Heraldry was the system of symbols used to identify and distinguish people during the
Middle Ages, though particularly the nobility of Great Britain and Western Europe, where it
originated.  (Groliers)  Though it has been banned in many countries because it is viewed as
an upper class privilege, it was very instrumental in the development of the very countries
who ban it. These symbols and their main device, the coat of arms, were instrumental during
this time in distinguishing knights from one another during the Middle Ages.  Heraldry in the
Middle Ages helped to identify and unify the upper class greatly, but its most important
accomplishment was that of differentiating between knights on the battlefield and off.
     Heraldry existed before its height of popularity, though it became useful when it
became a standard.  Heraldry was introduced in the early 12th century by Christian knights,
and by the next century, was an established standard of identification.  Heraldry became a
fashion among the upper class as well, and this is one factor that may have fixed it as a
standard for identification.  (Smith, 196)  The reason that heraldry became popular as a
method for identification is that most of the population of these countries, upper and lower
class alike, was illiterate.  Therefore, a primarily pictorial method of identifying one another
appealed to the nobles.  This also gave them a way to identify their belongings, such as land,
castles, and legal documents, with a signature marking. (Gayre)  Another reason that they
became popular was their use in battle.  With heavy armor, knights were not easily
distinguished from one another, so it was necessary to have some way of telling the
difference between enemy and friend.  The emblems that were devised to serve this purpose
were the first heraldic devices of the Middle Ages.  Because heraldic devices were used
mainly by the armored knights in battle, and the nobles as signatures, it was not necessary for
the common person to have a device of his own.  (Smith, 196)  Hence, the heraldic devices
became associated with the upper classes only, which led to their banishment by many
countries in the twentieth century.  (196)
     The popularity of heraldry among the upper classes made it necessary to have certain
people who were knowledgeable in heraldry, so that knights could be distinguished from one
another.  This person was the herald.  He was employed by a king, a knight, or anyone else
who needed to be able to tell the difference between armored knights.  Besides the
battlefield, the herald was also useful at tournaments, the contests of jousting and fighting,
which were the knights main source of practice for war.  Due to the fact that there was no
registration for these events, heralds would have to supervise the event so that the spectators
could tell the difference between the knights.  (Jones, 58)
     The basic potion of the heraldic devices was the crest, or shield.  This was the basic
display point for the coat of arms, and so it was, and is, generally associated with it.  Heralds
had developed a language to discuss the form of the crest, called blazon.  They use this
language to describe the portions of the crest, the colors, the designs, and the charges on the
field.  The crest was divided into portions, by left, or dexter, right, or sinister, top, or chief,
and bottom, or base.  The colors comprised two metals, gold and silver, 5-7 colors, with the
basic colors being red, blue, black, green, and purple, and two types of fur, ermine and vair. 
The charge was a figure on the shield, such as an animal, a simple shape, a pattern on the
shield, or any other distinguishing mark.  Many charges were used.  There were many
different common patterns such as the chevron, gyronny, and chequy just to name a few. 
Some of the most popular charges were the cross, the eagle, the lion, the dragon, and the
griffin.  Blazon also describes the position of the charge, whether it was standing, sitting,
lying down, et cetera.  (58-59)
     Heraldry's main use was on the battlefield, that was where it first originated, and that
may have been where its greatest use lay. Heraldry was used to identify knights so that they
could determine friend from foe.  The first use of this was during the crusades, when knights
wore a cross to show that they were part of the Christian force.  (Smith, 196)  Some other
early uses of it were by kings, so that their troops could rally around them in battle.  (Jones,
56-57)  One drawback to this was that it also identified the wearer to his enemies.  (57) 
When all knights assumed a crest, this was no longer a problem, as the arms served as a sort
of uniform.  Indeed, the coat of arms led to the development of the modern day uniform,
because there was a need to distinguish between both common and upper class soldiers, so
countries adopted a universal coat of arms, the uniform.
     The identification of soldiers in battle was the most important function of the crest at
one time, though its uses would later change.  Therefore the symbols had to be distinctive,
easy to understand, and suggestive to the wearer's title and identity.  The heraldic symbol
accomplished this with charges placed upon the shield, and by the basic parts of the heraldic
language.  The most basic part of the shield, the background, was key in identification,
because relations may have had a similar field on their crests.  This could help a herald
determine who someone was if you knew their uncle's coat of arms.  The charges placed
upon the crests were also key in identifying the person.  Some knights even went so far as to
use charges that told their names.  For instance, a Lord Corbet might have on his shield a
corbie, a raven.  Another example, a knight with a hammer, or martel, on his crest, might be
from a family named Martel.  (Jones, 60)
     Once it is realized that these heraldic devices, displayed not only on the shield, but on
the helmet, the armor, and on the horse trappings, were key in identifying knights in battle,
then their importance can be seen.  The use of these devices was key to unifying knights,
because it meant that the knights could identify one another, albeit indirectly since once
crests became numerous heralds did most of the identification.  The uses of coats of arms also
served as an identification and registration process for the government, sort of like today's
drivers license, because heralds could identify you if you were to be seen with your crest
displayed.  However, heraldry was not limited to the battlefield.  Indeed, after it had
outgrown its usefulness there, heraldry grew to almost greater importance elsewhere.
     Heraldry and its symbols, though mainly the crest, were used to mark property, and as
a legal signature, or approval.  This can be seen throughout England today, as heraldic
symbols mark churches, castles, and other important sites.  (Jones, 57-58)  This may have led
to the merchants and craftsman's signature design, or stamp.  This in turn may have led to the
logo.
     Another major use of heraldry that persisted off of the battlefield was that of
identification, though it took on a different importance.  The major uses of heraldry,
however, were still the identification of the knights and lords.  The classic identification was
still needed at tournaments to identify participants, but a new and more complicating role
came into existence, the distinguishment of a father from his sons and from one brother to
another.  The distinguishment between these direct relations was because in the beginning of
heraldry, all of the sons of a given knight would have the same coat of arms.  This truly
became a problem if two brothers had to oppose each other in a tournament, but more
commonly, if two brothers, or their father, happened to own land near each other.  If there
were no differences in their crests, then it would be impossible to determine where the
boundary was, because the crests would be the same.  So several systems were devised so that
crests could be handed down.  The difference between siblings became known as cadency,
and it involved taking the original coat of the father, and adding a symbol that told which son
the bearer was.  Also of importance in telling the difference between family members was
marshaling, the use of combining coats of arms through marriage and heredity.  This art could
get very complicated, but was important to identifying parentage, ownership, and other
important characteristics of the holder of the arms.  (Jones, 60-61)
     Though heraldry is no longer used as an identification system, it will forever remain a
legacy of a past time.  The use of heraldry as an identification system was a successful one,
because it made it possible to identify people in armor quickly and easily, which in turn
helped to unify the knights.