Dame Heraldry

ars. A huge Saracen, beside whose Goliath-like form Otho appeared as little greater than a grasshopper, met him in deadly conflict. The Saracen of course was conquered, or we shouldn't have the tale to relate, and Otho took the enemy's shield, which was a serpent crowned and devouring a child, from him, and adopted it as his own. It was in this and similar ways that iscouti. many of the early shields originated. But when such arms became universal with knights, and their insignia grew to be as well known as their very names, the question arose as to what could be done by the leaders to stimulate the loyalty and valor of their followers. To accomplish this, many were the princely grants of land and rich annuities which grateful kings showered upon their loyal subjects when unusual deeds of self- devotion to their country and their king demanded recognition. But no reward was more highly prized by the flower of English nobility than was the gift of what is called " An Augmentation."An augmentation is some little ornament, a rose, perhaps, or a dagger, a star, a lily, or, at the very most, a lion from the shield of England, or the Tressure from the Scottish shield. These were royal arms, and the permission to display them on their own shield, with some little change from their original form, was an honor of the highest degree. Sometimes these augmentations were given to foreigners by sovereigns of various countries, in recognition of some act of marked merit. ...