Ever noticed the colorful decoration that knights had on their shields and as part of their clothing in the Middle Ages? The history of heraldry is a fascinating one, and it's been around for much longer than you might think.

A military order is a Christian religious society of knights. Initially formed to protect and offer medical care for pilgrims traveling through the Holy Land, the military orders such as the Knights Templar, Knights Hospitaller and Teutonic Knights soon established themselves as an invaluable military presence in the region.⁣

Heraldry, that is the use of inherited coats of arms and other symbols to show personal identity and family lineage, began on the mid-12th century CE battlefield as an easy means to identify medieval royalty and princes who were otherwise unrecognizable beneath their armor.