Heraldry

A language of identity

Heraldry joins a visual design to a record of the person or institution that bears it. A shield can be recognized at a glance; a written description can preserve its design across generations and across many different artistic treatments.

European coats of arms developed in the twelfth century and came to identify people, families, communities, and institutions. Today they appear on public buildings, seals, flags, documents, and ceremonial objects. The same design may be painted, carved, embroidered, or engraved.

Learning to read arms begins with a few distinctions: the shield and its charges, the accompanying elements of an achievement, and the blazon that describes them. Westarctica draws on this wider vocabulary while developing its own conventions.

The design and the drawing

A blazon is the formal description of an armorial design. An emblazonment is a particular visual rendering. Two artists can draw the same arms with different shield shapes, linework, or decorative treatment while following the same blazon.

The crest is the device above the helmet. An entire achievement can also include mantling, supporters, a compartment, a motto, and insignia of rank or orders. These components have their own identities and conditions of use.

Heraldry has several traditions

The familiar vocabulary of shields, colors, crests, and supporters is shared widely, but the rules governing grants, inheritance, rank, and display vary between heraldic traditions. A convention described by an English or Scottish authority should be read in its own setting.

For Westarctican practice, begin with the College’s guide to heraldry in Westarctica. The associated tradition of Kolios has a different framework and is treated separately.

Choose a starting point

Continue your study

The Heraldry Project provides a wider educational collection. For the vocabulary of blazon, the Court of the Lord Lyon’s illustrated introduction is a useful companion. The College of Arms in London explains its own work and the heraldic tradition it administers.