Heraldry: brief history and main principles

Since this subject is my field of professional competence, I wanted to introduce you to heraldry.
I hope to share with you some of my passion for this historical and complex art.
The terms I will use are all explained in the lexicon of the last chapter.

What is the heraldry ?

Heraldry is the codification of a writing placed in quotation marks (called a coat of arms), transforming into a drawing or pictorial figure (called a shield), using the heraldic code. By extension, these are rules that focus on the creation and use of the coat of arms, it is the science of the coat of arms. Its purpose is to clearly represent:

• Individuals ;
• Families ;
• Institutions ;
• Of places.

The term «heraldry» comes from the masculine name «herald». The heralds of arms were real professionals in the organization of war fights and tournaments, and also had the role of diplomats.

The first coat of arms in history

Contrary to popular opinion, historians recognize that the appearance of the coat of arms is not due to the crusades. This art does not come from the East nor from the «barbaric» civilization. The representations of the time do not show heraldic signs. The pre-heraldic shape of the pointed shield and its decorations is characteristic of the appearance of the first shields.
Heraldry was born around the year 1000 in the West of two simultaneous events :

• The transformation of feudal society;
• The evolution of military equipment.

The coat of arms did not appear until the Second Crusade. They met a simple need for identification. Indeed, partially or completely covered with a breastplate, the knight in armor was often unrecognizable!
The use of pre-heraldic iconographic attributes functioned as a sign of recognition. This concept also emerged in conjunction with surnames.
In the midst of reorganization, society helped people to position themselves in the entire social system. Groups were formed. From the end of the 12th century, the coat of arms, originally affiliated with individual emblems, became hereditary. This family transmission gave them their definitive essence.
The combatants wearing a helmet and unrecognizable in their cuirasses gradually took colors. Their shields displayed symbols as signs of recognition at the heart of the battles.
The first coat of arms was therefore made to be seen from afar. Thus were employed frank and contrasting hues, and strongly stylized figures. In the 12th and 13th centuries, the shield was represented alone or surrounded by the name of the individual in the field of the seal.

Josaphe drawing a cross on the shield, History of the Holy Grail, 14th century

Sorelois Tournament, 15th century

Seal of Isabella of Bavaria, Queen of France from 1371 to 1435. The diamond shield of France is in a quadrilobe filled with symbols of the evangelists

The evolution of the ecu through the ages

As people progress through civilization, the shield is influenced by art. It changes and is covered with ornaments.
Originally intended to preserve the hunter, it also served to publicize the beautiful actions that its holder could honor. These achievements were represented by painting and sculpture.
Of their origin, the coat of arms was also present on flags and seals. At the time, most writings were sealed. Any unsealed document was considered suspicious! Each Contracting Party and each witness is bound by its seal, symbol of its legal personality. Thus, the use of the coat of arms was extended to women.
An authentic heraldry of material life took place throughout the 13th and 14th centuries. The coat of arms appears as follows :

• Weapons ;
• Houses ;
• Furniture ;
• Decorative objects ;
• Change.

Subsequently, heralds of arms worked to turn these practices into rules. They copied the latter in collections used as reminders: the armorial.
The changes also concerned chivalry. In the fourteenth century, the flap planted at the top of the helmet lengthened and tore in favor of slashed patterns reminiscent of acanthus leaves. This is what we call lambrequins (or draped).
At the end of the 15th century, in Europe, there were more commoner coats of arms (including the trades constituted) than in the nobility.
It was not until the 15th century that heraldic art reached its perfection.
The most accurate depiction of blasonnement was made in the 14th century. The shield was placed in dextre and topped with a helmet or crown with a crest.
In the 17th century, Antwerp engravers developed a simple hatching system to code the seven heraldic colours. This period was synonymous with codification. The noble crowns replaced the helmet in stamp. We also forgot the crest and multiplied the supports: marks of dignity, necklaces of order and coat for the great characters.

Seal of Charles 6, King of France, 1368-1422. Ecus of France stamped with a draped helmet and summed with a crown with a large central lily, in a trefoil polylobe

"In sacra inque coronas" (in the sacred and crowns), Coat of arms granted in 1330 by Philip IV of Valois to the guild of goldsmiths.

François I offering his heart to Eleanor. Announcement of the marriage of Francis I with Eleanor of Austria, widow of the King of Portugal and sister of Charles V

Armorial Bellenville, Flanders publication in 1380. Antoine de Beaulaincourt, Lord of Bellenville (1499-1659), King of arms of the Golden Fleece. Page of the arms of Saxony and Flanders

Color codes for graphic arts

The influence of the Capetians on the coats of arms

In 1615, Louis XIII was brought to create the new office of judge of arms of France. This character, like the heralds of the Middle Ages, had to perform several tasks:

• Correct coats of arms contrary to the rules ;
• Judging differences in heraldry ;
• To deliver to those who asked, confirmations of coat of arms.

His work was often considerable. The commoners, the merchants and the bourgeois, used seals when they passed acts. These seals, often armored, were made by engravers. Throughout the old regime, people were already «taking up arms» (taking coats of arms) at will!
It was the famous Pierre de La Garde D'Hozier who was responsible for putting order and controlling this incredible multiplication of coats of arms. He will record this monumental work in a mythical work: L'armorial général de France (made over several generations).
In 1686, Louis XIV needed to feed the Treasury to continue his wars. He thus obliged all persons possessing coats of arms to register them against a tax paid to the State. All classes were concerned: nobles, commoners, as well as lay or religious communities.
But the Capetian did not stop there. In 1697 he ordered anyone worthy of a coat of arms to wear one. In doing so, of course, one had to pay a fee to the Royal Treasury! It was in Paris, a series of arms manufacturing… the era of talking arms.
The 18th century brought a certain romanticism to heraldry. The shield of capricious forms lay on dreamier landscapes. Plants, ponds, rivers and suns flourished with tenants and usurped use with the stamp of a noble crown.

The heraldry of Napoleon to the present day

The revolution temporarily ended the heraldic use. On the proposal of the viscount of Montmorency at the sitting of 19 June 1790, the constituent assembly decreed the removal of the coat of arms. At the same time it reshaped the entire feudal society:

• The nobility ;
• Securities ;
• Deliveries ;
• Banners ;
• Orders of chivalry ;
• Decorations ;
• And all the other signs of feudalism.

Napoleon re-established heraldry in 1808. However, its use was reserved for the imperial nobility.
The complications were such that the crowns became too heavy and the blasonnement unworkable. Where the coat of arms of the twelfth century generally contained only one or two figures, those of the eighteenth century sometimes had four, five, six or even more.
Did you know ? A family’s weapons were rarely immutable. They still tend to become more complicated with time, especially in the upper aristocracy.
In 1814, Louis XVIII re-established the use of heraldic law. Everyone, whether noble or commoner, natural or legal person, was again free to adopt and use the coat of arms of his choice. He could also make private use of it as he liked.
This principle still prevails in France today, as well as in most European countries. It was only in recent years that interest in the subject took off. The 20th century saw the revival of heraldry.
In 1937, the French Society of Heraldry and Sigillography was born. It was followed by the creation of the International Academy of Heraldry in 1949, a world-renowned scientific authority.

Heraldry of Napoleon, Elba

Seal of the Prince Elector Frederick Carolus. 18th century

Embossing on parchment. Seal of the General Staff of the National Guards of France

Lexicon

Acanthus : ornament imitating the leaf of the plant, used in engraving as decorations.
Weapons : these are emblems in color, specific to a family, a community or more rarely an individual. They are subject in their disposition and form to special rules which are those of the coat of arms.
Armorial : collection of coats of arms, in the form of the definition of the coat of arms and/ or pictorial representation of the shield and weapons in general.
Heraldic art : transcription of the coat of arms in all forms of art (painting, sculpture, engraving, etc.) and in all branches of decorative and industrial arts.
Coat of arms : written or oral technical description of the coat of arms. What are your weapons? From mouth to silver cross! (= de Savoie).
Chisel : cutting tool used by the engraver to cut into the material. More specifically according to its section, it is named nail, gouge or shop.
Cabron : wooden handle of rectangular section, covered with emery cloth, which the jeweler uses to erase and soften the scratches of the file, before polishing.
Crest : piece that is put above the timbre of the helmet surmounting the shield.
Shop : chisel which has the shape of a nail whose two faces are flat and the cutting edge cut by a third flat face which widens the tip of the chisel.
Stamping : metal part from direct stamping, also called sidewall.
Gouge : it is a shop whose third side is rounded.
Heraldry : a term derived from the lower Latin heraldus, herald. Heraldry is the science of studying the coat of arms. These can be defined as emblems in color, specific to an individual, a family or a community. Heraldry is considered a little-known science.
Herald : officer of the Office of Arms in the Middle Ages, whose functions included monitoring the use of the coat of arms and the composition of the new coats of arms.
Intaille : engraving on stone, on an agate called nicollo, when the upper layer of the stone is a different color from the lower layer. Examples: blue top and black background (blue nicollo), cream top and orange red background (red nicollo), white top and green background (green nicollo).
Lambrequins : strips of cloth cut down from the helmet and framing the shield.
Nobility : register of noble families of a country.
Nail : cheek chisel in the form of a more or less thick blade with both sides rounded.
Quadrilobe : Gothic ornament consisting of four lobes in pointed arches.
Sigillography : auxiliary science of history whose object is the study of seals.