Lawton Coat of Arms

In days of old,

when knights were bold,

and muskets not invented,

men would go,

to meet their foe,

with ready lance, contented.

The Lawton Coat of Arms is described as:

Argent on a fess between three cross-lets fitche sable, a cinquefoil of first, pierced of the second.  Crest-A demi-wolf salient regardant argent, vulned in the back gule, and licking the wound.  Said what?

This is what is known as Blazon.  Argent is silver or white.  Gules is red, while sable is black.  A fess is a stripe across the center of the shield.  A cinquefoil is a five pointed depiction of a rose.  Regardant means an animal facing backwards.  Salient means projecting or standing backward.  Vulned means wounded.  Demi means half.

When a helmet is used a Knight’s would have an open visor, while a titled gentleman’s visor would be closed.  Either would be shown in profile.

Using the Blazon description it means the Lawton Coat of Arms has a silver shield with a black stripe.  On the stripe is a rose.  There are three crosses of a type called Fitche that appear to pierce the shield.  Atop the shield is a half wolf standing and looking rearward.  It is wounded in the back, red, and licking the wound.  The profile closed helmet shows it is a titled gentleman, but not a Knight.  The leafy patterned part is called mantling and is typical of fifteenth and sixteenth century styles.

All descendants of the original grantee in the male line were entitled to use the Arms.  However only the head of the family could use it as it were, all other family members had to change it in some manner.  That is why one can find different depictions of the Arms.  Originally the design was placed on a surcoat worn over a suit of armor for ready identification of Knights in battle.  That is where the Coat of Arms name derived from.  Later it was drawn on shields, pennants, and horse blankets.  The total trappings were called the Achievement.