ABOUT COATS OF ARMS
A
coat of arms, more properly called an
armorial achievement, or
armorial bearings, in European tradition, is a design
belonging only to a particular person (or group of people such as clans) and used by them in a wide variety of ways. Historically, they were used by knights
to identify themselves apart from enemy
soldiers or in Tournament Games. In Continental Europe commoners were able to adopt Burgher arms, which were the coats of arms of commoners, or non-nobles. Although the term "burgher" arms refers to bourgeoisie, it is often extended to arms of the Protestant clergy and even to arms of peasants. However, this term, "burgher" is unknown in Britain, because their arms were granted based on a social class. In continental Europe the use of armorial bearings has never been restricted to a particular social class and every individual, family and community has been free to adopt arms and use it as they please, as long as they have not wrongfully assumed the arms of another. The arms of commoners bore a far wider variety of charges (emblems on the shield) than the arms of nobility; such as everyday objects, and in particular, tools. "House marks" are sometimes found In burgher arms, which are not found in arms of nobility. Unlike seals and emblems, coats of arms have a formal description that is expressed as a "blazon". In the 21st century, coats of arms are still in use by a variety of institutions and individuals. Most widespread burgher heraldry was and still is in Switzerland and in Netherlands. In the Netherlands only a small percentage of the existing arms belong to the nobility. Therefore, contrary to popular belief, you didn't have to be of the noble class to have borne a coat of arms.