Origin of the coat of arms

The origin of coats of arms is the invention, in the medieval West, of the emblematic system based on the blazon, which is described and studied by heraldry.

Emblems were used in Ancient history and during the High Middle Ages. However, it wasn't until the 11th century, between 1120 and 1160, that coats of arms first appeared.

The origin of coats of arms can be traced mainly through the study of seals. Seals go from depicting a few coats of arms on a rider's gonfanon to equestrian seals bearing coats of arms on the shield. One theory assumes that this innovation emerged simultaneously in different parts of Europe. Another distinguishes two specific areas of origin: southern England and the borders of Vermandois and Champagne in northern France.

The Plantagenet enamel, often dated 1160-1165, which shows the coat of arms of Geoffroy Plantagenet, Count of Anjou, is the earliest known heraldic representation in color.

Coats of arms are an invention of the medieval West, and there's no need to look elsewhere for their origins. They form a system based on the fusion of elements from signs, banners, seals, coins, and shields. Banners seem to play a key role. Coats of arms may combine individual, family and fiefdom emblems, some of which have been Canting arms from the outset. Family emblems, however, which can be studied through heraldic groups, seem to be essential.

Coats of arms spread, perhaps because military equipment no longer made it possible to recognize the identity of combatants and, more certainly, thanks to the fashion for tournaments, supported by the development of aristocratic competition and the valorization of the individual. The adoption of coats of arms is correlated with a growing need for identification, which explains the appearance of patronymic names and more varied clothing simultaneously.

Coats of arms first appeared among the nobility in the 11th century, before spreading throughout society in the 13th century, albeit at different times depending on the country. At the same time, heraldry was born.