COAT ARMOR

Heraldic ensigns, introduced by Richard I. from the Holy Land, where they were first invented. Originally they were painted on the shields of the Christian knights who went to the Holy Land during the crusades, for the purpose of ld~ntifying • them, ·some such contrivance being nece ary in order to distinguish knights when clad in armor from one another. Wharton. [s. 217]