This section is not intend to provide the reader with an exhaustive explanation of heraldic practice and procedure. It is necessary, however, to give some idea of the basics elements of this complicated science. This section is therefore devoted to a revelation of the simplest heraldic rules.
Tinctures - these are the colours and metals used in heraldry. There are five basic tinctures which include red (gules), blue (azure), green (vert), black (sable), purple (purpure). Added to these are less commonly used and very rare tinctures such as orange (tenné), flesh (carnation), sky blue (bleue celeste), burgundy (murray) & c. I do not believe there is a single instance of the use of any of these lesser-used tinctures in this Roll of Arms. Carnation has appeared many times in the original blazons of Reitstap but I have translated it as 'proper' which is the correct term for charges appearing in their natural colours.
In addition to the five basic colours there are two metals used in heraldry; these are gold (or)  and silver (argent). In the emblazonment (painting) of arms these metals can appear as either solid gold and silver or as yellow and white or some combination of the two. The actual shade of the metal is irrelevent so long as it performs its basic function of providing a contrast to the colours on the shield. Originally this contrast was supposed to have allowed armorial bearings to be visible from some distance on the battle field.
Hatching is an art which developed in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries in order that uncoloured depictions of arms could be 'read' by the viewer. This art consists of a number of small lines which are used to depict tinctures; thus gules (vertical lines), azure (horizontal), vert (diagonal top right to bottom left), purpure (diagonal top right to bottom left), sable (criss-cross or solid black), or (dots) and argent (plain). Plate A illustrates both the tinctures and their hatchings. Although hatching appears only once in this Roll of Arms (see Dumaresq) it is used on many original tombs, engravings, seals and etchings.
Partition lines - These are the basic divisions of the shield formed by the drawing of lines through the shield. These basic lines are intimately linked to the ordinaries and sub-ordinaries. Most heraldists maintain differences between what they call the ordinaries and sub-ordinaries based on the greater supposed antiquity of one group over the other. This seperation of basic heraldic shield divisions is both arbitrary and unnecessary. Plate A illustrates the basic divisions of the shield along with the ordinaries and sub-ordinaries used in heraldry. These divisions are the basis of all heraldic practice as they allow the precise placement of the charges upon the shield and the use of the multiple tinctures which dilliniate one shield from another. Where more then one of the same ordinary appears on a shield it becomes a diminutive of its full form; thus three bends become bendlets, three chevrons become chevronells and three pales becomes pallets.
As can be seen from Plate A the difference between the blazoning of ordinaries and standard partition lines is in the addition of the words 'party per' before the name of the division; thus party per pale refers to a single line drawn from the centre top to the centre bottom of the shield whereas the ordinary 'pale' refers to a solid geometric rectangle taking up approximately one third of the shield's space.
At this point it is important to discuss the basic division of the shield into dexter and sinister halves. In heraldry the right and left hand sides of the shield are reversed so that they are described from the point of view of the bearer of the shield. The right hand side of the shield as seen by someone viewing it is therefore the left side from the point of view of the bearer; the dexter side of the shield is the right-hand side as seen by the bearer of a shield but the left-hand side as seen from the perspective of someone viewing the shield from a distance. Equally sinister refers to the left side of the shield as seen by the bearer of the shield.
Charges - A charge is basically any object, geometrical or organic, which appears on the surface of a shield. There are an innumerable number of charges used in heraldry. Among the most common are the lion, the eagle and the various ordinaries and sub-ordinaries. Usually the older the armorial bearings the simpler the charges are upon them. Thus the arms of the Abbé de Fénelon (of the great house of La Mothe) has three bendlets and the arms of the Count von Abenspurg und Traun are simply per pale of two tinctures. A precise description of the number and position of the charges on a shield are essential to any blazon of a coat-of-arms. This is particularly important in light of the often highly complicated nature of later, and especially Napoleonic, heraldry.
Quarterings - This is where more then one autonomous coat-of-arms appears on the shield. Usually if arms have been inherited from an heiress mother (so that there is a pretention to the representation of her lineage by the armiger) or if the armiger is the possessor of a great lordship then these arms will be marshalled on the shield. Usually this is done by quartering which involves the division of the shield into four equal quarters. In English heraldry the marshalling of arms can be done in quarters of six, eight, ten, twelve & c. But on the Continent and in Scotland if more then four quarters are required the shield is generally divided into grand quarters where each quarter is itself divided into quarters (see Count Egmond). A shield divided quarterly can sometimes be surmounted by another smaller shield which sits in the centre of the main shield. This is called an escutcheon of pretence (if it consists of the arms of an heiress for example) or an inescutcheon (a shield within a shield). Many of these appear in this Roll of Arms where they are generally blazoned as either inescutcheons or escutcheons en surtout (over all).
Crests - These are the objects which appear on the tops of the helmets of many coats-of-arms. Though uncomon in France and Italy after the middle ages they were extremely common in Germany, Scandinavia, the British Isles and to some extent Spain. In Germany the crest is often directly referential to the arms; being a repitition of the principle charge. Elsewhere, however, the crest can be any animal, human or fabulous form. The crest is always emblazoned as a three dimensional object.
Helmets - The rank of the armiger should, theoretically, be apparent in the type of helmet which rests on his shield. On the Continent nobles for example, always used either the silver, open-visored helmet with bars to protect the face or the closed tournament helm depending on the prevailing trend at any one time.
Supporters - These are the creatures which appear on either side of the shield and hold it in place. Originating in the decorative elements surrounding the shield in medieval seals supporters had established a firm place in armory by the seventeenth century. So popular did this become by the eighteenth century that  all English peers possessed them as a matter of course. Supporters can be any creatures either human, animal or fabulous and, like crests, they are always emblazoned as three dimensional objects.
Motto - Mottoes occure as part of many heraldic achievements and can be either hereditary or personal to the individual armiger. The motto is a short and concise statement which often incorporates a play on the armiger's name. The statement can be in French, Latin or any native language. Closely related to the motto is the cri-de-guerre (war cry) which is especially prevelent in French and Scottish armory.
Coronets - Especially in France coronets of rank have been used to indicate the peerage rank of an armiger. As different coronets are used to indicate different peerage rankings in different countries this Roll of Arms has made a specific point of indicating the place and period of a particular peerage creation so that the appropriate coronet of rank can be used. In many cases the use of coronets became corrupted so that, for example, the writer Voltaire actually placed a marquis' coronet above his shield even though he only just qualified as an untitled noblman in eighteenth century France. Equally the use of titles themselves was frequently corrupted so that, for example, in eighteenth century France the notorious Donatian-Alphonse-François de Sade made use of the title of Marquis even though he belonged to an ancient comital family. Despite such usage this Roll of Arms has endeavoured to describe the form of title used by each individual contained in it. The legal right of the individual to a particular title, like the right to bear arms, is not the concern of this Roll of Arms; the only important factor is that an individual maintained a pretention to the use of a particular title or coat-of-arms during his or her lifetime.