Sarovian heraldry

Heraldry is a term that discusses the design, display, study and creation of armorial bearings and vexillogy, also known as coats of arms and flags. Primarily, however, heraldry is the discussion around what is known as an achievement. The achievement (also known as armorial bearings) is a coat of arms alongside a helmet and crest, along with mottos, supporters, badges, heraldic banners, mottos, chivalric orders and medals and decorations. It is often believed that a coat of arms belongs to a family - this is false. It belongs to an individual as a head of a family and is inherited like any other possession, with other members of the family gaining "differences" to their shield to distinguish themselves.

Throughout all of GraalOnline Classic's history, as well as the other games the New Sarovian Empire exists on, an established set of heraldic rules were never established until Constantine IX enforced them in Sarovia.

Individuals, public and private organizations, corporations, cities, towns, regions, and other entities use heraldry and its conventions to symbolize their heritage, achievements, and aspirations. In New Sarovia, there is the College of Arms, which receives petitions for coats of arms and designs them.

Heraldry
A heraldic achievement is usually a shield (called a coat of arms) and everything else it may need, such as crests, supporters and more. The term coat of arms addresses everything in the common use of the word. The shield is the fundamental element to it all - no achievement or armorial bearings exists without a shield. There is a rule in heraldry - the rule of tincture, which traditionally establishes that colours (gules, azure, sable, vert, purpure, orange etc) shall not touch one another, and metals (or and argent) shall not touch one another.

Arms are frequently embellished with helmets placed above the shields. These in turn came to be decorated with fan-shaped or sculptural crests, often incorporating elements from the shield of arms; as well as a wreath or torse, or sometimes a coronet or crown.

If the bearer is entitled to the ribbon, collar, or badge of a knightly order, it may encircle or depend from the shield. Some arms, particularly those of the nobility, are further embellished with supporters, heraldic figures standing alongside or behind the shield; often these stand on a compartment, typically a mound of earth and grass, on which other badges, symbols, or heraldic banners may be displayed. Medals are often hung from the shield as well.

College of Arms
The establishment of a new set of peers and members of the nobility including Knights, Dukes, Archbishops and more, and the establishment of new organisations, institutions and buildings brought the need for an official institution to create, grant, and document all pieces of heraldry and vexillology as well as track the inheritance of certain heraldry and heraldic badges. The College of Arms Act was passed in 2021 and established the College of Arms under the administration of the Chief Herald and the Imperial Crown.

The College of Arms is the official heraldic authority for Reuss, Nassau, the State, Sarovia, Sarholm, as well as her Colonies, Dominions, and government organisations - including institutions of nations in the Sarovian Commonwealth. As well as being responsible for the granting of new coats of arms, the College maintains registers of arms, pedigrees, genealogies, Imperial Licences and flags. The heralds, besides having ceremonial duties, advise on all matters relating to the peerage and baronetage, precedence, honours and ceremonial as well as national and community symbols including flags.

Coats of arms belong to specific individuals and families and there is no such thing as a coat of arms for a family name. From their origins in the twelfth century to the present day arms have been borne by individuals, and by corporate bodies, as marks of identification. They have also been used to denote other characteristics, which have changed over the centuries as society and culture have evolved. New coats of arms have since the fifteenth century been granted both to individuals and corporate bodies by the senior heralds in Imperial service, the Chief Herald, which would be appointed by the Assembly of Peers as a hereditary position in the Nobility, and grant them the title and status of a Duke. The Chief Herald would be in charge of registering through a public slideshow all heraldic badges, coat of arms, flags and other insignia of Sarovian citizens, the Sarovian state and subservient nations, and foreign nations as well, and track their history, inheritance and history, for public knowledge.

Tinctures and tradition
To regulate Sarovian arms and heraldry, the Chief Herald of the College of Arms has established guidelines, such as the official shades of colours, coronets and shield shapes, which can be seen below.