Knoxville journal. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1874-1986, 1875-05-06
About Heraldry.


About Heraldry.
WHEN knight wished to enter the lists
at tournament it was the duty of one of
the attendant heralds to blow horn and
then recount the brave deeds ofthe knight
and describe his arms.
We call all the weapons used in battle
arms, but in heraldry the word is applied
to the crest, helmet and shield.
The shield, or escutcheon, was the
warriors principal defense in combat. 1t
was of various forms -rounG, square, tri-
angular, heart-shaped or oval.
The surface of the shield is called the
field, because it contained honorable
marks, gained upon the battle field as the
arms of The family Of Lloyd: "Or, four
pallets gules." That is, golden field,
with four marks of red upon 1t.
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 representation Of
the four marks upon his shield in memory
of his valor.
The devices representing the brave acts
achieved by the bearer are called armorial
bearings, or achievements.
In representing shields of arms, metals,
colors and furs are used The metals are
gold, or, and silver, argent Or is repre-
sented by small dots, and argent by white.
The colors are--red, gutes; blue, azure;
black, sable; green, cert: and purple, pu7-
pure. Gules is represented by perpendic-
| ular lines; azure, by horizontal, etc.
nf tho furo uh ranroooptaI tho ob I'M
of beasts with which the shields were COW
cred in early times, there were originally
but two-ermine and vair. Ermine is a
white fur with black spots, and vair, sup
posed to be from the word carried, is made
up of many skins of the gray and white
| squirrel put together in small shield shaped
| pieces.
| Coats-o arms were called coats, because
they were embroidered on the surcoat
worn over the coat of mail; and arms, be-
cause 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 en-
broidered upon her kirtle or skirt and that
| of her husband upon her mantle. They
were granted by sovereigns as marks of
honor for loyal acts.
/ He who bore coat-armor was required
to conduct himself like an honorable gen.
tlcman. The arms of traitors were re-
versed
1 Coats-of-arms were sometimes assumed
by the knights themselves, and often rep
resented 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 a1mes parla,ates, or
abusive arms.
| The heart surmounted by crown, in
the arms of the Douglases, was in memory
of Sir James Douglas, who made pill
grimage 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 c6gnizance of Douglas blood.
Stars of five points are called mullets,
and represent the rowels of spurs.
Sir Simon Locard, who went with Sir
James Douglas and carried one of the keys
OF the silver casket which contained the
heart, changed his name to Lockheart, and
a human heart in the bow of paddock
was added to his arms.
The teur-de-las Is the lily Of heraldry.
| The lion, the king of beasts, was ia
vorite symbol. 1t was used by all who were
in any way related to the King, and Kings
bestowed 1t upon their chosen followers.
Among birds the eagle was most es-
teemed, and of fishes the dolphin
| In the time of the Crusades, when so
many soldiers Of different nations were as
sembled together, more cmblems were
needed. Every soldier who went to the
| Holy War wore the badge of the cross
upon the right shoulder. And they added
to their emblems the crescent, the scallop,
the turban and other devices.
There were many kinds of crosses. The
| Cross of st. George, the Cross of st. An.
drew, the Cross of Malta, the Cross-cros-
let and many others.
The Cross-crosl was often fitched, or
pointed, at the lower part. 1t was carried
by pilgrims on their journeys, and could
be fixed in the ground so that they might
perform their devotions by the wayside.
| AS cOats-of-arms became more numer-
Gus, different knights took the same de-
vices, and the different coats-ofarms came
to be so much alike that it made confusion
| Then strict laws were made, regulating
the attitudes of the animals and the num-
Der and position of the charges. For ex-
ample, one knight might display upon his
shield a lion rampant, that is, standing up
| ready for combat-the most honorable po-
sition for the lion. On another there
might be lion guardant, that is, with the
face turned frontwise looking round to
observe the enemy; or regardant, having
the head turned backward, as if urging on
his followers; or PEASANT, walking eau
| tiously, as though searching for the ene-
1s,,,s IoJo
"A tall stranger entered q saloon on
Front street yesterday, and, pulling off
his coat, inquired: Is there anybody
here who wants to lick mep" |" Yesl