Heraldry

Hello all, this is Connor's paper on the terribly riviting topic of Heraldry...

In a very blunt, straightforward statement, Heraldry is simply the study, creating, and use of something known as the “Coat of Arms”. First brought into culture and existence about 700 years ago (during the 1300’s, the age of feudalism, the bubonic plague and the era of the knight), Heraldry has remained to this day an important part of life, though not put to as much use as it was many years ago.
The phrase “Coat of Arms” refers to physical object – literally, a “Coat of Arms”. Almost all the time, this was a design upon a shield (both ceremonial and real) that could be divided up into many sections, or kept as one big image. Each image is (mostly) unique to a family. This means family in a last name sense – such as the Briton family, or the Jackson family. That being said, the Coat of Arms would be passed down from one head of the household to the next, so that a family’s coat of arms is usually inherited from many generations past, sometimes being hundreds of years old.
One of the important uses of the Coat of Arms was for identification. As previously stated, each family had its’ own unique Coat of Arms which served as identification, but where this became truly important was on the battlefield. Soldiers could use fighting styles, formations, flags, and uniforms to tell friend from foe, but when you have hundreds of knights dressed up in full suits of armor, the only way to distinguish who was who was through the Coat of Arms, which was usually borne on the shield of the soldier (though not always, it was not uncommon to have it seen on the breastplate as well).
This is why Heraldry is so important. With a deep knowledge of it, an individual can learn a lot about a Coat of Arms, as those who are knowledgeable in Heraldry are able to tell many things about an individual, such as traits, family history, family values, and cultural values. Although this is no longer a vital skill as it once was in the middle ages, it remains important to this day, in many societies.

http://www.rarebooks.nd.edu/digital/heraldry/

and

http://www.heraldica.org/here.htm#common%20questions


those should work. And this is not late, it's 11:58 on monday night.
Great Success!