Medieval Coats-of-Arms Heraldic Terms, Rules of Tincture and Blazonry By the end of this lesson students will be able to: Know why Medieval people used coats-of-arms. Use new vocabulary in writing a blazon. Create their own personal coat-of-arms to display.
Symbolism Can you identify the following logos?
What are coats-of-arms? Symbolic name tags! Armies (Spartans, Romans) Individuals
Parts of a Shield Display
Parts of a Shield Display
Metals Or (Gold) Argent (Silver) Rule of Tincture: No metals upon metals!
Colors Gules (Red) Azure (Blue) Sable (Black) Vert (Green) Purpure (Purple) Tenne (Orange) Sanguine (Dark Red) Proper (Natural Color of an object) Rule of Tincture: No color upon color!
Descriptors Dexter (Right) Sinister (Left) Field (Background) Charge (Item on the field) Chief (Top portion) Base (Bottom portion)
Heraldic Terms: Blazon: A description for a coat-of-arms. Blazonry: The art of writing/reading such a description as done by a herald. Herald: The person who reads blazonry on coats-of-arms in order to announce their bearers by name for either tournaments or for record at battle.
Rules of Blazonry 1- Start with the color of the field. 2- Next, identify how the field is divided (if at all) 3- Identify the main charge on the field. 4- Identify the remainder (if any) following the rule of “Left to Right, Top to Bottom”. 5-After describing the field and its contents, identify any item in the chief (if any exists) by first the main field and then any charge it may hold.
Example: Baron Von Wells 1. Identify the main field: Or 2. Identify the main charge by color and shape: Sable rampant lion. Finally, write the blazon. “Or, a sable rampant lion. “ Option 2 shows the direction of the charge: “Or, a sable rampant lion facing sinister.”
Sample Coat-of-Arms:
Sample Coat-of-Arms: Altamura
Sample Coat-of-Arms: Braithwaite
Sample Coat-of-Arms: Bryce
Sample Coat-of-Arms: Keel
Sample Coat-of-Arms:
Sample Coat-of-Arms:
Sample Coat-of-Arms:
Sample Coat-of-Arms:
Sample Coat-of-Arms:
Student Examples: