Os impostos e os Brasões 1

At first when the Feudal System prevailed, not only in England, but other parts of Europe, none but
military chieftains bore Coats of Arms. And as few persons held land under the Crown but by
military tenure, that is, under the obligation of attending in person with a certain number of vassals
and retainers when their services were required by the king for the defence of the state, heraldic
honours were confined to the nobility, who were the great landholders of the kingdom. When they
granted any portion of their territory to their knights and followers as rewards for deeds of prowess
in the field or other services, the new possessors of the land retained the arms of their patrons with a
slight difference to denote their subordinate degree. The ingenuity of the armorist was not then
taxed to find a multitude of devices to distinguish every family. And when chivalry became the
prevailing pursuit of all that sought honour and distinction by deeds of arms and gallant courtesy,
the knights assumed the privilege that warriors in all ages have used; viz. that of choosing any
device they pleased to ornament the crests of their helmets in the field of battle, or in the mock
combat of the tournament: the knight was known and named from the device used as his crest. Thus
the heralds, in introducing him to the judges of the field, or to the lady that bestowed the prizes,
called him the Knight of the Swan, the Knight of the Lion, without mentioning any other title. And
knights whose fame for gallantry and prowess was firmly established, had their crests painted over
their coats of arms.