The heritage and esprit of heraldry which originated in the Middle Ages is faithfully reflected in the selection available in the Aurorbita pin collection. The use of heraldic devices, or “coat of arms”, originated in the Middle Ages. In Japan, there is a long history of the development of such symbols, known as “kamon”. It has become prevalent to use heraldic devices as a form of identification that displays which family or organization one belongs to. In addition, a heraldic device symbolizes the character, tradition, philosophy and ties of the family. Let’s learn more about the world of heraldry to gain a deeper appreciation of the Aurorbita pin collection. Thought to have originated in Europe in the Middle Ages, heraldic devices were invented as one needed some sort of sign to recognize friends and foes in battle. On the potteries of ancient Greece, soldiers are depicted holding shields inscribed with characteristic emblems. Those emblems are not considered heraldic devices, or “coat of arms”, as they did not function as symbols to be passed down to the children and later descendants. It is thought that the heraldic devices came to be used as hereditary family identification in 11th century Germany. In earlier stages of the development of these devices, soldiers, who had clad themselves in armor from head to toe, bore almond-shaped shields which displayed their original designs for recognition in battle. The earliest designs, which were mostly of fairly simple geometrical figures, known as ordinaries, and charges of animal figures without tincture, gradually developed to have distinctive tincture so that they could be easily recognized from a distance. While the designs became more complex and more variations appeared as years passed, similar patterns came to be used repeatedly. In the Middle Ages, when the tournament became popular among knights, the herald, often a tournament official, introduced the general adoption of and artificial rules for the use of heraldry, the art of inscribing, assigning, and carefully combining the elements into a coat of arms, to avoid delay and confusion in judging. Later, heraldry was brought into France, and gradually became prevalent in Western Europe. It was in the 14th century that heraldry was imported into England, and there in the 15th century, Herald’s College was chartered. Since then, Herald’s College has granted many Kings of Arms to those who are of high authority of heraldry.