This article examines the influence of world cultures on various names of heraldic shields. The author also traces the evolution of shields from combat to armorial.
Keywords: heraldry, elements of the coat of arms, constituent parts of the coat of arms, shield shape, heraldic shield, combat shield, evolution of the coat of arms.
All students of a great number of schools, colleges and universities located on the territory of our homeland must know national history.
As in his time, Lieutenant General of the Russian Army A. G. Elchaninov wrote, “Our first duty is to be imbued with our country by all of our Russian hearts and by the depth of our souls. The second equally important duty is ability to appreciate the glory and feats of our ancestors and properly perpetuate them by word and deed” [7, p. 212].
The culture which refers to different aspects of human life has a great educational effect on the younger generation. Especially, the culture impacts on the spiritual and material spheres of life that are both combined by heraldic practice of making coats of arms.
Such concepts as “symbol” and “emblem” are frequently used together with “the coat of arms” in the literature on heraldry. Although these terms are related, but they cannot be equalized [6, p. 7]. The symbol is a conventional and abstract sign. It is based on the simplest and oldest outlines or geometrical figures [11, p. 376] that are an expression of a particular idea or a concept [6, p. 7]. Unlike the symbol, the emblem is not an abstract sign, but a specific depiction of figures, the themes of which are extremely broad [4, p. 522].
In general terms, the term «heraldry» currently refers to two related concepts. First, scientific heraldry is an auxiliary historical discipline, «the main task of which is the attribution of coats of arms. On the basis of this attribution, it is possible to determine the date and place of a production of an object of material culture, which has the image of the coat of arms» [5, p. 215]. Second, practical heraldry can be defined as a science, the task of which is directly to make coats of arms of various states, families, individuals, etc. In this case, heraldry is an art which is peculiar, rather delicate, often beautiful and always vividly conveys the style of the era and the taste of the artist who made this or that coat of arms [8, p. 6].
According to the rules of heraldry, the main elements of a coat of arms is a shield, a helmet, a crown, a crest, a mantling, a motto, and special ornaments around a shield [9, p. 7–8]. In this case, let us proceed directly to the main element of the coat of arms. It is the shield, which carries as much personal information about the coat of arms owner as possible [3, p. 55].
As for the shield shapes, as almost all heraldic shields not only had real prototypes, but were also introduced by heralds gradually, so the shield shape was developing in accordance with the time and a certain territory [9, p. 8]. The shield shapes, which could actually be more correlated with the combat shield, were found only in the period of the origin of heraldry. It is worth saying that the shape of the heraldic shield did not play a great role for the medieval man and, as a result, it could be freely changed. That is why the modern specialist should be very careful while studying heraldic shields and not make hasty conclusions, because its shape, unlike the figures depicted on it, may undergo changes under the influence of «fashion».
A special attention should be paid to the study of coats of arms made at the later stages of the formation of heraldry, when the so-called tendency towards the deliberate «ancientization» of families and, as a consequence, their coats of arms began to manifest itself [9, p. 8]. Therefore, it is possible to conclude that the shields are for the most part nationally determined shape, which may have been dominant in a significant area, and the choice of the national name of the shield is largely conditional [9, p. 8].
According to the above-mentioned, it is possible to say that heraldry has undergone many changes during its centuries-old history. One of them is the evolution of the heraldic shield. Therefore, their number is extremely large by now. The list of the most common heraldic shields is given by the famous Russian historian Vladimir Shapovalov. He mentions eight types of shields. It is Varangian (Early Gothic and Late Gothic), French, Spanish, Italian, Eastern (Byzantine), German, Greek (Amazon) and African one [9, p. 54]. The same list is mentioned by William Pokhlebkin [10, p. 517]. However, a well-known British heraldist Stephen Slater complements this list with an English shield [12, p. 261].
The most ancient heraldic shield is Varangian one. It has a triangular, tapering downward shape. However, provided that such a shield extends downwards and its edges are rounded at the top, it should be called Early Gothic shield.
In contemporary times, the shield, conventionally called Late Gothic shield, appeared. It was developed on the basis of the above-mentioned forms of shields. This shield was more convenient for the application of symbols and emblems [9, s. 8].
The triangular shape of the shield did not present any inconvenience of placing heraldic figures on it because of the simplicity of the first coats of arms. However, this shape was inconvenient for more complex coats of arms as heraldry was constantly developing. There was not enough space to place the figures on them. This forced heralds to choose a new form of the coat of arms, remotely similar to that of the Varangians.
The shield shape, called the French shield, has a quadrangular shape with a point at the bottom in the middle and a height equal to 9/8 of the width [5, p. 220]. Although such a shield has never been used in combat [1, p. 131], this sharpening is a reminder of one of the essential qualities of an infantry shield. It is the ability to anchor itself in the ground [13, p. 60]. The shape of the shield is extremely convenient for sectioning into a number of fields. This makes it possible to place a great number of figures on it. This form of shield has widely existed in the French kingdom since the very first days of existence of heraldry. Sometimes it was called the Samnite. According to legends, a similar form of shield was adopted from the Samnite people by the Romans [14, p. 16–17]. It must be said that this shield was extremely popular in the history of Russian heraldry, especially while studying coats of arms created in the 19th century [2, p. 7]. High popularity of the French shield in our country can be explained by the fact that, almost all the nobility were directly related to the land in such an agricultural country as the Russian Empire. Therefore, family and land coats of arms lay on a coinciding basis.
However, the Spanish shield is another no less significant form, widespread in the Iberian Peninsula. This shield has the size and shape of the French one, differing only in its rounded base [13, p. 60].
However, the Spanish shield is another no less significant form, widespread in the Iberian Peninsula. This shield has the size and shape of the French one, differing only in its rounded base. Pavel Pavlovich von Winkler writes, «This shape has been adopted as the least amenable to the liberties which engravers and artists allow themselves, adding various decorations to coats of arms» [14, p. 16].
The Italians have a peculiar shape of the coat of arms. Their shield is high, widening in the upper half and narrowing in the lower half. Typically, its top and base are decorated. In Italy there are also other forms of shields, such as oval, framed, similar to the architectural cartouche. Nevertheless, the above-described shape represents a typical Italian heraldic peculiarity [1, p. 146].
The round shield is called the Eastern or Byzantine shield. It has existed in all the countries of the East (Central and Asia Minor, the Middle and Far East) since ancient times. It has also been characteristic of Russia, especially since the late 13th century [10, p. 518]. The round or oblong shape of the shield has been found since prehistoric times.
The German shield is the shield of figured shape with all sorts of notches and scrolls. Its distinctive features are fanciful outlines formed by curved lines. Besides, on the right side there is a notch, which served to place a spear. The German shield has a decorative rather than a combat shield shape. It was especially widespread during the late Renaissance in the countries that were part of the Holy Roman Empire [10, p. 518].
The Greek or Amazon shield is rarely used in heraldry. It is a semicircle with two deep notches on top. The historical prototype of this shield could probably be the combat shield of Thracian warriors called peltas, but it has one deep notch on top [9, p. 8]. This shield is often used as a decorative detail in architecture [10, p. 518].
The so-called English shield is of particular interest to researchers. This name is used to denote two heraldic shields, which are completely different from each other. The first is a heart-shaped one. It ends in the upper part with three points. The second is similar to the French shield, but it has a widened upper part, often ending in an acute angle [14, p. 17].
The African shield is the youngest heraldic shield, which has appeared only in the 20th century. The reason for its appearance is extremely simple. It lies in the formation of new African states, freed from the colonial rule of Britain, the Netherlands, France and other countries. This shield is a rhombus with sharpened lower and upper ends and with smoothed ovals on the sides. This shield is a combat shield of many people in central and southern Africa [9, p. 8–9].
In some countries non-traditional shapes are used as the shield of the national coat of arms. For example, the national coat of arms of Australia has the shape of a square, pointed downward as a triangle. Coats of arms of Nicaragua and El Salvador are equilateral triangles. The coat of arms of the Republic of Haiti has the shape of a rectangle, the height of which is half less than its width. However, these shield shapes are not widespread in heraldry of other countries [9, p. 9].
Thus, it is possible to draw several conclusions. Firstly, passing its thorny centuries-old path from a means of individual protection of a warrior to the modern fundamental element of the coat of arms, the shields have continuously evolved and changed.
Secondly, heraldry appeared at the turn of the 11th-12th centuries and owes its emergence to such a medieval phenomenon as the Crusades.
Thirdly, at least 9 shields can be distinguished in heraldic science by the present time. It is Varangian (Early Gothic and Late Gothic), French, Spanish, Italian, Eastern (Byzantine), German (Germanic), Greek (Amazon), English and African one.
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