Achievement (heraldry)
In heraldry, an achievement, armorial achievement or heraldic achievement 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 :
Sometimes the term "coat of arms" is used to refer to the full achievement, but this usage is incorrect in the strict sense of heraldic terminology, as a coat of arms refers to a garment with the escutcheon or armorial achievement embroidered on it.Hatchment
The ancient term used in place of "achievement" was "hatchment", deriving from the French achèvement, from the French verb achever, a contraction of à chef venir, ultimately from Latin ad caput venire, "to come to a head", thus: "to reach a conclusion, accomplish, achieve". The word "hatchment" in its historical usage is thus identical in meaning and origin to the English heraldic term "achievement". In modern English, however, the term "hatchment" has come to be used almost exclusively to denote a funerary hatchment, while the word "achievement", now archaic in that sense, is used in place of "hatchment" in non-funereal contexts. An example of the historic use of "hatchment" in a non-funerary context to denote what is now termed "achievement" appears in the statute of the Order of the Garter laid down by King Henry VIII concerning the regulation of Garter stall plates: