The Crest-Wreath in the form shown in the last examples, and now almost universally used in representations of such Crests as are without the Crest-Coronet and the Chapeau, may fairly be considered to have been derived from the rich ornamentation, generally, as it would seem, formed of costly textile fabrics, if not executed in jewelled or enamelled goldsmith’s work, that was frequently wreathed about knightly basinets. These wreath-like ornaments are represented in numerous effigies both sculptured and engraven; and they are shown to have been worn either flat, as in No. 388, or wrought to high relief, as in No. 389. These two examples are severally from the effigies of a knight in Tewkesbury Abbey Church, about A.D. 1365, and of Sir HUMPHREY STAFFORD, A.D. 1450, at Bromsgrove, in Worcestershire. The enamelled effigy of Earl WILLIAM DE VALANECE, A.D. 1296, at Westminster, has a wreath of delicate workmanship in relief, which once was set with real or imitative jewels. For many years after their first appearance, heraldic Crests were regarded as insignia of great dignity and exalted estate; and it was not till a considerably later period that the right to bear a Crest came to be regarded as an adjunct of the right to bear arms. Still later, when they were granted with Coat-Armour to corporate bodies, communities, and institutions, Crests altogether lost their original significance; and they became, in their use, Badges in everything except the habit of placing them, with their accessories of Wreath or Crest-Coronet, of Chapeau and Mantling, upon representations of helms. [Illustration: No. 389.--Basinet with Crest-Wreath, Effigy of Sir Humphrey Stafford, A.D. 1450.] When they were actually worn, Crests were undoubtedly constructed of some very light materials. It is probable that _cuir bouilli_ (boiled leather), the decorative capabilities of which were so well understood by mediæval artists, was generally employed. It has been sometimes held that Crests are personal bearings only; and, therefore, not hereditary, though capable of being bequeathed or granted by their possessors. This theory is not sustained by early or general usage; and, accordingly, Crests must be pronounced to be hereditary, as is Coat-Armour.