The armorial of British universities is the collection of coats of arms of universities in the United Kingdom. Modern arms of universities began appearing in England around the middle of the 15th century, with Oxford's being possibly the oldest university arms in the world, being adopted around the end of the 14th century. The earliest granting of university arms was to King's College Cambridge by Henry VIII in 1449. Arms are still granted by the College of Arms to universities today, with new universities continuing to register arms, which has been seen as an attempt to appear more traditional or legitimate. As corporations, older university arms have historically been granted without a crest, however newer institutions use crests with mantling, including new colleges at older universitie