KatalinBruton959

Heraldry, the decoration of shields and surcoats - the linen tabards worn by knights and other leaders of small private armies who went to battle wearing a suit of armor, appeared first in the 13th century. So why did these knights bother to decorte their shields and themselves? It certainly wasn't for reasons of vanity. When in battle leading a small group of peasants probably raised from their local estates or area, it was difficult to tell who was who. With many dressed in a suit of armor it was difficult to tell who was who as a suit of armor looks very much like any other suit of armor and in the heat of battle it was nigh impossible to identify one's leader and support him. Hence the advent of heraldry: shields were decorated with simple designs, as were the linen garments worn over the top half of the suit of armor. This garment was known as a 'surcoat' which in time was corrupted to 'coat of arms'.

In fact most people refer to the design as a 'coat of arms' or a 'family crest', but the correct term is in fact an 'achievement'; the part of the design on the shield is the coat of arms, and the part on top of the helmet is the family crest.

Today, although few people dress in suits of armor and those do so only to joust in tournaments, many people display their family coat of arms as a framed print, on a shield, or maybe a ceramic mug. To read more go to this website or, to see if your family name has its own coat of arms, go to our shop selling family crests.