Crown (heraldic charge)

A crown is often an emblem of the sovereign state, a monarch's government, or items endorsed by it; see The Crown. Crowns may also be used by some republics.

A specific type of crown (or coronet for peerage in the British Isles) is employed in heraldry under strict rules. Indeed, some monarchies never had a physical crown, just a heraldic representation, as in the constitutional kingdom of Belgium.

Crowns are also often used as symbols of religious status or veneration, by divinities (or their representation such as a statue) or by their representatives, e.g. the Black Crown of the Karmapa Lama, sometimes used a model for wider use by devotees.

A crown can be a charge in a coat of arms, or set atop the shield to signify the status of its owner, as with the arms of Norway here.

So the royal crown which shows a Christian cross on a coat of arms means that his or her holder has power and direct protection from God; if you find crown of the Duke, the owner is not Duke necessarily rather someone who has received power and protection with its power. Crowns bearing bird feathers refer to ancient beliefs, according to which the birds had divine qualities like angels communicated with the worlds beyond the sky. In Italy there are rings that show the city walls used symbolically to remember the function that had the walls to protect the city. Thus the crown is a symbol of power and protection received from someone or something or means that the owner of the crown you show guarantees you power and protection.

Oftentimes, the crown commonly depicted and used in heraldry differs significantly from any specific physical crown that may be used by a monarchy.

Representation of physical crown of Norway

A heraldic crown for the Norwegian King but in a version not used by the King

If the bearer of a coat of arms has the title of baron or higher (or hereditary knight in some countries), he or she may display a coronet of rank above the shield, usually below the helm in British heraldry, often above the crest (if any) in Continental heraldry.

In this case the appearance of the crown follows a strict set of rules. A royal coat of arms may display a royal crown such as that of Norway. Princely coats of arms display a princely crown and so on.

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