Human beings need to distinguish ourselves from each other. In all cultures, individuals belong to a group and within it there are different family lineages. The graphic representation of a lineage is embodied in a blazon, that is, a shield in which emblems and other elements appear that serve to represent a region, a family or a locality.
Heraldry is the knowledge that studies coats of arms throughout history. It is an auxiliary discipline of history, such as archival, diplomatic, genealogy or vexillology.
Historical origin
In Roman civilization, families belonging to the nobility, the patricians, wore some type of emblem that was transmitted from father to son. Already in the Middle Ages, warriors who participated in medieval tournaments used to carry flags, emblems and other elements to distinguish themselves. In this way, they communicated who they were or where they came from.
With the passage of time the family clans that were part of the medieval nobility introduced a new form of identification, the coats of arms. In them appeared the symbols of a family lineage. Thus arose a new discipline, heraldry.
This area not only studies the coats of arms associated with a family, but also focuses on the analysis of other types of coats of arms: cities, royal dynasties or institutions. Each territory has its own heraldic tradition.
The language of heraldry
The shape or profile of the shield, also known as the mouth of the shield, is not homogeneous. In fact, there are them with all kinds of silhouettes (round, triangular, oval, with or without ornaments). Its shape serves to identify the remote origin of a blazon (for example, those with an oval shape are related to religion and the rhomboidal ones refer to women who started a family clan).
Inside the shield is where the distinctive elements appear. Each side is called the flank, the corners are the cantons, and the center is known as the abyss. Finally, under the shield we find the navel.
The terminology of this auxiliary area of history is very extensive. The figures of animals located one in front of the other are the ones faced. Dark blue is known by the word azure. Each of the divisions of the shields are the barracks. When a motto appears, it is called a currency.
To refer to the colors used we speak of enamels. The forms of vegetables are the leaflets and a leaf ornament is a lambrequin. Finally, the specialist in this historical field is called a heraldist.
Fotolia photos: Starlineart / Tatty
