What's the difference between the badges of British nobles?

In the history of Europe, the badge is a symbol of glory and blood. Almost all top luxury goods and private houses use badges as the highest proof of family, which has become the blood label adhered to by countless aristocratic groups all over the world. Because it represents the rank identity of the nobility, there are strict rules on the badge, and it will change with the change of aristocratic identity and rank. Strictly speaking, the badge can't be regarded as a specialized institution of the royal family, but its existence is like a business card. Although it can be owned by everyone, its meaning is quite different.

From 17 to 19 th century, English gentlemen were so obsessed with it that even when they wrote letters or notes, they used paper with the badge of the English gentlemen's club to show their identity difference from others. In this way, in May, 2004, Powell applied to the Edinburgh Council for a family badge, not to mention his Scottish ancestry.

The power of the beast

Initially, when badges were born on the battlefield in the12nd century, they were mainly used to identify those knights who were difficult to identify from a distance, because their faces were covered by the chain mail hood (up to the chin) and the helmet nose guard. According to statistics, one third of badges use animal patterns.

Among them, the eagle and the lion are the two most common animal patterns on European aristocratic badges, which are the embodiment of ancient martial spirit. Of the 1 10,000 badge patterns preserved in medieval Europe, about 15% used the lion pattern. Perhaps this phenomenon has something to do with the whole western tradition, that is, the lion has always been the king of beasts and a symbol of courage, nobility, majesty and kingliness. The lion in the badge often stands upright or raises his front paws, with a towering mane and a flowing mouth, and his whole body is surprisingly thin and hairy; The color is often red or gold, and the tongue and claws set off each other in color. There are also many lions that stand upright. Like to use the lion badge in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Denmark and so on. Interestingly, when the lion's head is facing forward, it is not a lion, but a leopard. ...

Before the rise of the lion pattern, in a large part of Europe, including Germany, Kart and Scandinavia, there was a strong interest in using bears as badge patterns, which meant courage. The wolf's position is similar. Some parts of Spain and Italy like to use wolves as badges, symbolizing courage and tenacity.

Eagle pattern accounts for about 2% of all badges, especially in aristocratic badges. Countries that have always liked to use eagles mainly include Russia, Austria, Germany and northern Italy. The eagle in the badge is upright, with its wings spread out on the side of its head and its mouth and claws protruding obviously. It means sublime and noble.

The badges that nobles like to use are deer and wild boar (their prey); Insect patterns are rarely used in badges, and relatively more are bee patterns ... monsters and legendary creatures are not used much in badges. As for the horse, it is a big absentee in the animal design of the emblem. The reason is unknown, which may be related to the special position of horses in western European society. As a soldier's companion, horses sometimes have the same status as people.

"heraldry has brought a new identity symbol to the society that is being reorganized. It helps to put individuals in groups and groups in the whole social system. " Thus, by the beginning of the13rd century, all the middle and small aristocrats had badges, and the use of badges extended to different types of people such as non-soldiers and non-aristocrats.

In May, 2004, the then Secretary of State Powell applied for a family badge from the branch committee in Edinburgh, Scotland, England in order to show his Scottish ancestry, because Powell's father was a Jamaican black immigrant, but his mother had direct Scottish ancestry. Powell's behavior of seeking roots for himself and his family was later accepted and imitated by many successful Americans, Canadians and Australians, who returned to Europe to seek roots for their families.

Beauty of petals

Among all kinds of badge patterns, plants are also one of the elements that nobles love to draw. Other non-animal designs, including scepter, bucket, bow and arrow, tomahawk, horseshoe, spurs, hammer, star and crescent moon, are taken from all aspects of China's real life. It is precisely because of the noise of the content that16th century later, the badge became an aristocratic ornament full of ostentatious colors.

The red rose is called the queen of fragrance and is the representative of flowers. Its rich and elegant fragrance is easy to make people feel happy. Therefore, it has always been regarded as a symbol of love and purity, and the beauty of petals has even been used as a badge of British nobility.