This shield is taken from a MS of the twelfth century, in the Royal Library at Paris; and is of that narrow kite-like form which prevailed from the time of the Norman conquest till at least the reign of Henry II of England. The form of the shield then underwent a gradual change very similar to that experienced by the gothic window at a later period; the bow became wider and wider, and the arch flatter, until at last it took the form which is still given to it in coats of arms.