List of oldest heraldry

This list of oldest heraldry aims to include the oldest documented, non-attributed heraldic achievements for individuals, families, locations or institutions.

A problem with determining early occurrence of heraldry stems from the fact that many early heraldic charges and compositions emerged in emulation of prior visual identifications, as seen in ante-heraldic seals and standards of individuals, authorities and towns, well before traditional heraldic custom was established. Visual culture and identity naturally predated heraldry. Notably, lions that would subsequently appear in coat of arms of royal dynasties, such the Kingdom of León, predated heraldry well enough in the early Middle Ages.

In an extreme comparison, some elements today commonly associated with heraldry have even been traced in Western civilisation to antiquity, such as to the Lions gate of Mycenae from the 13th century B.C. A reoccuring, less distant perception of proto-heraldic appearances is that of the Bayeux tapestry in Normandy.

Yet, in any case, several studies of British heraldry has traditionally taken into account the early seal of King Richard Lionheart of the House of Plantagenet as a manifestation of heraldry, due to its visual replication in documented actual coat of arms shortly afterwards.

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