As far as I know, it happened between 1066 and the 14th century - I forget when Middle English turns into Modern English - the period when Anglo-Norman French was the official language of the courts.
I love heraldry, but my interest in it predates the Internet by a long way, so I don't know of any websites/discussion sites.
a vast new subset of jargon, loosely based (it seems to me, a non-expert) on medieval French, Latin and English.
Exactly right. The heraldic terms still in use today (okay, admittedly only by enthusiasts, but still, the correct technical terms used to blazon a coat of arms) are derived from the language used to describe a coat of arms among the Anglo-Norman nobility and their English-speaking servants - Middle English, Medieval Norman-French, and tags of Latin.
The traditions of heraldry are why some flags look odd to us and some flags look "right" - the system of only placing metals on colours and colours on metals is something that visual designers follow even now, though they mostly don't know they're doing that.
no subject
I love heraldry, but my interest in it predates the Internet by a long way, so I don't know of any websites/discussion sites.
a vast new subset of jargon, loosely based (it seems to me, a non-expert) on medieval French, Latin and English.
Exactly right. The heraldic terms still in use today (okay, admittedly only by enthusiasts, but still, the correct technical terms used to blazon a coat of arms) are derived from the language used to describe a coat of arms among the Anglo-Norman nobility and their English-speaking servants - Middle English, Medieval Norman-French, and tags of Latin.
The traditions of heraldry are why some flags look odd to us and some flags look "right" - the system of only placing metals on colours and colours on metals is something that visual designers follow even now, though they mostly don't know they're doing that.