As explained in how heraldry began, heraldry （作为纹章如何开始解释,纹章）.pdf

HERALDRY eraldry was first created in order to help tell who was who beneath layers Hof armor. After all, you wouldnt want to accidentally kill a knight that was really your neighbor. Emblems of geometric shapes as well as the more recognizable birds, beasts and symbols were then used to decorate shields. The shield not only offered protection, but identification as well. The shield offers a big, flat surface — perfect for painting a design on. Shields, then, became the medieval version of a drivers license. Though you could not see a knight’s face, it was possible to tell the morals and the way his family acts through identifying the colors and symbols on his shield. Heraldry fully developed not on the battlefield but within the tournaments. The tournaments were like present-day ESPN, where the nobility (or athletes, in our case) competed. Since the peasantry who watched these games were unable to read the scoreboards like sports fans do in present- day games, heraldry was developed to identify knights based on their shield design. COLORS C H A R G E S ( A N I M A L S A N D C R E A T U R E S A S S O C I A T E D W I T H A K N I G H T ) C H A R G E S ( A N I M A L S A N D C R E A T U R E S A S S O C I A T E D