Rosary/Stained Glass Window Heraldry?

Hey, all. This idea occurred to me the other day as a way to make alt!English culture look a bit more unique. In a world where the Norman Invasion failed, the English wouldn’t necessarily adopt French-style heraldry, though I’d be willing to bet that they eventually would anyway, probably during the Crusades when (the equivalent to) English knights see other Europeans using heraldry and decide they need to represent their families that way as well

Anyway, the idea occurred to me that, if for no other reason than to just make English heraldry look distinct from that of continental Europe, alternate English heraldic motifs could draw inspiration from religious architecture, particularly the rosary and stained glass windows of churches and cathedrals. At present I’m imagining it mostly being on round shields rather than spade-shaped ones which have base designs inspired by rosary windows with some personal symbols emblazoned on top of them while taller shields (especially the spade-shaped ones) would draw more from stained glass windows and be much less uniform. Aside from those two, I imagine them being in bright (even gaudy) colors with thick outlines

thoughts?
 
Heraldry didn't exist until after the Norman invasion, about 1200-1215 so with a 1066 POD you can make it whatever you want. I will note that many of the rules of heraldry started for a reason. You have to be able to distinguish it from across a field so it needs to be clear, bright, have contrasting colors, and a relatively simple design. Anything too complicated is going to fall out of favor relatively quickly since at bow range it's going to be a muddle of color.

I believe that the Saxons did do various geometric pattern on their shields so that might be a good place to start.
 
You did have some form of proto-heraldry before the XIIth century. While it didn't cover all of what we define as heraldry (mostly the transmittablity)

You can see such military emblems, for example, in Bayeux Tapestry with dragons or "crow banner".
The dragon, especially, could be found almost everywhere in Western Christendom before the XIIth century, and we could argue that Charlemagne's banner and Oriflamme were such as well.

(If you want to merge religious and pre-heraldry emblems, the Oriflamme may be a good clue : while the transmission wasn't exactly familial but come from the vow, eventually tied up with territoriality, an equivalent may form itself if the right PoD)

That said, transmission of more proper heraldry would happen before the Crusades, or at least not directly related to them for what matter to England : Normandy (would it be trough influence from Byzantine emblems) and Saxony had important ties with late Anglo-Saxon England that would certainly be maintained after William's defeat (even if the anti-Norman faction, existing since decades, would certainly prevent a too great influence).
The outcome would be more a mix between Anglo-Saxon features and a more widespread heraldry : with a XIth PoD, when heraldry begins to appear (while timidly) properly, you won't get rid of a more or less important Frankish influence.

(Of course, what we witness today as rosaries and glass decorations in medieval churches are largely posterior, so it won't much work there)
 
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