View source for Achievement (heraldry)

{{Short description|Full display of coat of arms}}
{{Heraldic achievement}}
[[File:GarterPlateJohnBeaufort.jpg|thumb|Heraldic achievement forming the [[Garter stall plate]] of [[John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset]] (d. 1444), [[Knight of the Garter|KG]], St. George's Chapel, Windsor. The earliest garter plate with supporters.<ref>Planche, J. R., ''Pursuivant of Arms'', 1851, p. xx</ref> It includes the [[Badge (heraldry)|badge]] of an ostrich feather, here shown as a pair,  blazoned: ''feather argent pen [[Compone|gobonne]] argent and azure'']]

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.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Boutell |first1=Charles  |last2=Charles Fox-Davies |first2=Arthur |name-list-style=amp |title=The handbook to English heraldry |publisher=Reeves & Turner |year=1914 |quote=Achievement, or Achievement of Arms. Any complete composition of Arms. |page=100 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_xdMAAAAMAAJ&q=achievement}}</ref> An achievement comprises not only the arms displayed on the [[Escutcheon (heraldry)|escutcheon]], the central element, but also the following elements surrounding it (from top to bottom): 
* [[Slogan (heraldry)|Slogan or war-cry]]
* [[Mantle and pavilion (heraldry)|Mantle and pavilion]]
* [[Crest (heraldry)|Crest]] placed atop a:
* [[Torse]] (or [[cap of maintenance]] as a special honour)
* [[Mantling]]
* [[Helmet (heraldry)|Helm]] of appropriate variety; if holder of higher rank than a [[baronet]], issuing from a: 
* [[Coronet]] or [[Crown (heraldry)|crown]] (not used by baronets), of  appropriate variety.
* [[Console (heraldry)|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 (heraldry)|compartment]]
* [[Motto#Mottos in heraldry|Motto]], if possessed
* [[order (distinction)|Order]], if possessed
* [[Badge (heraldry)|Badge]], if possessed

==Coat of arms==
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 (heraldry)|escutcheon]] or armorial achievement embroidered on it.<ref>A. G. Puttock, ''A Dictionary of Heraldry and Related Subjects'', Exeter 1985. Blaketon Hall. {{ISBN|0907854931}}. p. 40</ref><ref>Stephen Friar (ed.), ''A New Dictionary of Heraldry'', London 1987. Alphabooks/A&C Black. {{ISBN|0906670446}}. p. 96.</ref>

==Hatchment==
[[File:GarterPlateJohnRussell1stEarlOfBedford1539.png|thumb|[[Garter stall plate]] of [[John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford]] ({{Circa|1485}}–1554/5), installed as a [[Knight of the Garter]] 18 May 1539, showing his "achievement", at that time  termed "hatchment"]]
The ancient term used in place of "achievement" was "hatchment", deriving (through such historic forms as ''atcheament, achement, hathement'', etc.) from the French ''achèvement'',<ref>''Collins Dictionary of the English Language'', London, 1986.</ref> from the French verb ''achever'', a contraction of ''à chef venir'' ("to come to a head"), ultimately from Latin ''ad caput venire'', "to come to a head",<ref>''Larousse Dictionnaire de la Langue Française'', Paris, 1979: "lat. pop. ''capum'', class. ''caput''.</ref> 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]],<ref>{{oed |hatchment}}</ref> while the word "achievement", now archaic in that sense,<ref>{{oed |achievement}}</ref> is used in place of "hatchment" in non-funereal contexts.<ref>{{cite book |last=Trench |first=Richard Chenevix |author-link=Richard Chenevix Trench |editor-last=Mayhew |editor-first=Anthony Lawson |year=1890 |orig-date=1859 |chapter=Achievement |title=A Select Glossary of English Words Used Formerly in Senses Different from Their Present |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JSs4AQAAIAAJ |edition=7 |location=London |publisher=Kegan Paul, Trench |page=2 |quote=This 'achievement' or 'hatchment' is an escutcheon or coat of arms erected when a person of distinction has died; originally so called from its being granted in memory of some 'achievement' or distinguished feat. In the Heralds' College there are 'achievements' still, as there were for Milton two centuries ago; but in our common language we call them 'hatchments,' and have let any such employment of 'achievement' go.}}</ref> 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]] ({{reign | 1509 | 1547}}) concerning the regulation of [[Garter stall plate]]s:<ref>[[J. Horace Round|Round, J. Horace]], [https://books.google.com/books?hl=nl&id=7KYWAQAAIAAJ ''Family Origins and Other Studies''], Page, William, (ed.), London, 1930, pp. 174–189, "The Garter Plates and Peerage Styles", p. 174.</ref>
{{blockquote|
It is agreed that every knyght within the yere of his stallation shall cause to be made a [[Escutcheon (heraldry)|scauchon]] of his armes and ''hachementis'' in a plate of metall suche as shall please him and that it shall be surely sett upon the back of his stall.}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{cite web
| access-date = 2011-05-16
| publisher = An Tir College of Heralds
| title = What is an Achievement?
| quote = An 'achievement' is a full formal display of a coat of arms.
| url = http://www.antirheralds.org/display/achievements/achievements.html
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110420025929/http://antirheralds.org/display/achievements/achievements.html
| archive-date = 20 April 2011
| url-status = dead
| df = dmy-all
}}
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Hatchment|volume=13|page=62}}

{{Heraldry}}

{{Commons category}}

[[Category:Heraldry]]