A crest is a component of an heraldic display, so called because it stands atop a helmet, as the crest of a jay stands on the bird's head. The earliest heraldic crest were apparently painted on metal fans, and usually repeated the coat of arms painted on the shield. Later they were sculpted of leather and other materials. A crest normally stands within a wreath of cloth, called a torse, in the principal colors of the shield (the liveries). Various kinds of coronet may take the place of the torse. The most frequent crest-coronet is a simplified form of a ducal coronet, with four leaves rather than eight. Towns often have a mural crown, i.e. a coronet in the form of embattled stone walls. Objects frequently borne as crest include animals, especially lions, normally showing only the fore half; human figures, likewise often from the waist up; hands or arms holding weapons; bird's wings. In Germany and nearby countries, the crest often repeats the liveries in the form of a tall hat, a fan of plumes in alternating colors, or a pair of curving horns. The horns may have a hole in the tip to hold a cluster of plumes or flowers, and because of this have been imported to English heraldry at least once as elephant's trunks. Crest are not normally borne by women or clergy, because they do not participate in war or tournaments and thus would not have a helm on which to wear it.

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