A question on the history of heraldry._....

A question on the history of heraldry. When and why did crests become commonplace in British heraldry?

I remember that the Visitations lead to a lot of badges becoming crests, but I'm guessing that this only makes sense if the heralds already had a policy to grant crests to everybody.

Britanica states "They were at first borne in tournaments, and they became general in families in England from the 16th century when the venal heralds of that period persuaded crestless families to acquire the addition for a payment."

That sounds like a massive over-simplification to me though...