Hunting for Heraldry

I've researched heraldry off and on for quite a few years as background for my Faerie Queen series. Of course, depending on when you are setting your King Arthur stories, the modern heraldry system might not yet have existed... but Edmund Spenser certainly did envision his knights and recreants as having distinctive arms. Of course, Spenser's descriptions of his knights' arms are tightly connected with what they symbolize in his allegory. For example, Sir Artegall, the hero of Spenser's story about justice, has a shield bearing a pair of scales.

In order to give background characters heraldic arms, I like to figure out options that would be appropriate for them, even if the actual description of the arms doesn't make it into the book. (I can't imagine that many people would want to read about a shield "chevronny embowed of four and per pale Azure and Argent.")

Some fun resources to look at for this include Scotland's Lyon King of Arms website, which has a reference page including a lot of the basics (link: blazoning); England and Wales' College of Arms website (link: Resources - College of Arms); and the Crests and Arms blog (here's their intro to German heraldry: A Crash Course in German Heraldry – Crests & Arms). If you go to the Crests and Arms blog, note that their business is to sell people information on "family crests," which aren't really a thing in the UK according to the College of Arms. The Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies has online courses about heraldry, which I'm very curious about, but can't justify paying for! (Link: Heraldry | IHGS)

If you prefer books to websites, the Oxford Guide to Heraldry is a favorite. It talks about not only how a coat of arms is put together but also about what it means.

British History Online also has some relevant bits. While scrolling the BHO, I found this random gem: the case of Andrewes v Farmer (1638), in which Farmer's scurrilous insult against Sheriff Andrewes is investigated. The legal process we see in this case record is just fascinating to me. One witness to the quarrel between Andrewes and Farmer states, "Andrewes told Farmer that he came of a broad Clothe liste. Whether he did speak the words before or after Farmer called him coward and base fellow he doth not remember." Andrewes v Farmer's case is here (link: 4 Andrewes v Farmer | British History Online).