[Illustration: No. 389.--Basinet with Crest-Wreath, Effigy of Sir Humphrey Stafford, A.D. 1450.]
When they were actually worn, Crests were undoubtedly constructed of some very light materials. It is probable that _cuir bouilli_ (boiled leather), the decorative capabilities of which were so well understood by mediæval artists, was generally employed.
It has been sometimes held that Crests are personal bearings only; and, therefore, not hereditary, though capable of being bequeathed or granted by their possessors. This theory is not sustained by early or general usage; and, accordingly, Crests must be pronounced to be hereditary, as is Coat-Armour.
It is evident that as one person may inherit, and therefore may quarter, two or more Coats of Arms, so the same person might claim to bear _two or more Crests_ by a similar right of inheritance. This in early times resulted in selection because no early British precedent exists for the simultaneous display of _two_ Crests. But it was soon recognised that as no woman could bear a Crest, she ought not to transmit one, and the idea of the inheritance of the Crest with a quartering from a female ancestress ceased. At the present day, several Crests, each with its own helm and mantling, are occasionally represented above a Shield of arms: but, in England, by strict heraldic rule, two (or more than two) Crests can be borne by one individual, only when he has obtained the Royal licence to bear and use the _Surname and Arms_ of another family _in addition_ to those of his own family, or, by a special grant from the Crown.
"Might I but know thee by thy household Badge!" --SHAKESPEARE, _Henry VI._, _Part 2_.
A BADGE, like a Coat of Arms, is an armorial ensign that is complete in itself, and possesses a definite signification of its own. In use with a decided heraldic significance long before the adoption of systematic Heraldry, Badges have always held a conspicuous position in the estimation of Heralds. A Badge resembles any single charge in Heraldry, in being a figure or device that is assumed as the distinctive cognisance of a particular individual or family: but, unlike a charge, it may be borne by itself, without any Shield, and also without any accompanying accessory, with the exception, in some instances, of a _Motto_ (See "Motto," p. 138). Badges, however, are found depicted on roundels of the livery, and upon Standards, and for decorative purposes are often depicted upon mantlings. It will be evident that a Badge may be the very same figure or device as a Crest; but, it must be remembered that a Badge always differs from a Crest, in usually being altogether without crest-wreath or coronet, in consequence of having no connection whatever with the knightly helm. There was, however, a period in which the Badge was much confused with the Crest, which has resulted in many devices which are really Crests being officially recorded as Badges.
