In heraldry, a compartment is a design placed under the shield, usually rocks, a grassy mount (mount vert), or some sort of other landscape upon which the supporters are depicted as standing. Care must be taken to distinguish true compartments from items upon which supporters are merely resting one or more feet, or, sometimes, mere heraldic badges or pure decoration under the shield, and, conversely, care must also be taken in very unusual cases such as the coat of arms of Belize and Gabon, in which what may be taken to be a crest, trees in both coats of arms rising above the shield, is really part of the compartment. It is sometimes said to represent the land held by the bearer. As an official part of the blazon it is a comparatively late feature of heraldry, often derived from the need to have different supporters for different families or entities, although sometimes the compartment is treated in the blazon separately from the supporters.
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In this Dossier
- ⭐ Core Definition: Compartment (heraldry)
- Compartment (heraldry) in the context of Achievement (heraldry)
- Compartment (heraldry) in the context of Heraldic achievement
Compartment (heraldry) in the context of Achievement (heraldry)
In heraldry, an achievement, armorial achievement or heraldic achievement (historical: hatchment) is a full display or depiction of all the heraldic components to which the bearer of a coat of arms is entitled. An achievement comprises not only the arms displayed on the escutcheon, the central element, but also the following elements surrounding it (from top to bottom):
- Slogan or war-cry
- Mantle and pavilion
- Crest placed atop a:
- Torse (or cap of maintenance as a special honour)
- Mantling
- Helm of appropriate variety; if holder of higher rank than a baronet, issuing from a:
- Coronet or crown (not used by baronets), of appropriate variety.
- Console (decorative or aesthetic in purpose, and not officially part of the armorial grant)
- Supporters (if the bearer is entitled to them, generally in modern usage not baronets), which may stand on a compartment
- Motto, if possessed
- Order, if possessed
- Badge, if possessed
Compartment (heraldry) in the context of Heraldic achievement
In heraldry, an achievement, armorial achievement or heraldic achievement (historical: hatchment) is a full display or depiction of all the heraldic components to which the bearer of a coat of arms is entitled. An achievement comprises not only the arms displayed on the escutcheon, the central element, but also the following elements surrounding it (from top to bottom):
- Slogan or war-cry, if possessed
- Mantle and pavilion
- Crest placed atop a:
- Torse (or cap of maintenance as a special honour)
- Mantling
- Helm of appropriate variety; if holder of higher rank than a baronet, issuing from a:
- Coronet or crown (not used by baronets), of appropriate variety.
- Console (decorative or aesthetic in purpose, and not officially part of the armorial grant)
- Supporters (if the bearer is entitled to them, generally in modern usage not baronets), which may stand on a compartment
- Motto, if possessed
- Order, if possessed
- Badge, if possessed