Heraldry .. "a shorthand of history" - part 3/4

Dear Mr Postman .. thank you for delivering the 3rd part of our heraldic story .. my mother and I love talking about these historical facts .. especially as they stretch so far back in time and we did laugh about the early concept of advertising!!.. it will be wonderful to have some more of these jigsaw pieces put into place .. the colours, background reasons etc ..

As we saw in yesterday's post the "plain coat" was held by the eldest member of the dynasty, the eldest son inherited the estate, the second and third traditionally went into the Church and the Army ... however the fourth son had no well-defined place and had to earn his own. To differentiate these heirs, their personal shields had cadences (marks) on them.

Prior to the 11th century (1200s) most inhabitants were unable to read or write, including the nobility, so the use of pictorial designs was essential in establishing rights .. the first came from the star shapes in the skies, the sun, moon, deities; animal mascots - lions, leopards, eagles; reptiles and invertebrates - serpents, lizards, and dragons .. botanical symbols - wheat, the turnip, oak tree, the rose - symbolising their importance to society; then there were also a few inanimate objects - towers, volcanoes, a mount (green hilltop) and the Cross.

Richard the Lionheart was the first to use three golden lions on his scarlet shield .. he was also first used the English motto : "Dieu et mon Droit" (God and my Right) - Richard spoke French and a great many of heraldic terms come from the French or Latin.

The rule of tincture is the most important convention of heraldry .. and provides for contrast and visibility. The names used in English blazon for the colours and metals came mainly from the French: Or (gold), Argent (white), Azure (blue), Gules (red), Sable (black), Sinople (vert in French – green) and Pourpre (purple).

Metals being the most important of the tinctures – gold and silver; the colours encompass blue, red, black, green, purple .. while gold and silver become yellow and white; then the third component is the ‘furs’ – the patterns – representing the white winter fur coat of the stoat and the blue-gray of the Vair (a kind of squirrel) – which is simultaneously a two-coloured filed treatment.

So now we've a little more detail to go on .. we can see how the coat of arms developed over history and actually put our garden of history together tomorrow with its rules, colours, patterns, hatchings, fields, quarterings etc .. quite a story ..

Dear Mr Postman .. it's such an interesting history - we forget that 1,000 years ago most people couldn't read or write .. we've come such a long way in so little historical time .. it'll be really interesting to have the pieces put together tomorrow .. many thanks ..

Hilary Melton-Butcher

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