Thread by @18airbornecorps

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So all week we've been throwing around the word "Heraldry." What does it really mean? What is heraldry?

#XVIIIABCHeraldryWeek

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Heraldry refers to the method of creating and maintaining the symbols of rank, peerage, nobility, etc.

Formal heraldry date back to the High Middle Ages (1200 CE) but there are earlier examples.

Coats of arms are the most well-known product of heraldry.

3 of 8:

Coats of arms got their start as just symbols on a shield – an actual shield – during chivalric tournaments (a mock joust in which knights displayed martial skills) in the 1100s.

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To start these tournaments, men called "heralds" would announce the participants to the crowd, using the symbols to identify the men at the lists.

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Eventually this system would become more and more refined and is still in use today for families and organizations.

This tradition is manifest in our Army today with our Distinctive Unit Insignia and our Shoulder Sleeve Insignia.

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Coats of arms had 14 elements. We won't get into all that, but today, every @USArmy unit insignia has two of those elements. Both symbolize something important about the unit:

1. A color scheme

2. A "charge" (the main subject of the insignia)

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For us, the color = blue, which signifies the "sky" ("Sky Dragons" = our inception as an airborne force). Our charge = the dragon (which we learned about yesterday).

FINAL:

We'll dive deeper into the meaning behind our charge (our Dragon) here later today and tomorrow.