Last Updated September 12, 2001

Find out what the symbols or "charges" on coats of arms really mean.

Colors     Lines     Shields
    Beasts     Birds     Plants
    Other Charges

I found the above information here.

Heraldic Tincture

The metals, colours, and furs used in heraldry are known as tinctures.

The Metals

Or (gold, often depicted as yellow) drawn as black dots
Argent (silver, usually depicted as white) drawn as white

Many of The Colours

Sable
Gules
Azure
Vert
Purpure

Murrey
Sanguine
Tenne
Orange

Many of The Furs

Ermine
Ermines
Erminois
Pean
Vair
Countervair
Vair en point
Vair in pale

Vairy
Countervairy
Vairy en point
Vairy in pale
Potent
Counterpotent
Potent en point
Papellone
Plumete

Ordinaries

Fess	Bars	Barrulet	Pale	Pallets	Tierce	Pile	Pile Inverted	Bend	Benlets
Riband	Bend Sinister	Bendlet Sinister	Chevron	Chevonels	Chevron Inverted	Chevronel Inverted	Cross	Fillet Cross	Saltire
Fillet Saltire	Pall	Fillet Pall	Pall Inverted

Sub-Ordinaries

Chief	Base	Canton	Canton Sinister	Bordure	Gyron	Orle	Double Tressure Sable	Quater	Inescutcheon
Label	Flanches

Geometric Charges

Annulet	Billet	Cartouche	Delf	Fret	Fusil	Lozenge	Mascle	Roustre	Roundel
Goute	Saltorel

Heraldic Lines

Angled	Arched	Double Arched	Bevilled	Bretessed	Counterembattled	Clover Leaf	Crested	Dentilly	Dancetty
Dovetailed	Ecartelle	Embattled Grady	Another Embattled Grady	Embattled	Engrailed	Fir Tree	Fir Twig	Indented	Inveced
Nebuly	Another Nebuly	Nowy	Potenty	Raguly	Undy	Urdy	Wavy	Spades

Marks of Cadence

Differences, or Marks of Cadency, are the distinctions used to indicate the various branches or Cadets of one family. The eldest son during the lifetime of his father bears a Label; the second son a Crescent, the third, a Mullet, the fourth, a Martlet, the fifth, an Annulet; the sixth, a Fleur-de-Lis; the seventh, a Rose; the eighth, a Cross moline; the ninth, a Double quatrefoil.

This is just a sample from Tempus Peregrinator's Little Heraldy Book.

Just because you have a surname that also appears to have a registered coat of arms, does not give you the right to that armorial bearing unless it is registered as yours specifically or you can claim it as Arms of Paternal or Hereditary. If you can prove your descent from the original bearer then you might be able to claim it as YOUR family coat of arms. Although there are no laws in the U.S. that prohibit one from using a family coat of arms that coincidently has the same surname as yours, in other parts of the world it is a crime to do so unless you can prove it belongs to your family by right of descent. I should point out though, you can create your OWN coat of arms. You can even have it registered!