Summarising nine centuries of history in just a few lines is a tall order...
The birth of heraldry and its first vocation were the work of combatants in the first half of the 12th century in a geographical area between the Loire and the Rhine. At that time, as the increasingly protective helmets made it impossible to identify the faces of the belligerents, they absolutely had to find another way of distinguishing their enemies from their allies. Coats of arms therefore appeared on banners, shields and helmets. This need for identification from a distance gave rise to an optical rule that is still respected today in the design of coats of arms: the rule of contrasting enamels. This means that a coloured figure (gules, azure, sable, vert, purple) cannot be placed on a coloured background, just as a metal figure (gold and silver) cannot be placed on a metal background. Seen from a distance, a white figure on a yellow or white background is indistinguishable from a blue figure on a yellow background.
Rule of contrariety for heraldic colours
We assume two distinct series of colours (i.e. two families).
Series 1 colours (alias metals):
No colour in series 1) (metals) on another colour in the same series:
but only on one colour in series 2) (enamels):
Series 2 colours (aka enamels):
No colour from series 2) (enamels) on another colour from the same series:
but only on one colour in the 1) (metal) series:
This fundamental heraldic rule can be seen as analogous to the equally primordial rule of exogamy among human beings: one always chooses one’s spouse from outside one’s family, but never from within one’s own family. Although no historical source can yet confirm this hypothesis, many heraldists have the intuition that this rule derives from the historically very early use of vexilia (flags or any object floating in the wind). Indeed, it seems that the first emblems of recognition used by the bellatores (those who fight) were originally collective vexilia before they became individual and that these symbols floating in the wind were also painted on shields or any piece of armament with a surface that could accommodate them, such as helmets, hauberts, ribs and spalier washers.
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There is no denying that a white flag with a yellow cross is going to be very difficult to see the further away you are.
On the other hand, a white flag with a red cross can be seen from a long way off. The same applies to a shield or any other emblazoned object.
© Laurent Granier, Héraldist 2024.
The original repertoire of heraldic figures is not the result of spontaneous generation, or even of borrowing from Arab civilisation through the Crusades. Lions, crosses, various geometric motifs, fleurs-de-lis, dragons... are all part of an iconography that has been used by the civilisations of the Mediterranean basin since the earliest antiquity, and which was constantly revisited and enriched right up to the Middle Ages, never ceasing to evolve.
The popularity of tournaments, a lucrative sport and a genuine substitute for war, was the determining factor in the spread of the coat of arms among the knightly class.
Parallel to what was happening on the battlefields, the first coats of arms can be found on seals affixed to documents dating from the first half of the 12th century. From the twelfth century to the first half of the thirteenth, coats of arms were used exclusively by the fighting class. The use of the seal led to the gradual adoption of coats of arms, which gradually became hereditary, by all classes and institutions in medieval society, in a movement initiated by the elites. Seals were fundamental to the spread of coats of arms: in the Middle Ages, a legal document could only be validated if the testator’s seal was imprinted in the wax affixed to the document. These seals bear the coat of arms and the name of the owner. In a society where the majority of people are illiterate, the seal complements or replaces the autograph signature. Similarly today, a birth certificate or diploma has no legal value if it does not bear the official stamp of the issuing authority.
Un sceau et sa matrice (fin du XVe siècle).
The use of coats of arms was extended to all social categories in France between 1230 and 1330, in chronological order: women of the high aristocracy, the secular clergy, the bourgeoisie and tradesmen, the peasants, the towns and cities, and finally the trades and religious communities. Coats of arms gradually lost their primary and exclusive function as a sign of military recognition to become a decorative mark of ownership that soon covered all objects of value or everyday use (jewellery, crockery, stained glass, frescoes, architectural motifs, firebacks, clothing, weapons, etc.).
In France, during the Ancien Régime, any individual, regardless of social origin or religious denomination, could bear the arms of their choice, on the sole condition that they did not usurp those of others. This was not the case everywhere in Europe, however, as in some countries coats of arms were and still are reserved exclusively for the nobility. In France, the wearing of coats of arms was not restricted to the nobility until the French Revolution, when heraldic capacity was universal. In the heat of the revolution, the Sans-Culottes associated coats of arms with the privileges of the feudal nobility. Their use was banned and severely repressed by a decree of 19 June 1790. Armorial bearings were often destroyed. This iconoclasm intensified under the Terror (1793-1794) and extended to all symbols of royal power. The result of this period was considerable damage to French heritage, still visible today and all the more glaring when compared with that of all our European neighbours.
With the advent of the First Empire, Napoleon re-established the wearing of coats of arms, but associated it solely with the nobility by means of strong administrative control over their use. Louis XVIII, Charles X and Louis-Philippe followed suit. The Second Republic did not concern itself with coats of arms, but once again banned titles of nobility, while the Second Empire imitated Napoleon I’s decisions. Finally, the Third Republic did not legislate in this area.
The current legal situation in France is therefore that which prevailed under the Ancien Régime, i.e. heraldic capacity applies to all French citizens. This state of affairs is confirmed by current case law, which makes coats of arms an indissoluble accessory to the patronymic name, whether noble or not. This means that everyone is free to adopt the coat of arms of their choice, on the sole condition that they do not usurp someone else’s existing coat of arms. (N.B.: disputes are settled by the civil courts).
In recent years, there has been a resurgence of interest in heraldry in France. This is reflected in a growing number of academic works in the various disciplines of the humanities and social sciences, as well as numerous popular publications, exhibitions, articles in the scientific and general press and on the internet.
In France, the rediscovery of this art and science by the general public began with the passion for genealogy in the late 1970s. During genealogical research, many French people were able to rediscover their family coat of arms, just as many others were unable to find it or were still unaware that their family had one! Today, more and more French people are deciding to have a coat of arms created for them. The same applies to local authorities, who are often weary of the short-lived fashion for logotypes. In the future, French companies may well adopt coats of arms, following the example of their Commonwealth counterparts, in order to conquer new markets, armed with an emblem rich in meaning and symbolism...
Large official wax seal of the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II of Habsburg authenticating a letter of grant of arms to the Lorraine Chamant family dated 1606.
NB: this summary is based mainly on the work of Michel Pastoureau in his Traité d’héraldique and his predecessor Rémi Mathieu in Le système héraldique français.