What is a coat of arms and how did it originate?
During the Middle Ages, more specifically the twelfth century A.D., we find the European socioeconomic system of feudalism supplying the order and structure of medieval society. National armies did not exist, but lords and nobles, in exchange for their royal grants of land, were obliged, if called upon, to supply their sovereigns with military forces drawn from the ranks of their landholders. The landholders, in turn, owed a debt of military service for their privilege of holding and working the land. These men were “nobilis” or known. They were the upper class and known as gentlemen. When summoned by the king to war, these lords and nobles, and those who served and followed them, were obliged to bear arms. These men were the first “knights in shining armor”. During the twelfth century A.D., when these knights served their kings with honour and valour, a form of symbolism developed in which these early knights would adorn their shields with decorations and emblems and carry banners int
