Breakaway Destination Guides (International)

Heraldry abounds in England, beautifying cathedrals and churches, monuments of the famous and of country squires. Coats of arms are found on county boundary signs, on ambulances, dustcarts and even policemen's helmets.

While visiting the great houses of noble families, you will find yourself surrounded by colorful displays of shields with genealogical pictures of coats of arms. Badges associated with the family history, carved or painted coats of arms set over house entrances, on gilded gates, displayed in windows, on ironwork, on family trees and in stone. On the iron backs in fireplaces, china and furniture, and woven into curtains and carpets.

Heraldry is also found abundantly throughout Europe. When abroad, you will find displays of coats of arms on shields and banners everywhere. Heraldry appears in the streets and on motorcycles and motorcyclists' gear in Switzerland, on flags and banners in France, Italy, Portugal and Spain.

In England, Wales and most of the Commonwealth The College of Arms in London is responsible for issuing new coats of arms and recording entitlement to older heraldic insignia by registration of genealogical descent. In Scotland, the Office of the Lord Lyon is the responsible authority. Ireland has an Office of Chief Herald who is responsible for the registration of Arms. Canada has its own authority, and throughout Europe and America there are official and recognized private registries of heraldic emblems. Spain retains a college of chroniclers who are responsible for state registration of coats of arms. Trying to discover whether a coat of arms may belong to a particular person and the entitlement of the family to its use on stationery or signet rings is a highly complex matter.

Within the changes of British family history it's as easy to fall from duke to laborer as it is to climb the social ladder. It is all a question of ancestry, of knowing your family tree and genealogy back to its roots. Once you have established your entitlement to bear a coat of arms, you may show your ancestral or new coat of arms on letterheads, in stained glass, on an heraldic flag or banner that can be flown from your house, even on a small flag from your car aerial! You can display your lineage and genealogy through the medieval symbolism of ancestry, the 'coat of arms'. Your heraldic insignia or badge can adorn your pedigree, luggage, car, personal possessions and gifts within the family.

The word “Heraldry” is derived from the German “heer” -- a host, an army -- and “held” -- a champion.

The Order of the Royal Honor

Armorial Gold History of Heraldry

The oldest documented example of a coat of arms borne on a shield is where King Henry I of England is said to have bestowed on his son-in-law, Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou, in 1127

Regardless of their origins, coats of arms became military status symbols, and their popularity increased along with the popularity of the tournament, which was developed in the mid-eleventh century in France. Some knights made their living roaming from tournament to tournament. William the Marshal and Roger de Gaugi were two such enterprising men, not only excelling at tournaments but extorting ransoms from the families of knights they captured.

Whenever a new Knight appeared at a Tournament, the herald sounded the trumpet, and as the competitors attended with closed visors, it was the herald' duty to explain the bearing of the shield or coat-armour belonging to each. This knowledge of the various devices and symbols was called Heraldry, and as the announcement was accompanied with the sound of a trumpet, it was termed “blazoning the arms.”

The earliest coats of arms were fairly simple - bars or wavy lines, a lion rampant or an eagle displayed, or an arrangement of fleurs-de-lis. The designs became more complex as the years passed, and the practice of quartering (incorporating the arms of other families acquired through marriages) developed.

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