Coat of Arms dating back to the early centuries when this was a method of identifying a family or clan. The practice of family coat of arms being engraved on a ring or embroidered on a banner was not exclusive to nobility or the gentry.
Knights on the battlefield and one with financial clout would deem it his right to don a family crest ring or a shield ring. A family crest ring with an engraved Coat of Arms can be used to seal letters and important documents.
To carry out this process, you simply melt some sealing wax onto the back of an envelopeor certificate, wait a few moments and the press the Coat of Arms ring directly into the wax. Wait a few moments, remove the ring and if done correctly you should be left with your crisp famil seal. The wax can be bought in a variety of colours, but the most popular colour is blood red.
Heraldic coats-of-arms are symbolic, highly stylized graphic representations that either relates to a specific individual or family name (and sometimes the individual’s deeds or the family history) or to an organization of some type.
Types of Coats of Arms
There are various types of heraldic coats-of-arms, including civic (representing a town or city, or perhaps a province or region), ecclesiastical (such as the coats-of-arms of various Roman Catholic Popes or the Anglican Church), family (representing individual specific families), fraternal (representing fraternities, sororities and fraternal organizations), military (representing a regiment, battalion or other military unit), national (representing a country), organizational (such as coats-of-arms representing trade guilds or professional societies), and scholastic (representing specific colleges and universities).
Use or display of a heraldic coat-of-arms is frequently, although not always, governed by law. In those countries which regulate their use, a coat-of-arms is legal property, and only certain individuals – the owners and sometimes their relatives – are entitled to use or display a specific coat-of-arms.
Heraldic coats-of-arms originated in the early middle Ages, coming into full use during the feudal period. Medieval knights used their coats-of-arms to quickly and easily identify themselves to friends and foes during tournaments and battles. For example, a cloth surcoat or tunic decorated with his coat-of-arms was worn over
a knight’s armour. And his shield, helmet and pennant or banner was also painted with design elements of the coat-of-arms. A similar system – but with different design elements – evolved and came into use in feudal Japan. Typically, very specific symbolic devices, colors and patterns are combined to create a heraldic coat-of-arms, and each of these components tells a part of the story of the person, family or organization that the coat-of-arms belongs to. The meaning of a civic, national, military or organizational coat-of-arms is often easy to ascertain.
It is, however, sometimes very difficult to accurately decipher the symbolism on a personal, family coat-of-arms. Many personal heraldic coats-of-arms were granted to the bearer many hundreds of years ago, and the characteristics and deeds of the bearer that the arms were based on are no longer known.
Even when the symbolism is undecipherable, however, heraldic coats-of-arms are both beautiful and highly decorative. They can install pride among family members or the members of an organization, and they link
us to a more noble time.