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
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 or armorial achievement embroidered on it.A. G. Puttock, A Dictionary of Heraldry and Related Subjects, Exeter 1985. Blaketon Hall. . p. 40Stephen Friar (ed.), A New Dictionary of Heraldry, London 1987. Alphabooks/A&C Black. . p. 96.
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,Collins Dictionary of the English Language, London, 1986. 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",Larousse Dictionnaire de la Langue Française, Paris, 1979: "lat. pop. capum, class. caput. 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:Round, J. Horace, Family Origins and Other Studies, Page, William, (ed.), London, 1930, pp. 174–189, "The Garter Plates and Peerage Styles", p. 174.
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