Coats of Arms & Family Crests


The following resources will help you research coats of arms, family crests and heraldry.

 Print Resources

Brooke-Little, J. P. An Heraldic Alphabet.  New York: Arco Publishing Company, Inc., 1973 (REF 929.603 B)

Crampton, William G, editor.  Webster's Concise Encyclopedia of Flags & Coats of Arms.  New York: Crescent Books. 1985. (REF 929.92 WE)

Fox-Davies, Arthur Charles. The Art of Heraldry: An Encyclopedia of Armory.  London: Bloomsbury Books.  1986. (OS 929.6 F)

Friar, Stephen.  A Dictionary of Heraldry.  New York: Harmony Books, 1987. (REF 929.603 DIC)

 

 Websites

Coats of Arms and Family Surname History: http://www.houseofnames.com/

Coats of Arms from Ireland and Around the World - Heraldic Symbolism and Convention: http://www.heraldry.ws/index.html

Heraldic Clipart: http://www.digiserve.com/heraldry/clipart.htm

International Civic Heraldry: http://www.ngw.nl/

Irish Surnames - Heraldic Charges (meanings): http://www.irishsurnames.com/heraldiccharges.htm

The Meanings Behind the Symbols of Family Crests and Coats of Arms: http://www.fleurdelis.com/meanings.htm

 

If you do not find what you're looking for in the above resources, try the search tips listed below.

  Internet Search Tips

  1. Type the URL (web site address) of a search directory/engine in the address box: ex: www.yahoo.com, or www.google.com, etc.
     
  2. (Be sure to type the address exactly the way you see it, including any uppercase letters and punctuation).
     
  3. Type in keyword(s). (If your keyword has two parts such as: "coats of arms", be sure to put quotes around it so that the search engine only finds the Internet sites on old English as opposed to all of the sites containing the word coats plus all of the sites containing the word arms.
     

  4. If you would like to search for something specific about coats of arms, try a combined keyword search by adding a comma followed by a space and your other search term. For instance; if I wanted to find out about the origins of coats of arms,  I would enter the following:

    "coats of arms", origins,

    Hit Enter on your keyboard, or click on Search, then scan the description of the "hits" (entries) and click on the links that sound best.
     

  5. Be sure to evaluate each Internet site for the following:
    • Authority: Can you tell if the author is credible (believable)?
    • Objectivity: Is the information objective (honest and free of bias)?
    • Currency: Is the information recent and up-to-date?
    • Design: Is the site designed in a clear and user friendly way?
    • Navigation: Is the site easy to navigate through, and are all links current and usable?

     

  6. Remember: if you choose to use any information (text or graphics) found on an Internet source, 
    you must include it in your bibliography.

Remember:  YOU MUST CITE EVERY RESOURCE YOU USED to gather information on your 
Works Cited (Bibliography) page.  Use the Works Cited Guide to access MLA format.

 

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