Everything about Crest Heraldry totally explained
» The word crest is often mistakenly applied to a coat of arms. For further information see Heraldry. For Japanese usage, see mon (badge).
A
crest is a component of an
heraldic display, so called because it stands on top of a
helmet, as the crest of a
jay stands on the bird's head.
The earliest heraldic crests were apparently painted on metal fans, and usually repeated the
coat of arms painted on the
shield, a practice which was later discontinued. Later they were sculpted of leather and other materials.
Originally, the crest was often "continued into the mantling," but today the crest normally stands within a wreath of cloth, called a
torse, in the principal colors of the shield (the
liveries). Various kinds of
coronet may take the place of the torse, though in some unusual circumstances the coronet sits atop a torse, and is either defined as all or part of a crest.
(External Link
) The most frequent
crest-coronet is a simplified form of a
ducal coronet, with four leaves rather than eight. Towns often have a
mural crown, for example a coronet in the form of
embattled stone walls.
Objects frequently borne as crests include animals, especially lions, normally showing only the fore half; human figures, likewise often from the waist up; hands or arms holding weapons; bird's wings. In Germany and nearby countries, the crest often repeats the liveries in the form of a tall hat, a fan of plumes in alternating colors, or a pair of curving horns. The horns may have a hole in the tip to hold a cluster of plumes or flowers, and because of this have been imported to English heraldry at least once as elephant's trunks.
Crests are not normally borne by women, or
clergy, at least not in the UK, because they didn't participate in war or
tournaments and thus wouldn't have a helm on which to wear it. An exception is the reigning queens of
England or
Britain, whose armorial display is indistinguishable from that of kings.
Some
armigers used their crest as a personal badge, leading to the erroneous use of the word "crest" to describe a shield or full coat of arms.
While it isn't strictly correct, there's a convention that a crest may be displayed within a
belt and buckle by persons other than its legal bearer, signifying non-ownership.
There is a widespread misconception, due in part to Victorian stationers' marketing of engraved letterheads, that a crest and a coat of arms belong to everyone with the same
family name; but usage by persons not descended from the original grantee constitutes
usurpation. Bogus "family crests" continue to be sold to the gullible by heraldic "
bucket shops."
UK
Today, the crests of new Knights of the Garter and
Bath are carved from
lime wood by sculptor Ian G Brennan for display in
St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle (Garter) and
Henry VII Lady Chapel in
Westminster Abbey (Bath).
http://www.heraldicsculptor.com/gartcres.html - Crests for the Knights of the Garter and Bath.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Crest Heraldry'.
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