Understanding Heraldry is a guide to the origins of heraldry and its development to the present day. To the average person it may seem an obscure and mysterious system of symbols and design but when looked at more closely and broken down into parts, the basic principles are simple. This book describes the basic system of heraldic symbols and explains what the component parts are and what they mean. It will give you a basic grasp of the subject and may lead you to further reading and investigation in this area. It may even prompt you to create your very own coat of arms.