Origins of Heraldry
From very remote times the men has search for simbols that identifies himself, for that warriors has decorated their shields with varied motives.
The Roman Empire used the Eagle in his standards and banners. Many warriors painted in their shields geometrical shapes, different colors and animal drawings.
The Greeks in their circular shields accustomed to paint animal figures and include human figures, that are saw in the photographs under this lines.
Hoplitas in an ambush. Note the circular shields
with animal figures. Painting over ceramics V century B.C.
Detail of a corintian "crátera" of the VII century B.C.
founded in Veyos.
Another civilizations also had their forms of identification, personal or from his army.
In feudal Japan, also have family emblems, called "Kamon". The butterfly simbol was used by the Togashi family, but also by another japanese aristocrats during the Nara Period (710-786), and also by the Taira Clan (heike) destroyed in the "Battle of Dan-na-ura". During the Tokugawa era, more than 300 motives of butterflies were used by the daimyos (feudal lords of the war) and the hatamoto (vasalls of Tokugawa).
The butterfly emblem (cho)
The Paulownia (Kiri) has been regarded from olden times as an auspicious tree, so that a design of its flower and leaf has been chosen as the Imperial crest side by side with the chrysanthemum. In the Muromati Period (1392-1568), the paulownia crest was conferred by the Emperor on the Asikagas, the then Syogun's family, who in turn gave it as the mark of greatest honor to the warriors for their bravery on battlefields, or for some other deed or merit. As a general rule, variations are made of this crest in accordance with the number of flowers or buds.
Flower and leaf of the Paulownia (Kiri)
The Heraldry's objectives are to identify the knights in the battlefield and in tournaments.
In the Battle of Hastings (1066), Duke William of Normandy take his helm off to show that he was still alive. In the Bayeux Trapestry can be seen desings in the shields of the norman knights. Thies designs were casual and non sistematic. Under this lines, some scenes of the Trapestry.
Scenes from the Bayeux Trapestry
About year 1100 there was an important change, the shield designs does more sistematic. Those appeared in the Stephen Harding's Bible, made in 1109 by english artists, where the designs (geometric shapes above all) looks like the Heraldry that we know today. Also is saw in the Chronicle of John of Worcester, in the year 1130, where the designs seems to follow certain rules. This is called Proto-Heraldry. A few years later appears the Heraldry properly.
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