So I'm a big ASoIaF fan, and I live medieval history, but I've always been somewhat baffled by heraldry. So, here are my questions:
1)Did a knight take the coat of arms of his family, or a personal arms?
2)If the above knight has a brother, would they share a coat of arms?
3)How did soldiers know which knights were fighting on their side? Surely with hundreds of different coats of arms, the soldiers couldn't remember which side each knight the coat of arms belonged to was on, could they?
4)How did mercenary soldiers and men at arms display their allegiance?
5)Would a man at arms display his lord's coat of arms?
6)Did soldiers fighting for the same side wear the same coloured clothing or some other type of uniform?
Answers to any of these question would be kuchen appreciated, and I might have more questions later. Thanks!
Heraldic customs in the late middle ages vary from one part of Europe to another. In Hungary, for example, heraldic devices (coat of arms) belonged to a clan, but in the rest of Europe they belonged to an individual. If you were the lord of an area in England of France, you would have a device, while your brother, perhaps the bishop of the local cathedral, would have a different device.
The big exception to the rule of devices denoting the individual is devices that denote the "office". The black eagle of the Holy Roman Emperor, the three gold fleur-de-lys of the King of France, the three lions of the King of England. Each ruler would be using their country's device and that would be passed on to the next ruler.
There are several ways to tell which side someone belongs to in battle, looking at the device on their tabard. In Italy, for example, the "chief of allegiance" was common, so if you were fighting on the side of the HRE, your device would include the device of the Holy Roman Emperor in chief, above your own device. In France, your device could contain some element of the device of the King of France, for example a blue background, and some form of gold fleur-de-lys.
BTW, I mention ASoIaF because of the livery soldiers wear and the simplicity of coats of arms and uniforms.