Family coat of arms: design, manufacture and meaning

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Today, heraldry has acquired its own, narrow, and at the same time unique meaning. Not every family has a family coat of arms, but those who have it can boast of its deep meaning and impressions that arose in the process of its manufacture (even though they did not even make the coat of arms). A particularly fascinating moment is the meaning of each symbol, which is carefully chosen during the development process. What do these lions, shields, crowns mean? What is the significance of the color and shape of the coat of arms? And the most interesting thing is how to create a family crest yourself?

Development

Just the last question is not so difficult to answer: a self-made coat of arms will be a great way to have fun with your family, uniting them and forcing them to look for something in common. Before you start the process of making a coat of arms, you need to absolutely determine the details. Therefore, choosing what exactly will be depicted on the coat of arms, its future ownerdetermines those qualities and virtues that will best characterize his family. In fact, by developing a coat of arms, the first owner becomes the ancestor, dictating the rules that his growing family will adhere to in the future!

At the same time, the family coat of arms is very different from the personal one (and this happens). It is important to remember that when creating a personal coat of arms, the owner, as it were, describes the qualities inherent only to him, and the family coat of arms represents the basic values of this family, its dignity and the meaning of life. Consider how best to approach the choice of the shape and color of the coat of arms and start with a description of the family coat of arms.

The shape of the coat of arms is the most important factor

The coat of arms is always based on a shield. Even modern family coats of arms are based on similar shields. At the very top is a crest. They can be feathers, a crown, a branch, the sun, a bird or an angel. On the one hand, this is an ornament, and on the other hand, it is an important part that has its own meaning, depending on the figure. Next comes the helmet. Often, without attaching symbolic significance to other figures, the owners insert a helmet into the center of the coat of arms. Below is the shield itself, where any geometric figure can be taken as a basis. However, it also matters: a square with a curly brace at the bottom was more often chosen by prim Englishmen, and a rhombus by graceful ladies. Most often, at jousting tournaments during the prosperity of heraldry and symbolism, the oval was encountered.

On the sides of the shield, often symmetrically, there is a mantle - originally a mantle covering the knight and hanging from the sides. In heraldry, this canbe colorfully decorated with patterns, the royal mantle of princes or animals. For example, one can easily imagine two lions or tigers rearing up on both sides of the shield. In addition, at the very bottom is a ribbon with the motto written on it (occasionally located on top). It completes the composition and also has its own meaning. But more on that later.

The coat of arms is not a coloring book

Choosing a color is often the most fun and challenging part of designing a family crest. It is important to keep in mind that a one-color emblem always looks dull or too defiant - depending on the color. And vice versa: a lot of small multi-colored details will be too colorful, and from the side the whole picture will not fit together. The most common are:

• Red - courage, fearlessness and physical strength. It can be seen in most kings and knights who were distinguished by courage. In philosophy, it meant love.
• White - purity. Innocence or purity is associated with the color white, because it is in such robes that the angels in the paintings are dressed, and medical workers wear white coats, as this is associated with purity.
• Yellow - generosity. Sometimes, to prove the presence of this quality, noble gentlemen turned into spendthrifts. In a philosophical sense, yellow means justice, meeting on a par with red on royal coats of arms is expectedly common.
• Black - education. Since in the concept of the ancients, modesty and humility always went hand in hand with education,black has all three meanings.
• Blue - honesty. In the philosophical sense: faith, they were awarded to those knights who were valued for their loy alty.
• Green is joy. It is also often associated with hope.

Main figures

There are only 8 main figures that family coats of arms can boast of. What each of them means is not so difficult to guess, because the very location on the coat of arms allows this. The head is the items at the top of the shield, and the tip is at the bottom. The belt is occupied by details that seem to encircle the family coat of arms with a belt. There is also a pillar, on which there are details that go like vertical stripes.

The cross allows you to arrange small details in two intersecting stripes, and the border seems to wrap the shield with a ribbon. The baldric is always located diagonally on the shield and can go from left to right and vice versa. The last, eighth figure is considered to be a rafter, a kind of roof at the bottom of the shield. In addition to these, there are secondary, which are most often geometric shapes: shield, square, oval or rhombus.

Non-heraldic figures of the family coat of arms

Inanimate beings as well as animate ones can serve as such images. The choice of non-heraldic figures becomes a fascinating pastime:

• Lion. A symbol of strength combined with generosity.
• Eagle. Power, along with strength, attracted kings, which is why they included an eagle in their coat of arms.
• Bear. Combinationstrength and wisdom, differing from the lion's use of logic rather than feelings.
• Dog. Fairly expected means loy alty.
• Rooster. Represents combat, sometimes thoughtless and reckless.
• Falcon. Gracefulness is combined with intelligence and courage.
• Book, torch. Reading or knowledge is the main advantage of the owner.
• Dove, olive branches. Peacefulness is the hallmark of the owner.

Motto

Recall that the family coat of arms has a ribbon on which the motto is written. Most often, a short, capacious phrase can serve as a motto, which will most clearly characterize the quality that the family puts at the forefront. It's kind of like a second name. The motto can be either encrypted and understandable only to the owners, or well-known. You can use folk proverbs or famous phrases from films. If there are not enough of them, then the Latin versions can come to the rescue, because they sound really mysterious!

• Per aspera ad astra - through hardships to the stars.
• Fortes fortuna adjuvat - fate helps the brave.
• "One for all and all for one!"
• Looking back, don't be sorry, but gain experience.
• Family is the best support during a storm.
• We are together not because of something, but in spite of everything.

Heraldry is a serious thing

In simple words, all of the above is a hallmark of a family name, which is pleasant and unusual to have. Heraldry can turn a collage or emblem into a familycoat of arms. However, those rules that have been formed over the years should be taken into account, because if the future owner thinks seriously about the coat of arms, then it must be performed strictly according to a certain technique.

Even after following all the rules, it's not enough to settle for it. The layout of the coat of arms is registered and a blazon is drawn up - a description. Optionally, but you can draw up a complete heraldic description, which will beautifully and in detail describe the meaning of each color, symbol and figure. It is often inserted into a beautiful gift bag or laminated.

Family is a small state

The family coat of arms reveals the best qualities of the family, forcing it to focus on these qualities and correct shortcomings. As for the manufacture, development and meaning of each symbol, it all depends purely on the future owner. It can be a serious job that he wants to entrust to masters, professionals in their field, or he decides to make an exciting evening, dedicating it to the idea of \u200b\u200bcreating a coat of arms with the whole family. Often, children in elementary grades are given the task of making their own family coat of arms, thereby forcing them to think about what an important role the family has and how important it is to strive to make it better. And everyone, be it a child or a grandfather aged over the years, contributes to this small state.