14. The colours which enter into the composition of ar morial bearings are, by many authors, said to be no other than those of the ancient games of the Roman circus, which passed into the tournaments of the Gothic nations. The dif ferent factions of the hippodrome were distinguished by their colours of white, red, blue, and green. To these Domitian added yellow; and the only remaining tincture, viz. black, might be easily introduced by those chevaliers who were in use to frequent tournaments in habits of mourn ing, on occasions of particular distress. ,Thus King Ren€ of Anjou, after the unfortunate war of Naples, went to the tournament of gueule du Dragon," in the year 1446, clothed in complete suit of black armour,." his shield sable, semee de larmes, and a black lance in his hand." The partitions of the shield are in like manner supposed to be deduced from the habits of tournaments, which were frequently of different colours, sometimes the one side of the garment differing from the other, sometimes the top part from the bottom, ; a relic of which custom may still be observed in the dresses of many provincial magis trates on the continent. From the barriers and lists, and their various parts, are taken the forms of the pale, the chevron, and the saltier. The ring or annulet is derived from the common reward of the victorious cavalier. The bend and the ICss from the scarfs which the combatants wore, and which were often the gift of their ladies, as we read in the romances, the wreath and other ornaments of the helmet, arc all connected with the same custom. The lady herself took care to adjust these parts of her knight's equipment, which were generally of her colour ; and are accordingly known in the romances by the names of " fa veurs des dames," " atours de dame," &c.
15. With tournaments, it is probable that the art of bla zonry passed very soon into France. Alany of the figures, indeed, were neyer introduced into the heraldry of that or of any other country, and remain at this day peculiar to Germany alone. If armorial bearings, however, were first used in Germany, it must be confessed that the French were the first to reduce the method of using them to rules. Accordingly, the only other nations which have made any progress in the art, viz. the English and the Scotch, make use of French terms. The Italians and Spaniards know nothing of the matter ; and the attainments of the Germans themselves, are frankly admitted by Spenerus to be alto gether contemptible. Sir Henry Spelman says expressly, that the gentry of England had no coat-armour till the time of the Norman conquest ; and treats with the utmost deri sion the fables and reveries of those, who assign arms to the Danes, Saxons, Britons, and the pretended knights of the Round Table. The princes of Anjou, in all probabi lity, introduced the custom into the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily, as may be seen in the treatises of Scirione Am mirato and Philibert Campanili. But although the prac tice of using armorial bearings may have been considerably extensive before the period of the Crusades, there can be no doubt, that these celebrated expeditions must have been at once the means of rendering their use universal among all the European nations, and at the same time of making the figures more fixed, and consequently the blazonry more scientific. Arms, it is probable, completed their heredi tary character from the piety of children, which must have led them to adopt, with religious respect, any temporary devices borne by their fathers in these holy wars. The cross soon became the most common of all bearings, and its form was varied beyond every conception by the inge nuity of the heralds.
16. The heraldic writers who approach most nearly to each other, in their opinions respecting the origin of armo ries in general, are yet much at variance concerning the precise time of their introduction into England. It is need less to refute the statements of such writers as Stow, who can tell us gravely, that " Brute, after a long and very journey with his Trojans, passing thorow France, building the citie of Toures, arrived in this isle, the which was then called Albion, at a place called Totness, in Devonshire, bearing gules, two lions golde ramnants a contrarie, also a banner of Vert, a Diane of gold fichele crooned and entro nised." Edmonstone is of opinion, that arniwies were pro
bably first used in England by King Edward the Confessor, and afterwards more plentifully practised WiLiam the Norman and his nobles. Camden, how ever, is inclined to think them of yet later date with us, arid says, " that short ly after the estimation of arms began in the expeditions of the Holy Land, when it was accounted an especial nonour to retain those arms which had been dis played in the Holy Land, in that holy service against the professed enemies of Christianity, and that we received at that time the hereditary use of them ; but the same was not fully established until the reign of King Henry 111. ; for that in the instances of the last Earls of Chester, the two D Quinceys Earls of Winchester, and the two Laceys Earls of Lincoln, the arms of the father still varied from those of the son." Sir Henry Spelman is of opinion, that arms are of a yet more modern growth in England, and says, " there is little reason to be confident in matters of pedigree and arms much beyond four hundred years," add ing, " that he has his doubts as to their being entitled even to that antiquity'. Xescio an ea prorsus antiquitate." The period of their introduction into Scotland, must of course have been nearly the same with that of their first practice in England.
17. The custom being once fairly introduced, it is by no means difficult to see from what causes the great variety of the figures of heraldry must have arisen. Great events, or illustrious actions ; the peculiarities of local situation ; the partialities for particular employments, offices, digni ties, and the spirit of devotion ; the nature of fiefs, and the vestiges of ancient devices, factions, pilgrimages, and tour naments, must all have suggested to individuals the bear ings which they adopted. Nothing, however, appears to have given occasion to more armorial ensigns, than the names of persons or of families. In every nation of Europe the effects of this practice are still abundantly apparent ; yet we have no doubt the evidence would have been infi nitely more striking, but for the many changes which have taken place in the names of families since the fixing of their arms. Many authors, it is treat with ridicule arms of this sort ; but it is sufficient to observe, that Spelman, Menestrier, and Gebelin, are of a different opinion. The last indeed expressly says, that he has no doubt the acmes parlantes are the most ancient of all. The original bear ers of these arms, it is probable, thought their names so il lustrious, that they could adopt no better means of making themselves known than devices, which would suggest these names to the beholder. Accustomed as they were to shout their names in combat, and hear them proclaimed at the tournament, it was a very natural thing to paint them on their surtouts, their shields, and the caparisons of their horses. There are very few families, whose names retain any meaning, which have not framed to themselves arms in some respect alluding to that signification. The in stances of arms of this kind in our books of heraldry are innumerable. The Bollens, in allusion to the first syllable of their name, carry argent a chevron gules between 3 bulls treads sable. Pope Adrian IV. (whose proper name was _Nicolas Breakspeare,) bore gules a lance broken argent. The illustrious family of the Lamberts bear 3 lambs ar gent ; and the practice is equally evident in the bearings of the Lovets, the Bores, the Swineys, the Swintons, the Swallows, the Grifins, the Metcalfs, and the Starkeys ; of Bowes, Cockayne, Dove. Askew, Arondel, Ravenscroft, Buikley, Heron, Bi.cston, Bird, Horsey, Cheval, Colt, Ca praville, Quatrematns, Borlasc, Trouthec, and Godolphin. In France, the names of Ailly,Mailly,Crequy, Rubempre, Castelnau, Chabot, Gougcux, Hautefort, De la Tour, De Pontevez, De Porcelet, and De !tete!, arc among the most distinguished of the kingdom. Nor are their bearings a whit more significant than those of the great Italian fami lies of Colonna, Ursini, Frangipani, Anguillara, Sancta cruce, Spinola, Cicala, B trharigo, Negroni. &c. or of the Spanish houses of Luna, Solis, Zapata, Actuia, Quixada, Torres, and Cardona.