Heraldry is the science of a herald's duties, or more commonly the knowledge of the forms, terms and laws which pertain to the use of armorial bearings or coats of arms.
Badges and emblems on shields, helms, banners, etc., naturally occurred in the earliest times, and the symbols were sometimes hereditary.
The origin of heraldic arms, properly so called, is, however, to be attributed to the necessity which arose during the Crusades of distinguishing the leaders of the numerous and motley bands of warriors which constituted the Christian armies. One of the oldest specimens of heraldic bearings extant is the shield at Mana of Geoffrey Plantagenet, who died in 1150. Rolls of arms in England are extant from the reigns of Henry III, Edward I, and Edward II.
The use of arms on the Great Seal of England was introduced by Richard I. The bearing of coat- armour by private persons was prohibited by proclamation in the reign of Henry V. The chief courts of jurisdiction in questions of heraldry are the Heralds' College in England, and the LyonCourt in Scotland. The rules of heraldry now practised at the Heralds' College are comparatively modern, and differ in some respects from those of other European courts.
A coat of arms consists of the figure of a shield marked and coloured in a vast variety of ways, so as to be distinctive of an individual, a family, or a community. The shield or escutcheon represents the original shield used in war, and on which arms were anciently borne.
The surface of the escutcheon is termed the field, and the several parts or points of it have particular names, so that the figures which the field contains may be precisely located. The top part of the shield is called the chief and is the most honourable part of the shield. The upper right corner (when viewed by the bearer) is the dexter chief; the top middle of the shield is called the middle chief; and the upper left-hand corner is called the sinister chief; the centre is called the fesse point; and the lower part of the shield is called the base.
Colour is given in the coat of arms by means of tinctures, two of which are metals - 'or' and argent, that is, gold and silver - the rest colours proper. These colours are, in heraldic terminology: azure, blue; gules, red; sable, black; vert, green; purpure, purple; tenney, orange; sanguine, blood-colour. The two last are comparatively uncommon. An object represented in its natural colours is said to be proper. When not given in colours or by actual gilding the tinctures are represented by points and lines in black and white. 'Or' is distinguished by small dots covering the part; argent is represented by leaving the space blank; azure is shown by horizontal lines; gules, by perpendicular lines; sable, by perpendicular and horizontal lines crossing each other; vert, by diagonal lines running from the darter chief to the sinister base; purpure, by diagonal lines running from the sinister chief to the dezter base. Another class of tinctures are the furs, of which the two principal are ermine and vair, and which have also their special method of representation.
The figures borne on the shield may be either purely artificial and conventional, or may represent real objects, animals, plants, etc. Of the former the most common are known as ordinaries, and have the following names: Chief, Pale, Bend, Fesse, Bar, Chevron, Cross, and Saltire. The chief is a portion of the shield at the top marked off by a horizontal line, and covers the upper third part of the field. The pale occupies the middle third part of the field perpendicularly. The bend is drawn diagonally from the dexter chief to the sinister base in the form of a belt, and also occupies the third of the field. A diminutive of the bend is the bandlet. The fesse occupies the middle third of the field horizontally. The bar is formed after the manner of a fesse, but occupies only a fifth of the field, and is not confined to any particular part of it, except when there is only one bar, when it is put in the place of a fesse. Bars are mostly two in a field, sometimes three or more. A diminutive is the barrulet. The chevron may be regarded as made of a bend darter and sinister issuing from the right and left base points of the escutcheon and meeting like two rafters. The cross is the ordinary cross of St. George. The saltire is the equally well-known cross of St. Andrew. The shield is often divided by lines running similarly to the ordinaries; hence when divided by a perpendicular line it is said to be party per pale, when by a horizontal line party per fesse, when by diagonal line party per bend. Similarly, when it seems to bear several pales or bends or bars, it is said to be paly, bendy, or barry of so many pieces, 'paly of six argent and gules' for instance.
Charges are the figures of natural and artificial things, and include animals and plants, implements and objects of all sorts, and various imaginary monsters, being drawn either on the field or on one of the ordinaries.
It is a rule in heraldry that metal must not be put on metal nor colour on colour; hence, if the field, say, is 'argent', it cannot have a charge or an ordinary tinctured 'or'directly upon it.
Various technical terms describe the position of animals; thus, a lion is rampant when he is erect standings on one of his hind legs; sejant, when sitting; couchant, when lying at rest, with the head erect; passant, in a walking position; gardant, looking full- faced; rampant gardant, erect and looking full-faced; salient, in a leaping posture. So trippant is said of the stag when trotting; lodged, of the stag when at rest on the ground; volant, of birds in general in a flying posture; rising, of a bird that is preparing to fly; displayed, of birds seen frontwise with outspread wings; naiant, of fishes when swimming; and so on.
The teeth and claws of lions and other ravenous beasts are called their arms; and when these have a special tincture the animal is said to be armed of such a tincture; similarly if their tongue be of a special tincture, they are said to be langued of this tincture.
Often two or more coats of arms are united together on one shield, so that the whole may be a very complicated affair. The art of arranging arms in this way is known as marshalling, and when the shield is divided up into squares for the reception of different coats, it is said to be Quartered.
There are also certain exterior ornaments of the shield or escutcheon, namely, the helmet, mantlingcrest, wreath, motto, and supporters. The helmet, which is placed on the top of the escutcheon, varies both in form and materials. Those of sovereign princes are of gold, those of the nobility of silver, and those of gentlemen of polished steel. The full faced helmet, with six bars, is for the king and princes of the blood; the sidelong helmet, with five bars, is for dukes and marquises, etc.; the full-faced helmet of steel, with its beaver or vizor open, is for knights; and the sidelong helmet, with the vizor shut, for the esquire. The mantling or mantle was anciently fixed to the helmet, to which it served as a covering. Mantlings are now used like cloaks, to cover the whole achievement. The crest is placed above the helmet with the wreaths serving as a kind of support; the latter is composed of two colours wreathed or twisted together.
The motto consists of the word or phrase carried in a scroll under or above the arms. Supporters were originally only ancient devices or badges, which by custom came to embellish armorial designs. They are called supporters because they hold the shield, as the lion and the unicorn in the royal arms of England. Research Heraldry More pictures of Heraldry
Abbreviations
Research Heraldry
More information about 
