Primary authority · England, Wales and other areas
College of Arms
The official English heraldic authority, with guidance on grants, the law of arms, and the character of armorial rights.
Visit source ↗✦ The reading room
Follow the evidence.
A catalogue can help you locate an object; a grant can record an armorial act. Start by asking what you need to establish, then follow the source capable of supporting that claim.
An editorial principle.
Official heraldic authorities are primary sources for their own jurisdictions. Educational societies, books and digital archives are invaluable, but their statements and holdings are not interchangeable with a grant or official register entry.
✦ Annotated directory
Official authorities
Primary authority · Scotland
Court of the Lord Lyon
Scottish grants, matriculations, and the Public Register of All Arms and Bearings.
Visit source ↗Primary authority · Canada
Canadian Heraldic Authority
Canada's heraldic program, including educational materials and the Public Register of Arms, Flags and Badges.
Visit source ↗✦ Annotated directory
Registers & archives
Official register · Canada
Public Register of Canada
Research and discovery of Canadian grants, confirmations, registrations, and approvals. Check reuse restrictions.
Visit source ↗Official guide · Scotland
Scotland's People — Arms
Government guide to Scottish armorial research and the evidence needed for claims of descent.
Visit source ↗Image archive · International
Wikimedia Commons
Enormous illustrated collection; always inspect each item's provenance, authorship, and licensing individually.
Visit source ↗✦ Annotated directory
Scholarly & educational
Educational society · United Kingdom
The Heraldry Society
A major educational charity offering a beginner's guide, historical guidance and publications.
Visit source ↗Educational society · Scotland
Heraldry Society of Scotland
Scottish-focused study, events and research, useful alongside the Lord Lyon's official materials.
Visit source ↗Educational society · United States
American Heraldry Society
A curated English-language heraldic reading list, with special attention to the American setting.
Visit source ↗Educational society · Canada
Royal Heraldry Society of Canada
Heraldry proficiency material and Canadian educational resources.
Visit source ↗Independent course · England
Mortimer History Society
A helpful introductory course organized into short modules.
Visit source ↗Formal study · United Kingdom
Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies
Professional distance-learning heraldry instruction and established examination pathways.
Visit source ↗Illustrated primer · Historical
Heraldry for Beginners — Hatching and Furs
A richly illustrated primer from The Heraldry Society, including the hatching system and basic furs.
Visit source ↗Practitioner essay · Historical
The Herald Painter — Engraving and Colour
An artist's discussion of historical and contemporary techniques for reproducing heraldic arms in monochrome.
Visit source ↗✦ Four places worth bookmarking
Start with
the originals.
These sources explain how a design is described, inherited, or recorded in their respective systems. Follow the actual terms before applying the explanation to a particular bearer.
The distinction between picture and grant
The College explains how a blazon, rather than a particular artistic rendering, can define granted arms.
Read the source ↗What actually descends?
Official English guidance on inheritance, heraldic heiresses and cadency.
Read the source ↗Why Scotland is different
Grants and matriculations in the Scottish recording tradition.
Read the source ↗Canadian records and reproduction
An official research register. Its imagery has restrictions; follow the institution's reproduction conditions.
Read the source ↗✦ Reading intelligently
A research
checklist.
Before concluding that a shield belonged to a particular ancestor, make sure you can answer the questions that connect image, document, and bearer.
- Who is actually named as the armiger in the original record?
- Which authority or archival collection preserved the record?
- What is the earliest datable evidence of the arms?
- Is the blazon known, or only a later artistic rendering?
- If claiming descent, where is the documented chain?
- Which jurisdiction's practice would govern the claim?