How do I begin my Heraldric research?

How do I begin my Heraldric research?

If you want to start investigating whether you do have any pedigree or Heraldic roots, you need to do the basics before you can do anything else because it's still a case of building a family tree. But, if you've usually heard a story passed down from generation to generation, then that might be a link. That's the first obvious clue, and the second is the key surname. Now, a lot of the families that did bear coats of arms have got well-established surnames. And you've got pedigrees such as Burke's Peerage and Debrett's, which give you all of these well-established family trees of these people who have pedigrees and Heraldic devices. And so, if you've got a surname that matches one of these, then it's a case of linking into the existing and established family trees that have already been proven.