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A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design [1] on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its whole consists of a shield, supporters, a crest, and a motto.
Vermandois coat of arms, the oldest known, circa 1115, adopted for a county that had been ruled by the last Carolingians. The origin of coats of arms is the invention, in medieval western Europe, of the emblematic system based on the blazon, which is described and studied by heraldry.
Coat of arms of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; Crown Dependencies. Coat of arms of Guernsey. Alderney (image only) Sark (image only) Herm (image only) Coat of arms of Jersey; Coat of arms of the Isle of Man; United States - The obverse of the Great Seal of the United States contains the coat of arms of the United States. Seal of ...
The term "coat of arms" technically refers to the shield of arms itself, but the phrase is commonly used to refer to the entire achievement. The one indispensable element of a coat of arms is the shield; many ancient coats of arms consist of nothing else, but no achievement or armorial bearings exists without a coat of arms. [48]
In heraldry, an escutcheon (/ ɪ ˈ s k ʌ tʃ ən /, ih-SKUTCH-ən) is a shield that forms the main or focal element in an achievement of arms. The word can be used in two related senses. In the first sense, an escutcheon is the shield upon which a coat of arms is displayed. In the second sense, an escutcheon can itself be a charge within a ...
The monarch's official flag, the Royal Standard, is the coat of arms in flag form. There are two versions of the coat of arms. One is used in Scotland, and includes elements derived from the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Scotland, and the other is used elsewhere and includes elements derived from the coat of arms of the Kingdom of England.
A coat of arms of a nation or state is usually the design or device of the obverse of its seal. It is an official emblem, mark of identification, and symbol of the authority of the government of a nation or state. A nation or state's coat of arms is oftentimes referred to as the national or state arms.
Most states do not employ coats of arms, choosing to use seals as their official emblems, but the United States has a coat of arms. The U.S. Constitution prohibits federal and state governments from conferring titles of nobility (see Title of Nobility Clause) and there are few noble coats of arms in the country.