heraldry

Table of Contents

Introduction
The scope of heraldry
- General considerations
- The chief components of armorial bearings
  - The shield
  - The crest
  - The helmet
  - The mantling
  - Crowns and coronets
  - Mottoes
  - Supporters
  - The compartment
  - The achievement
  - The badge
  - Banners and standards
- The elements and grammar of heraldic design
  - The field
  - The charges on the field
    - Ordinaries
    - Other charges
  - The nature and origins of heraldic terminology
- The reading of heraldry
- Manipulation of heraldic design
  - Cadency
  - Arms of ladies
  - Quarterings and marshaling
  - Nonfamilial heraldry
The historical development of heraldry
- The early roots of heraldry
  - Seals
  - Rolls of arms
  - Records in stone, glass, brass, and other media
- The growth of heraldry after the 12th century
  - Heraldic colleges and offices
  - Records and grants
  - Early writers
  - Continental versus British heraldry
- 20th-century heraldry
  - France and Italy
  - Communist countries
  - Ireland
  - South Africa
  - The United States
  - England
  - International organizations
- Uses of heraldry for study and verification

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images & Videos

Image shows a seal depicting several mythical creatures fighting.

The image shows the symbols and meanings of different Japanese mon.

The video thumbnail image shows the existing Maine state flag, a blue background with the state seal, potentially being replaced by a new design, a tan background with a star and pine tree.

The image shows a coat of arms.

Royal Arms of the United Kingdom, as used in England

The image shows four badges. The Italian badge looks like a rope; the Welsh badge looks like a leek; the French badge looks like a hedgehog wearing a crown; and the English badge looks like a rose wearing a crown.

The image shows a Scottish clan's badge.

The image shows types of line divisions that might be used on a crest or seal.

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Christopher Columbus kneeling, holding flag and sword with two other men holding flags. There are other men on land and in boats behind Columbus and three ships in background. On the island named San Salvador by Columbus, later called Watling Island.

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An ancient egyptian hieroglyphic painted carving showing the falcon headed god Horus seated on a throne and holding a golden fly whisk. Before him are the Pharoah Seti and the goddess Isis. Interior wall of the temple to Osiris at Abydos, Egypt.

11 Egyptian Gods and Goddesses

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Close-up of ostriches (Struthio camelus) necks and heads; location unknown.

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heraldry: Media

Videos

The video thumbnail image shows the existing Maine state flag, a blue background with the state seal, potentially being replaced by a new design, a tan background with a star and pine tree.

How to design a new state flag

Flying a flag with a complicated design is like trying to read the Encyclopædia...

Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

See an illustrated manuscript of 16th-century coats of arms, including commentary on whether Shakespeare is worthy of one

See an illustrated manuscript of 16th-century coats of arms, including commentary on whether Shakespeare is worthy of one

A look at an illustrated manuscript by Ralph Brooke, a herald in the English College...

Video: Courtesy of Folger Shakespeare Library; CC-BY-SA 4.0 (A Britannica Publishing Partner)

Images

Image shows a seal depicting several mythical creatures fighting.

Akkadian cylinder seal

Cylinder seal impression from the Akkadian period with a combat scene between a bearded...

Courtesy of the Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures of The University of Chicago

The image shows the symbols and meanings of different Japanese mon.

Japanese mon

Japanese mon, or heraldic emblems. The mon is worn as a badge to...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

The image shows a coat of arms.

The arms of U.S. President John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy's coat of arms is an altered version of the ancient Kennedy coat,...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Royal Arms of the United Kingdom, as used in England

Royal Arms of the United Kingdom, as used in England

The chief components of armorial bearings...

Drawing by Wm. A. Norman, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

The image shows four badges. The Italian badge looks like a rope; the Welsh badge looks like a leek; the French badge looks like a hedgehog wearing a crown; and the English badge looks like a rose wearing a crown.

Badges

Italian, Welsh, French, and English badges are represented by the knot of the royal...

Drawing by Wm. A. Norman, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

The image shows a Scottish clan's badge.

Badge of Clan MacLean

The badge of Clan MacLean is represented by a tower with a tartan background, surrounded...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Heraldic flags

Types of heraldic flags include the banner, illustrated by the Royal Banner of Scotland;...

Drawing by Wm. A. Norman, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

The image shows types of line divisions that might be used on a crest or seal.

Types of divisions between tinctures

There are other divisions besides those shown. A line described as flory or as flory...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Ordinaries

Ordinaries

Ordinaries are basic bearings that may be of any tincture and that may be combined...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

The image shows yellow, green, and purple shields that might denote bastardy on a crest.

Marks of bastardy

These banners are common marks of illegitimacy, though they do not always hold that...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

The image shows different styles of shields.

Partition of the shield

The field is often divided along the lines occupied by ordinaries, just as quartering...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

The image shows the crest of Horatio Nelson, which features an illustration of Nelson, a lion, a ship, and a crown.

Crest of Horatio Nelson

Armorial achievement of Admiral Horatio Nelson, hero of the Battle of Trafalgar,...

Courtesy of the National Maritime Museum, London; photograph, Patrick Rossmore

The image shows three examples of canting arms.

Canting, or punning, arms

Canting arms are derived from the literal meaning or from the sound of a name. (Left)...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

The image shows seven examples of tinctures, markings that represent colors.

Tinctures

Conventional representations of tinctures used when it is not possible to print the...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

The image shows marks of cadency including a label, crescent, mullet, martlet, annulet, fleur-de-lis, and rose.

Marks of cadency

Marks of cadency are used to difference the arms of cadets of the same family. The...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

The image shows three examples of coats of arms of ladies.

Arms of ladies

In traditional arms of ladies, a woman adopts the undifferenced arms of her father....

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

The image shows a diagram illustrating heirship through female lines.

Heirship

Heirship through the female lines.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

The image shows a family coat of arms.

Marshaling of several coats of arms

The arms of the Cameron-Ramsay-Fairfax-Lucy family, blazoned: quarterly, 1st...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

The image shows the arms of Canada.

Arms of Canada

The arms of Canada include the red maple leaf found in the modern Canadian flag.

Arms of Canada is a protected symbol and is reproduced by the permission of the Government of Canada

The image shows stylized plaque from the 12th century.

Plaque from the tomb of Geoffrey Plantagenet

The stylized pattern of blue and white lining the figure's cloak on this plaque from...

Giraudon/Art Resource, New York

The image shows illustrations of 12 different crests.

Armorial de Berry

Page from the Armorial de Berry, by Gilles le Bouvier, c. 1445,...

Courtesy of the Society of Antiquaries, London

The image shows a portion of the ceiling in St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle.

Roof boss from St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle

Roof boss from St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, 1483–1528, showing the royal...

Picturepoint, London

Heraldic shield with the coat of arms of Admiral Fadrique Enríquez, detail of an Admiral carpet, 15th century; in the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Heraldic shield with the coat of arms of Admiral Fadrique Enríquez, detail of an...

Courtesy of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Joseph Lees Williams Memorial Collection; photograph, Otto E. Nelson

honour

honour

The fess, a heraldic element representing a girdle or belt of honour conveyed upon...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Japanese imperial crest

Japanese imperial crest

The 16-petaled chrysanthemum mon, or crest, of the Japanese imperial family.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

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