ARMORIAL BEARINGS AND COATS OF ARMS.
Our Plates 5o and 51 are devoted to this subject. If these symbols had no other purpose than to designate the ruling class or to distinguish its members, we might indeed omit their consideration in this History of Culture; but upon a closer scrutiny of the subject it will be evident that they are at once of very early origin and of far-reaching importance.
Human civilization began when the individual enclosed a portion of the wild and ownerless land as a home for himself and his offspring, and the foundation of social order was laid when he designated in some recog nizable manner his property as belonging to himself. Such designation could be attained in ages when writing was unknown only by the use of certain marks, which became known and respected in the neighborhood. (See Vol. I. pp. 135, 136.) Origin of Coats of Arms.—As in early times live-stock constituted almost the sole property, the owner's mark was made in a manner re pugnant to humane feelings, though it is one that has not vet gone out of use. It was cut or burned into the bide of the animals, and consisted generally of some simple figure formed by a few straight lines (fig. 5S). In the course of a few generations it became recognized as the distinctive house-mark, and, as there were then no family names, it served in pro ceedings of adjustment to represent the family or individual by whom it had been adopted.
In Germany family names did not originate till late in the Middle Ages, when the nobility began to be called by the names of their districts or seats, though the citizens and peasants did not adopt names until the four teenth and fifteenth centuries. In some districts, as in East Friesland, such names were not used until the beginning of the present century.
In course of time family marks became more complicated (bl. 5o, fig-. 59) new forms having constantly to be invented, and the initial of the family name was often associated with them. In this form they were used as stamps, seals, etc. after family names had long become obligatory. They did not disappear until the art of writing had become more universally extended. The marks used by stone-masons are merely adaptations of the family marks, and so too are coats of arms. It was natural to
paint the marks upon the shields, so as to facilitate recognition at a dis tance, especially when close armor was worn. That coats of arms had no other purpose than this throughout the Middle Ages is evident from the fact that the emperors and princes often conferred them upon citizen families without thereby bestowing increased rank. The special signif icance which they had for the nobility was an accidental outgrowth of the exclusive right of taking part in tournaments and of the other social privileges of that class.
armorial bearings had long been in use they became the objects of a theoretical study which gave rise to an art—namely, that of heraldry. We do not pretend to explain fully even the elements of this art, but a few observations may serve to make it intelligible. The coat of arms was intended to represent the shield-bearing, armor-clad knight, and hence consisted of the shield with its appropriate mark or picture, and the helmet with its trappings. There was a time when shields were gayly colored, and even marked with symbols, such as the figure of a lion or an eagle, but they did not constitute armorial bearings, being intended to designate the character of the knight rather than to represent his per son. The symbols and the colors passed to the armorial bearings, though they were not necessarily included in them. No authentic coats of arms can be found earlier than the twelfth century.
Tinctures and colors alone were permitted for heraldic tinctures (figs. 1-7); even green and purple occur but rarely, and silver and gold simply take the place of white and yellow. Furs, with which shields were often covered, also assumed the signification of heraldic tinctures. Where it was inconvenient, as in drawings or engravings, to color the arms, the tinctures were represented by Mies and marks. Thus, silver (fig. 1) was designated by the absence of lines—that is, by a blank; gold (fig-. 2) by clots; furs by special marks, as in Figures 8 and 9, a combination of light and dark furs being designated by the so-called " clouds " and " iron hats" (figs. 1o, II), derived from the arrangement of furs on the borders or linings of cloaks, etc.