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THE COATS OF ARMS

Created in the 11th century, the coat of arms is the equivalent of our current ID card. It allowed knights to be recognisable on the battlefield, despite their faces being covered with helmets. However, the elaboration of a coat of arms is subject to some fundamental rules called heraldry .
Who had coats of arms?
Heraldry
A complex case

  • The coat of arms is not the privilege of the knights or the nobility alone. Although it was first used by those social classes, it soon extended to non-combatants and non-nobles: bourgeois, craftsmen or professions, cities, institutions or even the Church. Women also had their own coat of arms, round or oval for ladies and diamond-shaped for damsels.
    The coat of arms in the picture belongs to Ithier de Martreuil, Bishop of Poitiers and Baron of Chauvigny from 1394 to 1405. The coat of arms is engraved on the side of the gothic dungeon of the Bishops' castle. It corresponds to the N° 11 displayed in this room. It is said to be Sable fretty Or.

  • Heraldry is the set of norms and rules for the accurate description and representation of arms and coats of arms. Here are some basics to understand a coat of arms.

    Heraldry colors.
    © English Heritage
    First of all, to compose a coat of arms, we use 3 groups of "coulors" ; the enamels : Vert, Azure, Gules, Purpure and Sable, the metals : Or and Argent and the furs : Vair and Ermine. It is possible to overlay one groupe on another (an enamel on a metal, Gules on Or, for example) but you can't overlat two elements of the same groupe (two enamels, Azure and Vert for example). This is called the rule of tincture.
    The coat of arms is endowed with colors but can also be embellished with drawings called charges. They usually represent the identity of the person. A blacksmith, for example, might choose a hammer to represent them.
    Finally, you may have noticed the geometric pattern of the coats of arms. This is called the divisions of the field. Here is a non-exhaustive list of possibilities: from left to right, party per pale, party per fess, party per cross and party per saltire. When using divisions, the so-called rule of tincture can be ignored (a division of Azure and Vert would be possible)

  • Look carefully at the shield N° 7. It is the coat of arms of Aure of Grammont, bishop of Poitiers and baron of Chauvigny from 1532 to 1534. We will describe it.
    Per cross :
    - 1st, Or, to a lion rampant Azure
    - 2nd and 3rd, Gules, to three arrows pointing down and feathered Argent, set in pale
    - 4th, Argent, to a hound Gules, a bordure Sable, charged of eight bezants Or
    - To a escutcheon Gules charged of a cinquefoil Argent, in middle fess point.