Heraldry in the form in which it is understood in the modern world, originated in Europe. The first coats of arms appeared around the XI-XII centuries as a personal sign of representatives of the military nobility. With the complication of relations in society and the development of feudalism, the custom to designate in this way your social status is becoming very common. All representatives of the aristocracy had their own emblems, including women, priests, large merchants, and even some wealthy peasants.
In the 14th century, heraldic signs appeared in workshops, cities, and certain territories. A century later, during the late Middle Ages, the first emblems of national states appeared. It is impossible to determine the specific date of the appearance of a particular state symbol, since their appearance changed regularly. Modern coats of arms of European countries are based on the patrimonial emblems of monarchs and reflect their history and cultural features.
Forms and features of heraldic shields
The main element of any coat of arms is a shield - a stylized design that carries a set of signs on the front surface. Official heraldry distinguishes its following forms:
- French - quadrangular with a sharp point in the middle of the lower part.
- Varyazhskaya is triangular with smoothly arched sides.
- Spanish - similar to French, but with a rounded bottom side.
- Italian - oval.
- Germanic - triangular with cut out edges.
There are atypical shields of round, square or oblique shapes, usually inherent in land associations or city-states.
A review of heraldic albums shows that most often the coats of arms of European countries rest on shields of the French form. This item also changed regularly. For example, the symbol of Great Britain in the 19th century was located on the Italian shield, but in the next century it switched to Varangian.
Heraldic colors
Paints covering the coat of arms are called tinctures and, according to the tradition that came from the Middle Ages, are divided into 2 groups:
1. Metals - gold and silver. In the illustrations, they correspond to yellow and white colors.
2. Enamels or enamels - red (scarlet), purple (violet, purple), black (black), green (greens) and blue (azure).
A very limited set of colors was justified during the heraldic traditions. In the XII-XIII centuries, the listed colors were inaccessible to the "lower class", they could not be obtained from natural materials.
In addition, coats of arms of European countries may include the so-called furs or feathers - a special combination of colors and shapes, symbolizing a precious symbol of power. In the early Middle Ages, there was a tradition of upholstering shields with fur, and after the monarchs wore cloaks and mantles, lined with precious skins of ermine or squirrels. Tinctures "feathers" can not be found among the state emblems, because they became widespread only within the clan nobility of the German principalities and did not reach the level of countries.
In heraldry, there are no restrictions on the number and combination of colors. The only thing when creating an emblem is forbidden to apply enamel on enamel or metal on metal, although they can be adjacent to each other. A coat of arms that does not comply with this rule will not be such.
Heraldic figures
Coat of arms science divides the elements depicted on the shield into several groups:
1. Heraldic - geometric shapes that divide the shield into several parts. In total, 10 basic figures are known:
- Vertex.
- Post
- Belt.
- Extremity.
- Sling.
- Rafter.
- Cross.
- Border.
- Shield
- Free part.
Heraldry knows many varieties of basic figures. 200 crosses alone are known - papal, Latin, burgundy, Maltese, etc. In Europe, this sign can be seen on the arms of Hungary, Greece, Switzerland, Iceland, Slovakia and Serbia.
In addition, there are less significant elements rarely found in state emblems. Among them are triangular (wedge, point), quadrangular (square, shingles, rhombus), round (ball, semicircle, arc) and conditional (tournament collar).
2. Non-heraldic - full or partial images of figures of the real (nature or created by man) or fictional worlds. Their number is huge, and new items are constantly being added to the collection. On the arms of European countries most often depict natural animals, namely lions and eagles. However, their appearance differs in each state symbol. For example, lions can stand or lie, have a crown or hold a sword in their paw. The classic-looking animals, with a mane and a tail with a tassel, can be seen on the arms of Great Britain, Bulgaria, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, the Netherlands, Latvia, Finland, Sweden and Estonia. But on some variations of the symbol of Norway, a leopard is depicted rather than the "king of beasts."
The situation is similar with eagles. They can have different sizes and shapes of wings, tail and feathers, keep the beak open or closed. On the arms of Russia, Albania, Serbia and Montenegro, heraldic birds have 2 heads, turned in different directions. This is due to their common historical heritage and strong ties over the centuries. On the rest (Austria, Germany, Poland, Moldova, Romania, Czech Republic), eagles have one head and most often crowned.
It is worth noting that there are coats of arms of European countries that combine rare characters. In particular, the emblem of Ireland - a golden Celtic harp on a blue background - is not found in any country in the world. The coat of arms of Bosnia and Herzegovina is often confused with the sign of the European Union because of the similar color scheme and five-pointed white stars.
Heraldic symbols of countries, cities and territories are an integral part of the culture and spirit of Europe. In the modern world, they, along with preserved architectural monuments, remind EU citizens and tourists about the existence of an “old woman of Europe”.