4. What is A full Achievemnet?:
- A full achievement is the heraldic version of the "whole enchilada." If a person has only a shield with no supporters then his smaller design would be considered his full achievement. But naturally if you were a noble and had a much grander design then this would be the larger and more complex version of your Coat of Arms. It would include your supporters, compartments, orders, decorations and at times lesser shields form distant ancestors not included on the current shield proper.
- SUPPORTERS are objects, people, animals or mythical beasts that appear to support the shield in the design. Common practice places two supporters alongside or one behind the shield. They can be any combination of characters and don’t even have to touch the shield, but this is rare. Supporters are usually reserved for the nobility, institutions and states, but it is not unheard of to have husbands and wives create supporters for their wedding shields. In Europe supporters are usually granted by the heraldry authorities as an honor and only then after having meet some requirements or being descendent from nobility...
- COMPARTMENTS serve varied purposes but usually they are the landings upon which the supporters stand. They may be made from almost anything including, water, land, rocks and ribbons. When warranted they may hold up military decorations and can support to motto as well. They are not however mandatory if you have supporters in your full achievement...
- ORDERS are clubs or organizations made up of armigers that are banding together in unity for a cause or sovereign. They were the ancient world’s first service organizations and fraternities. Basically they are groups of knight that share a certain bond and have created an order to show their brotherhood. In a full achievement they showed this bond through a garter, a wrapping or a belt that usually surrounded the shield. The symbol of the order can be an ornate gold relief or a simple strap that encircles the shield, quite often presenting a motto. Order members are uncommon among US armigers because they are a mostly European tradition, but some prominent US citizens have been made members of some well known orders...
- DECORATIONS are awards or medals that hang anywhere from the full achievement. Usually they hang off the compartment or from around the shield...
- LESSER SHIELDS are Coats of Arms that were not, by heraldic law or aesthetic design, included in the full achievement. Armigers include these shields in their full achievements to show the multiple houses they descend from and the different lands they represent...