An invention of the medieval West In the 17th century, Jesuit heraldist
Claude-François Ménestrier laid the foundations for a systematic study of coats of arms. In 1671, in his book ''Le Véritable art du blason et l'origine des armoiries'' ("The True Art of the Coat of Arms and the Origin of Coats of Arms"), he listed over twenty hypotheses, some dating back to the Middle Ages, on the origins of coats of arms. Many of these seem outdated or unscientific today, attributing the invention of the coat of arms to
Noah,
King David,
Alexander the Great,
Julius Caesar or
King Arthur. Similarly, the search for the origins of Western coats of arms in the
Byzantine Empire has proved unconvincing,
War, tournaments and social change According to
Anatole de Barthélemy, coats of arms were added to seals because equestrian seals are too similar. The need to identify oneself on the battlefield became even more pressing with the adoption of the recumbent spear and the development of hauberks and, above all,
great helms, which, from 1210–1220, became closed cylinders. Nevertheless, this explanation, based on the necessities of combat, has been called into question. On the one hand, the hauberks and helmets with nose guards are older than the general use of coats of arms; on the other hand, on the battlefield, it is the collective signs that seem essential. It is not certain that the face of William the Conqueror, for example, could be recognized by many of the combatants in his army at Hastings. The chief's heraldic emblems can be a rallying point for the group of subordinates, but the effectiveness of recognizing heraldic figures in the melée of battle, where group cohesion takes precedence, seems low. Long before the appearance of coats of arms, banners and
battle cries were used effectively, On the other hand, at the
Battle of Marchfeld in 1278, although heraldry had been developed in
Austria for over a century, it did not seem to be very effective. It was still necessary for each side to wear signs of recognition: in the army of
Rudolf I of Habsburg, a white cross was pinned to the chest, while the fighters of
Ottokar II of Bohemia wore a green cross and a band of cloth on the back. However, the shield is not the best object for identifying its bearer; it is necessary to face the wearer, and the 12th-century shield curves, rendering the entirety of its surface less visible. Moreover, the first coats of arms were not individual. Indeed, the time of the invention of the coat of arms was also the time of the birth of tournament fashions, particularly in Northern and Western France, which were an important vector for the dissemination of this new emblem. The first documented tournaments appear to have taken place in northern France, one of the earliest known tournament organizers being
Charles the Good,
Count of Flanders and
Count of Amiens, close to
Vermandois, one of the birthplaces of the coat of arms, and allied with
Renaud II de Clermont. The organizers of the first tournaments were high-ranking figures such as the great Anglo-Norman lords,
Robert I de Dreux (who bore the Vermandois escutcheon) and
Henry I, Count of Champagne. The two phenomena, tournaments and coats of arms, appear at the same time and in the same place, and are therefore linked, forming part of a trend to enhance the status of the aristocracy.
Identity: lineage and anthroponymy The birth of coats of arms is closely correlated with the new social organization established by seigniorial lineages. From the mid-12th century onwards, coats of arms were used to situate individuals within their group and society.
Coats of arms for all nobility From counts to great-vassals The heraldry of the shield was first seen among the aristocratic elite of
counts, before spreading by imitation to squire lords and then to ordinary knights. Some coats of arms are also passed down through
adoubement (i.e., being knighted). In this case, the adoubee adopts the arms of the adoubeur, a more powerful lord, in whole or in part. This is the story told of
Geoffrey Plantagenet, knighted in 1127 by his father-in-law
Henry I, King of England, and whose coat of arms can be seen on the Plantagenet enamel. Other sources attest to this practice. Thus,
Hugh IV, Count of Saint-Pol, knighted in 1179 by
King Henry II of England, used a seal showing a shield with the arms of both England (Gules, three golden lions passant) and Candavène (Azure, three golden sheaves). Similarly, around 1170, Guillaume de Hainaut bore arms of France
impaling Hainaut. Other examples are known. (1177). The bend may be the first known instance of cadency. Drawing published in 1641. , Lord of
Little Dunmow. As early as 1180-1200, the system of
cadency seals appeared, especially in France, England, Scotland, the Rhine Valley, and Switzerland. In 1188, the coat of arms on the seal of Agnès de
Saint-Vérain, a shield charged with two fesses and an
orle of
martlets, was recorded. The following year, in 1189,
Theresa of Portugal, wife of
Philip of Alsace, used arms similar to those of Portugal on her counter-seal. In 1198,
Marie de Champagne, wife of
Count Baldwin IX of Flanders, made the opposite choice, using her husband's coat of arms. File:SIGILLUM ROHESIE COMITISSE LINCOLIE.png|Seal of Rohese
de Clare, wife of
Gilbert de Gant, Earl of Lincoln. Probably engraved in 1156. Drawing published in 1846. File:Sceau d'Iseult de Dol.jpg|Seal of Iseult de Dol (1183) wife of Asculf de Subligny. Drawing published in 1707. File:Sceau de Mathilde de Portugal.jpg|Seal of
Theresa of Portugal, wife of
Philip I, Count of Flanders (1189). Drawing published in 1643. File:Sceau de Marie de Champagne.jpg|Seal of
Marie de Champagne, wife of
Baldwin IX of Flanders (1198). Drawing published in 1643. Then, in the first half of the 13th century, women's coats of arms became more widespread, More often than not, married women's coats of arms are double coats of arms, formed by juxtaposing their father's and husband's coats of arms. When a wife brings her husband material and immaterial goods of greater value than those of her husband - for whom marriage is, therefore,
hypergamous - it is not uncommon for him to adopt his wife's coat of arms. Thus, in the early thirteenth century,
Guy II of Dampierre adopted the coat of arms of his wife
Mathilde of Bourbon, heir to this
seigneury. Their son and heir also took his mother's coat of arms, as did Roger de Meulan at the end of the 12th century, who became lord of
Gournay-sur-Marne, who inherited from his mother, Agnès
de Montfort: his family branch then used the Montfort coat of arms. Similarly, in 1234, Roger IV de Foix used the arms of his mother,
Ermessenda de Castellbò, because he was, through her, heir to the viscounty of Castelbon. == Coats of arms throughout society from the 13th century onwards ==