Individual Parts Of A Coat Of Arms - Shield

The single most important part of any armorial achievement (coat of arms) is the shield or escutcheon. On it are the the charges, colors and divisions that allow you to uniquely identify the arms. Everything else, quite frankly, is fluff. You will find arms with every conceivable combination of helmets, mantling, supporters and crests, yet you will never find arms without a shield.

Let's start with the shape. There is no law, even in the countries that govern arms quite strictly, as to the shape of the shield. It is a matter of artistic interpretation and usually follows the design of the time period in which it is created. There are many shapes, and the current convention seems to be a return to earlier times and more traditional shapes as opposed to the overly (in my opinion) ornate shields of the Victorian era and into the early 19th century. But at the end of the day, it is the person commissioning the arms, at least in the United States, that should have the greatest say in what shape an escutcheon takes.

Shields up to the early late 12th century were often as tall as a man and shaped that way, that is, tall and skinny. At the beginning of the 13th century, the shields started to look more like the shields on which modern arms are emblazoned. By the 15th century you started to see jousting shields more often used, some with the lance rest on the dexter side. Starting in the 18th century, right up until the 19th century, they got more and more frilly to the point I would love to just erase them all. But that would be wrong of course. They are attached to the prevailing design ideals of their time.

Next time we'll discuss how a shield can be divided and colored. Until then...

Yours In Arms,

Michael Richards
Executive Director - AssumeArms.com

Components of an Armorial Achievement (Coat of Arms)

So what is a coat of arms? Originally, the heralds, who were in charge of recording and maintaining the systems of arms, wore a surcoat that had an embroidered version of what was placed on their master's shield. Surcoat is where the "coat" in coat of arms comes from. Arms were originally and still rightly just the shield and its charges. Hence, Coat of Arms. The English language, being what it is, started to use that term to include the entire Achievement.

So what is an achievement? The proper full name of what most people call a coat of arms is an armorial achievement. Armorial, pertaining to arms or armory and achievement, still holding the same meaning. It includes, the shield and all its charges, the helmet, mantling and crest, the supporters and motto (if any) and the compartment (almost exclusively unique to Scottish heraldry).

One term that is absolutely incorrect is family crest. There has never been a crest granted without an accompanying shield. A crest sits atop the helmet, period. And although an achievement may be passed to a direct descendant, usually it is modified to some extent. There is no coat of arms for the family Richards. Achievements are just that; achievements of a specific person, not a family. So family crest as a term is completely wrong.

So what we end up with is that the full, proper name is armorial achievement, or achievement for short. The most common term that is acceptable in the modern language is coat of arms or arms for short. Arms is actually more correct than coat of arms, because except for royal coronations, there aren't too many people running around wearing a surcoat. Arms also has the advantage in being short and easy and that what you will see most of the time here at AssumeArms.com, though we sometimes use coat of arms because that is far and away what most people call it here in the US.

Yours In Arms,

Michael C. Richards
Executive Director - AssumeArms.com

Our First Commissioned Coat Of Arms

Today I finalized and registered the first fully commissioned, complete Armorial Achievement for Michael Mims Roberts. You can see it here: Roberts Coat Of Arms.

I wanted to use this opportunity to talk a little about the design process and what is involved. Michael purchased the Unlimited Design Consultation and Creation package for $300 dollars and it's probably a good thing he did as we went through about 15 revisions before finalizing the design. And he had a very good idea of where he wanted to go and was very articulate. The whole process took me about 8-10 hours not including some extra design time I took to get a few things just right.

It started when he called me and asked some basic questions. I gave him the answers he was looking for and we talked about basic shield shape and colors. we tried a couple of different sets of colors and finally found one he wanted to use. He told me some of his family's history and from that we gleaned some ideas for the charges we wanted to use. This is where most of the changes took place. I would try an arrangement and we would talk about what he like and disliked. This back and forth process, sometimes by email and sometimes by phone took about a month all told.

When we were all finished, I zipped up his master files and made some common sizes for use in various mediums and emailed them to him. Sizes for print, some for email, etc. I also color laser print the final product on fine parchment paper. It is hand signed, then framed and shipped.

Michael now has a completely unique coat of arms that he can be proud of and can be passed down to the next generation and you can too...

Yours In Arms,

Michael C. Richards

Site Improvements At AssumeArms.com

I have recently added a facility to allow you to upload a photo (emblazonment) when you register your arms with us. If you would like a new emblazonment, just say so in the "Other Notes" section of the "Register Arms" page. Remember, registration of your arms is free and encouraged! We can also help with your blazon if you are having trouble.

Yours In Arms,

Michael C. Richards

Heraldry In America

Heraldry in America is a somewhat unusual situation. In countries like England and Scotland, arms must be "granted" by an official body, such as the Lord Lyon or the College of Arms. These countries have been granting arms from roughly the 12th century, depending upon which country and who you talk to. Note that I am not referring to symbology, which undoubtedly has been with us since cave painting, but the specific assigning of a coat of arms to an individual that can be handed down from one generation to the next. As an aside, I want to say again that arms are not granted to a family, but to an individual, who may bequeath it to his children. Said children do not have to keep it the same and as a matter of fact, quite often change a charge when they take it over.

So back to heraldry in these United States. There are no laws or regulations regarding the assumption of arms in America. There are several heraldic societies and places that will register your arms (including for free at this site) which basically makes a written record or database entry, but they do not have the power to grant arms, there is simply no provision for that here. One of the oldest and most distinguished is the American College of Arms. But despite their name's similarity to England's College of Arms, they are not a granting body any more than I am. As a matter of fact, I encourage people (if they have the money) to register with them because they have the most extensive database.

So what does all this mean to you? Basically, in the United States, you may create a coat of arms on the back of a cocktail napkin from the bar and assume those arms. Although there is no legal recourse, you should never buy a coat of arms from somewhere that you pick your last name from a book. You would be stealing someone else's armorial achievement and that's just not cool. So look around, do some research and then come up with something and we'll look it over and register it for free. If you're not a designer and would like help, we can do that too...

Your In Arms,

Michael C. Richards

Welcome To The AssumeArms.com Heraldry Blog

Hello All and welcome to our heraldry blog. This blog is run by Michael C. Richards, the Executive Director of AssumeArms.com. As an American heraldic artist and graphic designer, I hope to bring you insights into both the world of heraldry and graphic design as it pertains to designing "Coats of Arms."

Let's start with the real basics. "Coat of Arms" actually refers to a cloak that was worn by heralds that carried the Armorial Bearings of their master. Armorial Bearings or Armorial Achievement is the proper term for a coat of arms as most people think of it. It includes the shield (the most important part incidentally) the mantling, the supporters, the motto, the helmet and the crest. That brings up the other common misnomer, "Family Crest." A crest is actually a charge (any item can be a charge, think sword, fist, bird, etc.) that sits above the helmet, which sits above the shield or escutcheon. But for the sake of anyone trying to find us via Google and because it is so widely used, I will use the term coat of arms or arms for short to describe a complete armorial achievement.

Next we'll tackle some more of these basics and try to give a basic understanding of Heraldry in America...

Yours In Arms,

Michael C. Richards