Coat of arms are used by the Knights of the Old world to identify themselves. One man in armour looks a lot like another, so the coat of arms is used to identify knights in a battle. In a society where few people are able to read and write, pictures are very important. Therefore a coat of arms is more like a label for instant identification than it is a painting. From the Bretonnian Knights and the Imperial Knightly Orders as well as various Imperial noble houses to the rich Merchant-families of Marienburg and Tilea,
the coat of arms are an important instrument of identification in the Old World. Even primitive races like Orks and Goblins use symbols to show their membership of a warband. The origins of the coat of arms are not clear, many scholars believe that the use of signs has its sources in the old civilisations of the Dwarfs and High Elves to identify the troops in battle. The early human barbarians copied the banners and signs of the elder races and over the years they created new signs and symbols. (more…)