A Sense of Identity

During the Tudor ages, knightsfought battles dressed in heavy,metal armour. Even their faceswere completely covered.This meant no one could tellwho they were fighting!

Knights began painting thecolours and symbols of theirside on their shields.

Rather like wearing a footballstrip, the knights could now tellwhich ‘team’ they fought for!

A Badge of Honour

The use of symbolsbecame representativeof the family or countryyou represented. Familycrests began being wornlike a badge of honour.

When knights jousted,they had a coat ofarms on their shieldwith the family crestdisplayed for all to see.

This is the coat of arms of King Henry VIII.

A Coat of Arms

A coat of arms needed tobe unique to the house orfamily it represented.Every design had to bedifferent and it becamedifficult to keep track ofall the new designs.

Eventually, heralds wereemployed. Their job wasto make sure all coats ofarms were unique, tokeep a list of what theywere and which familythey belonged to. Thiswas known as ‘heraldry’.

This is the coat of arms of King Richard III.

The Coat of Arms

Crest: the family ‘badge’.

Mantling: thought torepresent the Crusaderswho fought in the MiddleEast and needed to keepthe sun off them.Wreath: covered the join ofthe helmet.Helmet: the type of helmetdepended on the rank ofthe owner.Supporter: an animal orperson of strength andhonour, seeming to holdthe shield.Shield: symbolic of theimportance of the familycoat of arms.Motto: in Latin, it statedhow the family wanted tobe viewed by others.

Crest

Mantling

Wreath

Helmet

Supporter

Shield

Motto

Choose Your Colours Wisely

The colours used in a coat of arms was very important.They were symbolic of what the family wanted others to associate with them.

Black was thecolour of pietyand knowledge.

Blue wasused asa sign

of truth andsincerity.

Red was thecolour of a

warriorand wealth. Italso told othersthat the bearerof the red shield

was of noblebirth.

Goldrepresented

understanding,respect and

majesty.

Green wassymbolic of

hope and joy.

Choose Your Colours Wisely

The supporters were usually animals, and depending onhow they were drawn, could have a variety of meanings.

Supporters

Antelope Dragon Bear Boar Lion

Antelope

The antelope symbolisespeace and wisdom.Sometimes, it was usedas a symbol of speed.

Bear

The bear representedstrength and cunning,

but also a fierce protectorof the family group.A symbol of bravery

and healing.

Boar

The boar representedcourage and fiercefighting! Defender

to the end!

Dragon

In legends, the dragonwas a guardian of

treasure: the bravestcreature of them all.

Lion

The lion is perhaps themost common animal used

on coats of arms.It was a sign associated

with royalty andrepresented courage and a

valiant warrior.

Patterns Have Meanings

The patterns used in the designs of the coat of arms also have meanings.

The red stripe in azigzag across the middle

represents protection.

The yellow and reddesign symbolises rule

and authority.

The red cross on a whitebackground is an emblemof faith and protection.

Your Task

You are going to design yourown coat of arms. It canrepresent your family or justyourself.

Remember to include all theelements of a coat of arms andconsider the following:

• the colours;• patterns;• animals.

You may need to do moreresearch into the meaning ofdifferent emblems and figures.