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Heraldry Terms & Designs
Heraldic -- Of or relating to the practice of devising and granting armorial insignia and of tracing genealogies
A complete list of all the possible designs and their ornamentation is beyond the scope of this site. Yes, the terminology here is very complex and you will need to do some research when designing your own insignia. I seek only to give an introduction and some resources you can use for further information. There are several different types of 'devices':
Arms: is personal to its owner ("this is me"), so would only be worn
by owner and his/her herald
Badge: can identify anything or anyone belonging to the bearer ("this is
mine") (some examples)
A Primer of Blazonry does an excellent job at providing a visual introduction to heraldry and heraldic designs.
Also see Animals for Use in Heraldry or Other Designs
Colors
 | Argent -- The heraldic term for silver, sometimes shown as white |
| Azure -- Blue |
| Gules -- The heraldic term for red |
| Or -- Gold, sometimes shown as yellow |
| Proper -- In natural colour |
| Purpure -- Purple |
| Sable -- The heraldic term for black |
| Sanguine -- Blood color (not bloody) |
| Tenne/Tawny -- Orange |
| Vert -- green |
Decriptive Terms
There are so many terms to be used in heraldry; consult a good heraldry guide
like Pimbley's
Dictionary of Heraldry
| Blazon -- the textual description for the design on a coat of arms |
| Dexter -- Of or on the right side of a shield; on the reader's left |
| Ensigned -- Placed above |
| Field -- The surface of a shield upon which the design is blazoned |
| Fructed -- Bearing fruit, as in "an oak tree fructed proper" |
| Roundrel -- Roundels (disks) of various tinctures have specific names of their own (look here) |
| Sejant -- Sitting |
| Sinister -- Of or on the left side of a shield; on the reader's right |
Symbols
| Bells |
| Blazing Star/Comet |
| Bottle |
| Chevron -- a device shaped like an inverted V |
| Cinquefoil -- an ornamental design consisting of five arcs arranged in a circle |
| Crescent -- sometimes used to denote the second son of a family |
| Cross |
| Estoile -- A six-pointed star whose rays are wavy |
| Fleur-de-Lys -- sometimes used to denote the sixth son of a family |
| Fruit -- strawberry, pomegranate, etc. |
| Leaves |
| Hunting Horn |
| Moon |
| Mullet -- A star, usually five pointed whose rays are straight. May or may not be pierced. |
| Rose -- sometimes used to denote the seventh son of a family |
| Star |
| Sun |
| Tower |
| Trees |
Images of Existing Heraldric Devices
Images with their accompanying blazons
| An Elizabethan Armorial |
Helpful Links: