2008Romanian Heraldic Symbols - Souvenir Sheet

Used as a historical source, heraldry is an important mean of putting theoretical principles into practice, interpreting and researching the evolution of a country’s coats of arms, of a domain, a city or a family. The denomination of heraldry derives from the Latin term used during the Middle Ages: heraldus = herald. During the Medieval period, heralds were the messengers of the war but they would also make the presentations of fighters during jousting competitions and their armorial bearings. The coat of arms was a conventional symbol, characteristic for the state, city, family, individual, etc. The oldest Romanian coats of arms representing Wallachia, Moldavia, and Transylvania bear the seal of Occidental influence.