Heraldry in the Middle Ages for Modern People

How did heraldry in the Middle Ages work? How complicated was it? You’re about to find out!
In the Middle Ages, people went into battle in full armor that obscured their faces and any other ways to identify them. Therefore, people came up with heraldry. Heraldry in the Middle Ages became complicated because no one could have the same version; if everyone had the same coat of arms, the original purpose of identification would be frustrated. Battles ended badly, and people died because they got their allies and enemies mixed up. Heraldry got super complicated. Numerous things that could go on each separate crest with its meaning and symbolism. Heralds were professionals in heraldic symbols and other points of importance, meaning they had to understand all the specific terminology of heraldry and be able to identify different families’ coats of arms. In fact, they even needed to spot false crests.

What exactly are all of the different things a herald would know? What do you need to know to make your new coat of arms as accurately as possible?

Shields and Lozenges in Heraldry in the Middle Ages

Where do you put your coat of arms? For men, that was easy. You put it on your shield, which you use in battle. That was the original use of coats of arms in the first place. But what about women? Since they didn’t usually go to war they didn’t typically have shields.

Eleanor of Aquitaine

There are a few instances, like Eleanor of Aquitaine fighting in the second crusade, but not many. Therefore, women’s coats of arms generally went on lozenges, diamond-shaped or occasionally oval-shaped items used for coats of arms.

Colors of Heraldry in the Middle Ages

Heraldry in the Middle Ages had five colors, two metals, and two furs, but they didn’t use the same names we use. Each color, metal, and fur had symbolism attached to it as well, therefore creating meaning in every part of a coat of arms.

Colors and Metals

The coat of arms of William Marshal, the first earl of Pembroke

First was red, or its heraldic name, gules. Gules denoted a warrior or a martyr. King Richard the Lionhearted had a red background, which makes sense based on the life he led. It also symbolized military strength and generosity.
Next came blue, or azure, which stood for loyalty and truth. Both were important in chivalric codes.
After azure came green, also called vert. Like azure, vert stood for loyalty, specifically symbolizing loyalty in love, joy, and hope, all good things. William Marshal, the first earl of Pembroke, had a split shield with gold and vert as the background.
Next came black, or sable as it was called. Sable stood for constancy, basically meaning dependability. It also stood for wisdom and sometimes grief.
After that is purple, or in heraldic terms, purpure. Purpure symbolized royalty and justice.
Now to the metal side of things. First was gold or yellow, called Or in heraldic speaking. It represented the elevation of mind and generosity, both of which are well respected.
Next came silver or white, which was called Argent. Argent stood for sincerity, purity, innocence, and peace.

Furs

Furs included Ermine, generally made of black and white, although some variations use black and gold, and vair made with blue and white. Ermine was patterned after winter stoats and had four variations.

Ordinary Ermine had a white background with a pattern made of black. Next came Ermines, an inversion of normal Ermine. Erminois was the black and gold variation of Ermine, while Pean was the black and gold counterpart of Ermines.

Vair was designed after a squirrel that looked blue and white. The variations were vair, countervair, potent, and counterpotent. They were all blue and white, just different patterns. Vair and Potent were more common than their counterparts, but they were all used.

One important rule is that colors cannot go on other colors, and metals cannot go on other metals. A few rich people broke the rules, like the king of Jerusalem, but a crest looks better using the guides the heralds made.

The Arms of the King of Jerusalem

Ordinaries of Heraldry in the Middle Ages

Now that I’ve covered where coats of arms go and the colors used, why not talk about the ordinaries? The ordinaries were stripes or lines that could go onto the crest. First was the fess or fesse, a horizontal stripe across the middle; it symbolized readiness to act for the well-being of the people. Next came the pale, a vertical stripe that showed admirable military strength, particularly for defense.

After that comes the bend, a diagonal stripe that generally goes from the right corner (in images, it appears to go from the left to the right). Otherwise, it is classified as a bend-sinister.

They have entirely different meanings; while the bend symbolizes defense and protection, the bend-sinister sometimes denotes bastardy or being an illegitimate offspring (though not always). After the bend comes the chevron, like a house-gable pointing upwards, symbolizing protection.

Next is the cross, a sign of Christian faith that most people in the world recognize. The saltair is a cross turned on its side like an x, showing the ability to endure problems and suffer for their faith. Then comes the chief, a bar right across the top of a shield that denotes authority. Last is the bordure, a border around the edges of a shield.

Charges of Heraldry in the Middle Ages

Ordinaries are nice, but don’t many crests have animals, plants, or items on them? Yes, they do, and every single animal, plant, item, and mythical creature has symbolism. Therefore, each charge changed the meaning of the coat of arms and helped bring individuality.

Beasts

One of the most popular beasts is the lion, which as the king of beasts and a symbol of courage, it makes sense that it was so loved.

Arms of King Richard the Lionheart

Dogs were pretty popular, too. Other prevailing beasts include the bear, a ferocious protector of the family because of the way the mother bear protects her cubs, and the boar, a mighty warrior that fights to the death.

The horse, always ready to serve the king, and the stag, peaceful and strong, are also prevalent. Tortoises stand for invulnerability because of their shell. Tigers symbolized ferociousness and valorousness, but they were not the tigers we think of today. Tigers in heraldry in the Middle Ages looked like what medieval people imagined them as, though later on the true bengal tiger was added to the lists of heraldic charges.

The fox was used to show wisdom and wit to help oneself, while the lamb showed patience in suffering. Beasts often appear in a rampant position, standing up on hind-legs facing the side; if there is no description of how they are standing, carnivores are usually rampant.

Guardant indicates that the animal is facing outwards, looking at the viewer. If descriptions of an herbivore’s stance are not given, it is understood that herbivores are in a passant pose (standing on three legs with one of the front legs up).

Birds

The bird counterpart of the lion is the eagle, the king of birds, representing noble nature, cleverness, and, when displayed, protection. Hawks and flacons show determination, while the dove denotes peace and consistency. An olive branch in its mouth also symbolizes the bringing of good news.

Swallows also indicate bringing good news. Swans have a lot of symbolism of good things, like light, perfection, sincerity, grace, etc. The most common way to see the eagle and other birds displayed (spreading out its wings and looking in the same direction as the lion rampant).

Swimming Animals

Swimming animals have a surprisingly good thing going from heraldry in the Middle Ages. The fish denotes a benevolent mind, virtue because of Christ, and spiritual nourishment. Dinner is extraordinary in heraldry!

The dolphin demonstrates swiftness, charity, and even love. Good job, ocean animals. One term to represent a position unique to swimming animals like fish and swimming birds is naiant (basically just swimming horizontally).

Mythical Creatures

Mythology is chock-full of creatures like dragons, griffins, centaurs, mermaids, unicorns, and many others. Heraldry in the Middle Ages was full of these creatures too. While dragons became valiant protectors of treasure, mermaids gained recognition for eloquence. As centaurs became known for their impressive battle skills, phoenixes symbolized resurrection.

Unicorns looked different than we think of them today. They look like horses with one horn, but medieval people also imagined them with hooves like deer. They symbolized virtue and extreme courage.

Griffins represented ferocity in battle. The males didn’t have wings like the females, but spikes instead. Segreant was an attitude only used for griffins (segreant was rampant, but for griffins instead).

Plants

Now that we’ve covered all types of animals, let’s dive into plants, flowers, and fruits. Often flowers represented joy and hope, but there were some more specific meanings at times, such as the red rose, which depicted grace.

Usually, the fruit was used to show happiness and peace and sometimes an additional thing or two for particular ones. Added to the other qualities that belong to all fruits, berries, grapes, and apples, all represented generosity.

Modern-Day arms of the Duchess of Cambridge

A few other plants important in heraldry were the oak tree or its leaves symbolizing great age and strength, laurel leaves representing peace and triumph, and olive branches denoting peace and agreement. One plant with curious symbolism is the cypress. Cypress represented death, which isn’t great, but also eternal life afterward, which is better.

Items

Along with all the living charges, there were item charges as well. The sword and dagger were both symbols of honor, particularly in battle. Needless to say, they appeared on many coats of arms.

Other weapons like spears, symbolizing a knight in service, and maces, standing for authority, were also popular. However, not all of the items used were dangerous weapons.

Books represented listening and learning, and since they often had a motto painted on their pages, whatever the motto said about them. Another item that was not dangerous in real-life was the escallop (a seashell) that stood for Christianity and victory, among other things.

Quartering and Other Splits in Heraldry in the Middle Ages

Many crests seem to have more than one background color. Shields were split to accommodate multiple noble families or just because the owner wanted to have more meanings. One of the most common splits was quartering. Quartering cuts the background into four parts. If there are two crests you want to put into one, then the first and fourth are the same, and the second and third are the same.

A quarterly coat of arms made with actual coats of arms from my ancestors

After three coats of arms are quartered, you end up with the first and fourth the same. The second and third are unique. Four crests quartered make four distinct patterns. Another splitting form is impalement.

The shield is split in half. Both sides have different coats of arms. A wife impales her coat of arms with her husbands. The husband’s go on the dexter half.

The next type of split is an escutcheon. Escutcheons are mini shields that go in the middle of ordinary-sized crests. Other straightforward divides go along the lines of ordinaries, like the party per pale, a horizontal split down the middle, or the party per saltire split the same way as the saltire (or cross flipped onto its side like an x). All of the ordinaries have a split named after them.

Cadency Marks

Coats of arms ran in families, but how did that work since heraldry was there to help identify people? Certain symbols went onto a crest to show placement in the family. First, the father had a plain coat of arms. Then the first son had a horizontal line with three vertical lines hanging down called a label.

When his father died, the mark was removed. He then inherited the plain coat of arms. The second-born son put a crescent on his coat of arms. The third son had a five-pointed star called a mullet on theirs.

The fourth son put a bird called a martlet on his. Fifth sons had a ring with the fancy name of an annulet placed on their crests. The sixth son in the family put a fleur-de-lys on his individual crest. I think the seventh son got the best deal. He would get a rose. The eighth son got a cross moline, a cross with split, curved ends. The ninth son in the family put a double quatrefoil (like a four-leaf clover) on his crest. Daughters didn’t have to use cadency marks.

How to Make Your Own Coat of Arms

Now that you’ve learned all about coats of arms, why don’t you make your own? I made one, and I found it to be an enjoyable process. I got to choose what my coat of arms said about me and what it symbolized.

My homemade coat of arms. Not available for use.

what you need

a piece of paper
a pencil
a pen
a way to color, (ie. crayons, markers, colored pencils)

My brother’s coat of arms. Not available for use.

how to make your coat of arms

First, choose what shape you want for your coat of arms. Generally, boys should use simple shields, while girls should use diamond or oval-shaped lozenges. Technically you can break the rules and use whatever shape you want, though. No one really cares anymore.
Second, decide if you want to split the coat of arms. You can divide it quarterly, per saltire like I did, per chevron, or another heraldic split (of which there are as many as the ordinaries). If so, draw light pencil lines to show yourself.
Third, decide what ordinaries and/or charges you want to add (click here to see a list of charges with their basic symbolism). You can draw these in whatever way you want. If you choose to use a book, you can write a motto inside. Generally, you write mottos in Latin. For boys, make sure to include your cadency mark. If you are a girl and want to include a cadency mark, Canada has made a list of cadency symbols for girls. You can find it here. (check under the section for cadency).
Fourth, trace everything with a pen. Do not trace any lines splitting fields in your coat of arms.
Fifth, color everything in. Remember to not put color on color and metal on metal. Also, try to remember that all of the colors and metals have meaning. If you want to find out if there is a coat of arms of your last name or maiden name (or a friend’s last name), click here and type the last name into the little search bar.
Share your new coat of arms!