THE OLD - Old Wirral.com

THE OLD CHURCHES OF WIRRAL
was the rule in Assyrian, Chaldean,
Egyptian, Greek, or Roman times. In
this country, the wearing of a distinctive
badge in battle or tournament became
necessary by reason of the introduction
of the closed helmet, which hid
the face of the wearer and rendered him
unrecognisable even to his followers.
And so the knights of olden times wore a
decorated sur-coat of distinctive design, or
a device upon their shield, or a crest upon
their helmet, to establish their identity.
It is an interesting reflection that, in the
present utilitarian age, the army
" identity disc " is the modern counter-
part of the old heraldic ornaments.
But there was one essential difference
between the armorial bearings and the
identity disc, for, while every man of every
rank wore the latter, Arms were borne
only by gentlemen. The word " gentleman,"
of course, had a totally different
meaning in mediaeval days from what it
has now. Then there were but two
classes of society, landowners and the common
people. Landowners had certain
military obligations. They held land on
condition that they produced a specific
number of men-at-arms as the sovereign
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