Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1875-05-05
About Heraldry.


When knight wished to enter !he
lists at a tournament, it was the duty of
one of the attendant heralds to blow a
horn, and then recount the brave
deeds of the knight and describe Lis
arms.
We call all the weapons used in battle
arms, but in heraldry the word is APP
piled to the crest, helmet and shield.
The shield, or escutheon, was the
warriors principal defense in combat
1t was of various forms-round, square,
triangular, heart-shaped, or oval.
The surface Of the shield is called the
field, because it contained honorable
marks gained upon the battlefield; as
the arms of the family of Lloyd: F." Or,
four pallets guIes." That is, a golden
field, with four marks of red upon it.
An ancestor of this family, after fight
ing valiantly, CHANGED to draw his
hand, which was covered with blood,
across his sword, leaving the marks of
his four fingers upon it. His king
seeing it, ordered him to bear the rep
resentation of the four marks upon his
shield in memory of his valor
The devices representing the brave
acts achieved by the bearer are called
armoral bearings, or achievements.
In representing shields of arms,
metals, colors, and furs are used. The
metals are gold, called or, and silver,
argent Or is represented by small
dots, and argent by white. The colors
are-red, gules; blue, azure; black,
sable; green, vert; and purple, purpure.
Gules is represented by perpendicular
lines; azure, by horizontal, &c.
Of the furs, which represented the
skins Of beasts, with which the shields
were covered in early times, there were
originally but two-ermine and vair.
Ermine is q white skin with black
spots, and vair, supposed to be from
the word varied, is made up of many
skins of the gray and white squirrel put
together in small shield shaped pieces.
Coats of-arms were called coats, be-
cause they were embroidered on the
surcoat worn over the coat-of-mail; and
arms, because originally borne by
armed men in war or tournament.
Sovereigns wore them on golden
seals, and on the caparisons of their
horses. A woman wore her fathers
coat of arms embroidered upon her kir-
tie, or skirt, and that Of her husband
upon her mantle. They were granted
by sovereigns as marks of honor for
royal acts.
He who bore coat-armor was required
to conduct himself like an honorable
gentleman. The arms of traitors were
reversed.
Coats-of-arms were sometimes assum-
ed by the knights themselves, and often
represented some personal peculiarly,
or had some allusion to the name OF the
bearer
The Castletons bore three castles; the
Salmons, three salmons; the Lamberts,
three lambs.
These last were called 0r7nes par
l0ntes, or abusive arms.
The heart surmounted by crown, in
the arms of the Douglases, was in mem
DRY of Sir James Douglas, who made a
pilgrimage to the Holy Land to deposit
the heart of his king, Robert Bruce, in
holy ground.
- The bloody heart was in the field,
And in the Chief three mullets stood,
The cognizance of Douglas blood"
Stars of five points are called mullets,
and represent the rowels of spurs.
Sir Simon Locard, who went with Sir
Jane Douglas, and carried one Of the
keys the silver casketwhich contained
the heart, changed his name to Lock
heart, and human heart in the bow Of
a paddock was added to his arms.-&.
Nicholas for May.