise meanings. For example, silver stood for peace and sincerity, whereas black stood for consistency and grief. Red was considered to be the martyrs color and blue meant truth and loyalty. But along with the colors were objects or authentic symbols that represented certain meanings. at that place were many more symbols than there were colors. There was a symbol starting with most of the letters of the alphabet. The meanings of the different symbols were nonetheless more specific than those of the colors. For example, a hawk st ood for one who does not rest until he achieves his objective. Another symbol was a battle-axe, which stood for the execution of military duty. There were probably almost a hundred, if not more, of these symbols used.