How to Read a Coat of Arms: Heraldry

Heraldry began as a way to tell knights apart.

The Heraldry Society defines it as the systematic use of hereditary devices centred on the shield. Its rules on colour, shapes and wording are strict enough that a written description can rebuild a coat of arms exactly.

Updated 18 October 2026 · 5 sources

The shield comes first
Metal never on metal
Arms belong to a person
A visual language since the 1100s

Read the parts

THE SHORT ANSWER

Shield first,
then the extras.

A full achievement of arms can have many parts.
Only the shield is essential.

TINCTURES

Two metals, bold colours

Gold and silver are the metals; red, blue, green, black and purple are the main colours. A metal never goes on a metal, nor a colour on a colour.

Read the parts

THE ARTIST

Words, then paint

The blazon is the written description of the arms. Artists choose the exact shade: heraldic colours are simply bold and bright, like a child's paintbox.

Read a blazon

THE FAMILY MYTH

No family crest

Arms are granted to one named person and their heirs, not to a surname. The crest is only the part above the helmet.

Who owns arms?

Three stained-glass heraldic shields in an old leaded window: a red chevron on gold, a blue cross on white and a red band on gold — AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.

HOW TO READ A BLAZON

Field, then charges,
left to right.

The blazon mixes English, Norman French and Latin. The Court of the Lord Lyon teaches this reading order.

Start with the field
The first tincture named is the background of the shield, such as Argent (silver) or Gules (red).
Then the main charge
Next comes the main shape or object on the field, from a simple geometric ordinary to a beast.
Then the smaller charges
Charges not in the centre follow, then anything placed on top of those.
Mind dexter and sinister
Dexter means right and sinister left, from the view of the person holding the shield, not the viewer.

TWO NUMBERS WORTH KNOWING

Old rules,
still in use.

One date for heraldry's first formal appearance,
one rule that keeps every shield unique.

1128

First formal appearance of heraldry

The Heraldry Society dates heraldry as we know it to 1128, when Henry I presented a shield to Geoffrey of Anjou at his knighting. Richard III founded the College of Arms in 1484.

ORIGINS · HERALDRY SOCIETY

2 differences

Differences needed between two coats of arms

Within a heraldic authority, arms must differ by at least two differences, not counting a change of colour. A red shield with a gold lion is not unique against one with a silver lion.

UNIQUENESS · HERALDRY SOCIETY

Grants of arms are still made today: by the College of Arms for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and by the Court of the Lord Lyon for Scotland.

PARTS OF A COAT OF ARMS

Which part
are you looking at?

Pick a part to see what it tells you. The bar shows how central that part is to the arms themselves.

Based on the Heraldry Society's guides and the Court of the Lord Lyon's blazoning notes. Rules differ in places between England and Scotland.

Parts check

Choose a partThe mottoSupporters either sideThe helmetThe crestThe shield

The mottoOptional in England

In English heraldry the motto is not part of the lawful grant and may be in any language. In Scotland it is part of the grant and cannot be changed.

Supporters either sideFor the few

Animals, people or beasts holding up the shield are for peers, senior knights and some bodies with a Royal Charter.

The helmetShows rank

In Scotland, a barrel helm in profile with the visor closed is for esquires and gentlemen; knights have a forward-facing helm with the visor open.

The crestAbove the helm

The crest is a three-dimensional object placed above the helm, resting on a twisted wreath in the main colours of the shield.

The shieldThe heart of it

Everything centres on the shield: its field, its divisions and the charges placed on it. Within one heraldic authority, every shield must be unique.

Sources: The Heraldry Society, About coats of arms and Frequently asked questions; Court of the Lord Lyon, Blazoning and Crests.

An artist's hand painting a heraldic shield with a fine brush on cream vellum, pots of gold, red and blue paint beside it — AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.

WHO OWNS A COAT OF ARMS

A person,
not a surname.

Coats of arms are granted to a single named person and their heirs. There is no coat of arms for a surname, and the Heraldry Society warns that 'family crest' pictures sold online are at best images of someone else's arms.

There are no fixed meanings for colours or symbols either: whatever the designer intended stays with that coat of arms. The society's test for good design is that a young child could draw and paint it from memory.

In conversation

Questions people ask

Is there such a thing as a family crest?

No. The Heraldry Society says there is no such thing and never was. The crest is the part above the helmet, and coats of arms belong to individuals and their heirs, not to everyone with a surname.

What are the heraldic colours called?

The Court of the Lord Lyon lists Or (gold), Argent (silver, usually shown as white), Sable (black), Azure (blue), Gules (red) and Vert (green). Purple is also used, as are furs.

What is the rule of tincture?

Metals should never be placed on metals and colours never on colours, so no gold on silver and no blue on black. It keeps arms easy to recognise at a glance.

Do the colours and animals have meanings?

Not fixed ones. The Heraldry Society says any meaning belongs to the person who designed a particular coat of arms and does not transfer to others, though some elements, such as a peer's coronet, show rank.

Who can be granted arms today?

In the UK, arms may be granted to subjects of the Crown of good character and sufficient eminence, and to legal bodies such as councils, universities and companies. Scotland has its own authority, the Court of the Lord Lyon.

Sources

Each figure on this page comes from the sources below.

Every shield
tells you who.