Hi, I am asking you historians out there that know about family crests and coat of arms about the symbology and meaning behind anything in my great. I did my best to recreate it via photoshop. My family obtained this crest from King Henry VIII along the deed to Portchester Castle. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you historians
http://imgur.com/8UWOuqQ (Link to picture of Family Crest)
Could you post the original image of the coat of arms, please (not your recreated photoshop rendering)? I'm not sure what kind of bird that is or what the charge in the middle is. In general, there are no set meanings in heraldry. Some have tried and made lists of charges and tinctures with accompanying symbolism throughout the past. They're not the same when compared and definitely not universal. So, each armiger (owner of their respective coat of arms) applies their own symbolism/meaning to the charges and tinctures. It's hard to say, unless the original owner wrote that down. All this being said, do you have any documents (e.g. grant of arms) or did you find this coat of arms on an online service? May I also ask you where you're from?