INTRODUCTION
Heraldry, defined by Anthony Wagner as ‘the systematic use of hereditary devices centred upon the shield’,1 developed in England during the twelfth century. The earliest extant example of a coat of arms, the decorated shield given by Henry i to his son-in-law, Geoffrey of Anjou, when he was knighted, dates from 1128.2 Originally used to identify the heavily armed knight, by the second quarter of the twelfth century shield designs had become hereditary, being used consistently to associate their owners with certain lands, titles and offices.3 Coats of arms became the visual representation of a family’s identity and the most important symbol of a magnate’s lineage and power, associating him with his ancestors and their noble deeds. This contributed to family memory, providing a means for families to continue being remembered even in the absence of direct male heirs. Within a short time, hereditary symbols transcended the shield, with coats of arms and family badges being added to everything from seals to household furnishings and personal objects. Evidence of the heraldry used by the patriarchs of one of the longest surviving Anglo-Norman noble families, the de Bohun earls of Hereford, Essex and Northampton (1066–1373), survives in rolls of arms, seal impressions, wills, inventories, personal possessions and illuminated manuscripts.4 This evidence indicates that the choice of heraldic symbols by successive earls was carefully considered and inextricably tied to their sense of identity, and that the family’s heraldry evolved through time as individuals obtained powerful titles and offices and entered into marriage alliances with other noble families.
THE DE BOHUN EARLS AND THEIR COATS OF ARMS
The coat of arms now generally associated with the de Bohun earls of Hereford and Essex is azure, a bend argent with cotises or, between six lioncels or. This is the coat of arms described in the earliest rolls of arms, dating from the reign of Edward i (1272–1307), and in most surviving impressions of de Bohun seals.5 In practice, the colour silver was usually represented as white; thus on most surviving depictions the central bend in the de Bohun coat of arms is white.6 It is presumably for this reason that the banner of Humphrey vii (d. 1322) is...
