Quote Originally Posted by davidlpope View Post

When one considers heraldry, one has to disassociate oneself from certain modern notions: namely, that each element of an achievement of arms "means" something. Heraldry started as a means to identify an individual in battle. Simple heraldic charges were selected, with simple tinctures (colors) because that was easy to pick out. Imagine: "See that night over there with the gold moon on his helm, that's Arnott.." "See that knight over there with the gold boar's head on his helm, that's the Duke of Argyll..."
Very good point. This might well be the case with the crescent. It sounds like something people in my family would do. Something simple, not over the top, but still does the job. Maybe the old Arnots did the same. Many thanks.