QandAs: Buzz

What Is A Family Crest?

Answer:
A family crest is one component of a heraldic display,

named because it stands on top of a helmet, similar to the crest of a bird. The term crest is often mistakenly used alternatively to refer to a coat of arms. However, this usage is incorrect. A crest is only one part of the family coat of arms.

The earliest heraldic crests were painted onto metal fans, and were usually a copy of the coat of arms that were painted on shields. Later, this practice was ended, and they began to be sculpted out of leather and other materials. Originally, the crest was continued into the mantling of the coat of arms, but today the crest remains at the top within a wreath of cloth, which is called a torse, in the main colors of the shield (liveries). In place of the torse, there may be type of coronet. In rare circumstances, the coronet will sit on tope of the torse, and can be defined as part of the crest. The most common crest-coronet is a simplified ducal coronet, with four leaves instead of eight. Towns often had a mural crown, which is a coronet in the form of embattled stone walls. Objects that are commonly used as crests include: animals, especially lions, typically only showing the front; human figures from the waist up; hands or arms holding weapons; and bird’s wings. In Germany, the crest often repeats the liveries as a tall hat, a fan of plumes in alternating colors, or a pair of curving horns. If horns are used, they may have a hole in the tip to hold plumes or flowers. Women and the clergy do not normally wear crests, because they did not participate in war or tournaments, which meant that they would not have had a helm to wear them on. The only exception to this is the reigning queens of Britain, whose armorial display is identical to that of kings.