HERALDRY: ORIGINS AND TERMINOLOGY
Heraldry is not such an old fashioned concept as you may have thought. With origins going back beyond the 13th Century, it is still alive and kicking today. In fact in many ways it is much more pervasive than ever before - in a streamlined, modern and less class-, but perhaps more quality-, conscious fashion, when compared to the 12th/13th centuries.
Schools, guilds, hospitals, religious institutions, sports teams, corporations, towns and counties, and many more, will present a coat of arms, or some sort of company logo or crest. Try opening a modern magazine or taking in a city view, and you will find plenty of evidence of heraldry living on into our nuclear age.
The total gamut of Heraldic Bearings can include as many as eight items. These are the (1) Shield upon which rides (2) the Helmet upon which rides (3) the Crest which carries (4) the Lambrequin (a type of mantling or cloth material matching the shield in color). Above this lot we often have (5) the Crown (or coronet, denoting the rank of the bearer) and beside the forgoing we can have (6) the Supporters. This all stands on the foundation which is called (7) the Compartment. Above or below these indications of quality and rank there may also be (8) the Motto.
In days of old, when knights were bold, the main thrust of heraldry related to persons and families of importance - aristocrats, nobles or those people aspiring to rank. A person's heraldic bearings would indicate exactly where he fitted into the current hierarchy. And, very likely, who he was related to, his rank, as well as the foundations of his fortune. Still today most families with some known history will have knowledge of at least their family crest. The crest will be proudly and confidently carried on such items as personal silver, a signet ring, writing paper etc. Who knows, in this day and age with tattoo parlors springing up all over the world it will not be long before they, too, offer a genealogical research service.