Teach Yourself Heraldry Module 1

The Development of Heraldry over Time

Until about the early 15th century there was little control of heraldry, leaving knights to adopt coats of arms at will. This annoyed king Henry V, who created the role of Garter Principal King of Arms in 1417.The College of Arms was founded by Richard III in 1484, and over the next century or so heraldry gradually became more formalised, and its use was more-closely controlled. Most of the heraldry seen today, in churches for instance, comes from this more-modern era, so it is important to bear in mind that medieval heraldry, including that of the Mortimers, comes from earlier times, when heraldry had fewer rules and there was more freedom.

The Geography of a Shield

Dexter means right and Sinister means left, but a shield is always described from the point of view of the person holding it so, as we look at a shield, dexter is on the left and sinister is on the right. The top and bottom parts of a shield are called the Chief and the Base.

An Achievement of Arms

An achievement of arms includes other elements, as well as the shield bearing the coat of arms. Typically there will be a helmet of some sort above the shield, surmounted by a crest sitting on a twisted wreath, or torse, displaying two colours. Note that the crest is not the same as the coat of arms, so the use of the term ‘family crest’ for a coat of arms is incorrect. Emanating from the helmet is some decorative material called mantling that also shows inside and outside colours. This is a reference to the material originally hanging behind a knight’s helmet seemingly to protect his neck from the sun. Peers of the realm and some corporations are allowed to include supporters that stand on a compartment.

Am I Entitled to use a Coat of Arms?

In England, the right to a coat of arms is strictly controlled by the College of Arms who have been responsible for granting arms since the 15th century. They have records of ancient coats of arms and of the grants they’ve made over the centuries. To answer the question of whether you are already entitled to a coat of arms, one must ask whether you, or a direct male ancestor, has ever been granted arms, or recognised as being entitled to them. If not, any person of reasonably good character can apply to the College of Arms for a new grant of arms.

The fact that someone with the same surname as yourself was granted arms in the past does not entitle you to use them. For most surnames, several unconnected people have been granted arms at some point or other. There have been many different coats of arms granted to people called Smith, for instance, and six of them are shown opposite. But it is most unlikely that Charlie Smith down the road is entitled to use any of them. It’s interesting that a company like House of Names only provides one coat of arms for Smith. For their sales they rely almost entirely on the ignorance and gullibility of the public.

Families with more than one Coat of Arms

Sometimes members of the same extended family may have very different coats of arms. A younger son might have applied for, and been granted, his own quite distinct arms, maybe because he has attained a significant position in his own right. Below are two other very different reasons why men from the same lineage might have different coats of arms.

EARLY ANGLO-NORMAN FAMILIES

Many Norman families arrived in England at, or soon after, the Conquest, but hereditary heraldry wasn’t around for another century or so. By that time some early cadet branches could be firmly established at some distance from the head of the original family. If they felt quite independent of the main branch of the family, they might adopt a very different coat of arms. This may have been the case with the Mortimers of Attleborough. There was a Robert Mortimer of Attleborough in the 12th century who may have been a younger son of Ralph Mortimer of Wigmore, but we’ve found no solid evidence, to date.

MARRIAGE TO AN HEIRESS

Another way in which a member of a family might adopt different arms occurs when a man marries an heiress. Edward Clive, 2nd baron Clive (d.1839) married Lady Henrietta Herbert, daughter of Henry Herbert, 1st earl of Powis. On the death of her brother George, 2nd earl of Powis, in 1801 the earldom became extinct. But the earldom was then re-established for Henrietta’s husband, Edward Clive who became 1st earl of Powis of the 1804 creation. The new earls of Powis then adopted the Herbert surname and coat of arms. So the present earls of Powis were Clives on the male side, not Herberts. The earls of Plymouth are also descended from Edward Clive but they retain the Clive coat of arms.

Variations in Coats of Arms

There are several reasons why a coat of arms might look rather different in one place from another. A common reason is that the space available for the arms restricts what can be shown. Instead of the seven horizontal bars seen on one example, for instance, there might only be five in another occurrence. Indeed the number of repeats of any pattern on the shield could be liable to variation for that reason – see the arms of de Valence below. Another reason for variations

is that the arms of a family may have undergone subtle changes over the years – see the Mortimer examples. Add to these the fact that there was plenty of room for error, with arms sometimes being created from memory. Consequently it is not always possible to choose one variation as the ‘correct’ arms for a family. Having said that, the differences are never significant enough to make identification of the family difficult.

VALENCE – with varying numbers of bars and martlets

MORTIMER – which also has the colours switched sometimes

Canting or Punning Arms

Coats of arms frequently include a pun on the family surname. Most of these are fairly obvious, but some need explanation. The arms of Lucy, for instance, include three fish. These are pike, and an old French word for the pike was ‘lucie’. The arms of Corbett contain one or more crows or ravens. The French for crow is ‘corbeau’, hence their use in the Corbett arms. It’s interesting to note that in Scotland, crows are often still referred to as ‘corbies’. See some examples below.

Alcock

Bell

Boleyn or Bullen

Carter

Corbett

Flint

Forrest

Garlic

Wolverton

Shakespeare

Hammersley

Shelley

Augmentations of Honour

An Augmentation of Honour is an addition to a family’s arms, granted by the sovereign. Although the award is a formal recognition of outstanding service by a specific member of the family, the augmentation nevertheless becomes a permanent part of the family’s arms.

At Flodden field in Northumberland, in September 1513, an English army under Thomas Howard, earl of Surrey defeated an invading Scottish force under king James IV. In recognition, king Henry VIII decreed that the Howard arms should be augmented by a small escutcheon showing a debased version of the arms of Scotland.

The arms of Nelson suffered three successive augmentations that completely changed its appearance. The last of these with the word ‘Trafalgar’ was added after his death.

Exercise 1 – Just Checking

Answers to Exercise 1  ☛☛

The Language of Heraldry

Ordinaries and Sub-Ordinaries

Examples of Simple Blazoning

Exercise 2 – Simple Blazoning

Blazon these coats of arms. For questions 2 and 5 either guess the charges or find them on the crib sheet here

Answers to Exercise 2  ☛☛

End of Module 1 – Return