To read a coat of arms, start with the shield: first its background color (the field), then the main figure on it, then any smaller figures, in that order. Above the shield, a full display may add a helmet, a cloth mantling, a twisted wreath and the crest on top, with a motto on a scroll and, for a few people, supporters standing on either side. The formal written description, called the blazon, follows the same order, and it is the blazon, not any painting, that defines the arms.
Coat of arms or achievement?
Strictly speaking, the coat of arms is the design on the shield. The term comes from the cloth surcoat that medieval knights wore over their armor, embroidered with the same design. The whole display, with everything around the shield, is properly called an achievement.
Only the shield is essential. As Arthur Charles Fox-Davies explained in A Complete Guide to Heraldry (1909), many old coats of arms have no crest at all, while a crest cannot lawfully exist without a coat of arms beneath it. (For more on that distinction, see coat of arms vs. family crest.)
The parts of a full achievement
| Part | What it is | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Shield (escutcheon) | The heart of the arms | Its shape is a matter of artistic style and does not change the arms |
| Field | The background of the shield | Can be one color or divided, for example down the middle (“per pale”) or across (“per fess”) |
| Ordinaries and charges | The shapes and figures on the field | See our guide to heraldry symbols and their meanings |
| Helm | The helmet resting on top of the shield | In English practice its style once indicated rank: steel and in profile for a gentleman, open and facing forward for a knight, gold for the sovereign. Fox-Davies noted these rules only came into vogue around Stuart times. |
| Mantling | Cloth flowing down from the helmet, usually drawn like leafy scrolls | Traditionally explained as a cover against sun and sword cuts; usually in the main color of the arms, lined with the main metal |
| Wreath (torse) | A twisted roll of cloth where the crest meets the helmet | Shown with six twists alternating the main metal and color, the metal first, according to the editor of Fairbairn’s Book of Crests |
| Crest | The object on top of the helmet | Fox-Davies dated the earliest known crest to 1198 |
| Motto | A word or phrase on a scroll | In England it was traditionally not part of the grant and could be changed; in Scotland it is granted, usually on a scroll above the crest |
| Supporters | Figures standing on either side of the shield | Granted only to a small group, such as peers, the most senior knights, certain organizations and, in Scotland, clan chiefs |
| Compartment | The ground on which the supporters stand | Fox-Davies described it as almost peculiar to Scottish heraldry |
Mottoes have a story of their own, which we explore in family mottoes and their meaning.
Left and right are reversed
Heraldry describes a shield from the point of view of the person holding it. So dexter (right) is on your left as you look at it, and sinister (left) is on your right. The top of the shield is the chief and the bottom is the base. Keep this in mind and most blazons become much easier to follow.
How a blazon is put together
A blazon is a compact sentence written in a vocabulary drawn largely from medieval French. It almost always follows this order:
- The field: its color, or how it is divided.
- The main charge: usually an ordinary or the most prominent figure, followed by its color.
- Secondary charges: with their number, color and position, such as “in chief” (in the top part) or “between” (around the main charge).
- Charges placed on other charges: introduced with “on”, as in “on a bend”.
Heralds dislike repeating a color name. Instead they write “of the first” (the first color mentioned), “of the second”, or “of the field”. Older armorials also abbreviate heavily. In Sir Bernard Burke’s General Armory (1884), you will see Ar. for argent (silver), gu. for gules (red), az. for azure (blue), sa. for sable (black), ppr. for proper (natural colors), ramp. for rampant, pass. for passant and betw. for between. The colors themselves are explained in our guide to heraldic colors and their meanings.
Here are three real entries from Burke’s 1884 edition, quoted as printed.
Example 1: Washington
“Washington (cos. Lancaster, Leicester, Northampton, Buckingham, and Kent). Ar. two bars gu. in chief three mullets of the second. Crest—Out of a ducal coronet or, a raven, wings endorsed ppr.”
Reading it piece by piece:
- Ar. The field is argent: silver, usually painted white.
- two bars gu. Two narrow horizontal bands in gules, red.
- in chief three mullets In the top part of the shield, three stars with straight points (five, unless stated otherwise).
- of the second The mullets are in the second color named, which is gules. So: red stars.
- Crest Rising out of a gold ducal coronet, a raven in its natural colors, its wings raised and turned back to back (“endorsed”).
On the same page, Burke gives the same arms and crest for the Washingtons of Sulgrave in Northamptonshire and for the Washington family of the United States, whom he traces to John and Lawrence Washington, who emigrated about 1657. Writing as a Victorian officer of arms, he describes their descendant George Washington as “the Leader of the North American Rebellion” and “first President of the United States”.
Example 2: Shakespeare
“Shakespeare (Stratford-upon-Avon, co. Warwick; granted by Dethick, Garter, 20 Oct. 1596, to John Shakespeare, of Stratford-upon-Avon, father […] of William Shakespeare, ‘The Bard of Avon’). Or, on a bend sa. a spear of the first, steeled ar. Crest—A falcon, wings displ. ar. supporting a spear or, steeled as in the arms. Motto—Non sanz droict.”
- Or The field is gold.
- on a bend sa. A black diagonal band runs from the upper dexter corner to the lower sinister corner, and something sits on it.
- a spear of the first The spear is in the first color named: gold.
- steeled ar. Its metal head is silver.
- Crest A silver falcon with its wings spread (“displayed”), holding a gold spear with a silver head.
- Motto Non sanz droict, old French for “not without right”.
Note two things. The arms were granted to the poet’s father, John, by Dethick, then Garter King of Arms. And the spear is almost certainly a pun on the name, a practice heralds call canting.
Example 3: Chaucer
“Chaucer (Geoffrey Chaucer, of Woodstock, the father of English Poetry). Per pale ar. and gu. a bend counterchanged. Crest—A tortoise pass. ppr.”
- Per pale ar. and gu. The field is split down the middle: silver on the dexter side (your left), red on the sinister side.
- a bend counterchanged A diagonal band crosses both halves, and its colors swap: red where it lies on silver, silver where it lies on red.
- Crest A tortoise walking (“passant”), in its natural colors.
This one shows how heraldry can make a striking design with no figures at all, just a divided field and one ordinary.
The picture can vary; the blazon cannot
If you compare two paintings of the same arms, the lions may look different, the shield may be a different shape and the reds may not match. That is normal. The College of Arms explains that the form of granted arms is governed “not by the painting of the arms on the letters patent, but by the concise verbal description of them in the text, known as the blazon,” and that “the same arms may be rendered perfectly correctly in numerous artistic styles.” It also says there are no fixed shades for heraldic colors.
That is why, when you research a coat of arms, the words matter more than the picture. And because so many images are copied without any source, it is worth knowing how to verify whether a coat of arms is authentic.
A short glossary
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Achievement | The complete display: shield, helm, mantling, wreath, crest, motto and any supporters |
| Armiger | A person entitled to bear arms |
| Blazon | The formal written description of arms |
| Emblazon | To draw or paint arms from the blazon |
| Charge | Any figure or shape placed on the field |
| Ordinary | A bold geometric charge, such as the chevron, fess or bend |
| Tincture | Any heraldic color, metal or fur |
| Or / Argent | Gold / silver (the two metals) |
| Gules / Azure / Vert / Sable / Purpure | Red / blue / green / black / purple |
| Proper | Shown in natural colors |
| Dexter / Sinister | The bearer’s right / left (your left / right as you look) |
| Chief / Base | The top / bottom part of the shield |
| Per pale / Per fess | Divided vertically / horizontally |
| Rampant | Rearing up on one hind leg |
| Passant | Walking, one forepaw raised |
| Guardant | Head turned to face the viewer |
| Displayed | Of a bird: facing out with wings spread |
| Couped / Erased | Cut off cleanly / torn off with a ragged edge |
| Counterchanged | Colors swapped across a dividing line |
| Cadency mark | A small added symbol once used to show a son’s place in the family |
Putting it into practice
Next time you see a coat of arms on a church wall, a bookplate or an old seal, try reading it in order: field, main charge, smaller charges, then everything above the shield. If you can find the written blazon, read that too, and you will start to see exactly how each element was chosen and placed.
See the arms recorded for your surname →
Sources
- Sir Bernard Burke, The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales (London: Harrison, 1884), entries for Chaucer (p. 187), Shakespeare (p. 916) and Washington (p. 1080). Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/generalarmoryofe00burk
- Arthur Charles Fox-Davies, A Complete Guide to Heraldry (1909), chapters on the component parts of an achievement, the helmet, the mantling, crests and mottoes. Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/41617
- College of Arms, “Granting of Arms” (the blazon governs the form of the arms). https://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/services/granting-arms
- College of Arms, “FAQs: heraldry” (what a crest is; no fixed shades for colors). https://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/resources/faqs
- Fairbairn’s Book of Crests of the Families of Great Britain and Ireland, 4th edition (London, 1905), vol. 1, preface (the wreath). Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/fairbairnsbookof01fair
- Court of the Lord Lyon, “Frequently Asked Questions” (crest and coat of arms). https://www.courtofthelordlyon.scot/faqs.htm
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a coat of arms and an achievement?
Strictly, the coat of arms is the design on the shield. The achievement is the whole display: shield, helmet, mantling, wreath, crest, motto and, where granted, supporters and compartment. In everyday speech people use coat of arms for both.
What does dexter mean in heraldry?
Dexter means right, but from the point of view of the person holding the shield, not the person looking at it. So the dexter side is on your left as you look at a coat of arms, and the sinister side is on your right.
What is a blazon?
A blazon is the formal written description of a coat of arms, using a specialized vocabulary drawn largely from medieval French. The College of Arms explains that it is the blazon, not any particular painting, that defines the arms, so the same arms can be drawn correctly in many styles.
Do all coats of arms have a crest, motto and supporters?
No. The shield is the only essential part. Many old coats of arms have no crest, mottoes were not widely used in England until the eighteenth century, and supporters are granted only to a small group of people and organizations.
What do abbreviations like Ar. and gu. mean in old armorials?
They are short forms of the heraldic color names. In Burke’s General Armory, Ar. is argent (silver or white), gu. is gules (red), az. is azure (blue), sa. is sable (black) and ppr. is proper, meaning natural colors. Others include ramp. for rampant, pass. for passant and betw. for between.