Home | Family
For centuries families and nations have used coats of arms as ways to describe themselves and what they stand for. Today, many people like to look back on their coats of arms and use them as part of family history or to learn more about their heritage. When interpreting the symbols of heraldry, colors, animals, and symbols all have mean. Here are some of the more common elements in many coats of arms. Colors. There are a few colors used in coats of arms as background or as a part of a motif of two or more colors. Gold indicates generosity and silver or white symbolizes peace and sincerity. Blue is the color of truth and loyalty and green indicates hope and joy. There are warrior colors as well. Red indicates military strength (warrior) and maroon means patient yet victorious in battle. Purple is the color of royal majesty and justice, and orange represents worthy ambition. Animals. Animals are frequently represented on coats of arms. One of the most common is the lion. There is the lion rampant, which stands on its hind legs. This symbol represents dauntless courage. The heraldic lion represents bravery, strength, and valor. The lion is very often used in royal crests and many national crests. Eagle is another animal that finds a frequent place in coats of arms. It represents noble nature, strength and bravery, an eagle with outspread wings depicts protection and the one with two heads shows the joining of two forces. The Roman Empire chose eagle as its insignia and in the contemporary times the United States adorns it. The boar represents bravery and the bull symbolizes valor. The cat indicates freedom and alertness, whereas the rooster stands for patient perseverance and dauntless courage. The dolphin signifies speed, compassion, hard work, and love. The dragon is known as a chivalrous defender, and a fish means an honest, large hearted mind full of virtue. The ram shows authority; and the serpent indicates wisdom. Even the unicorn is used to represent extreme courage and virtue. Plants. There are plants represented in many coats of arms. These, too, have meaning, just as animals and colors do. Some of the more common plants used include the shamrock to represent perpetuity and a sheaf of wheat which indicates the harvest of hopes. The rose is one of the most common plants used. It indicates hope and joy, grace and beauty. Laurel leaves are signs of victory, and the lily (also know as the Fleur-de-lis) indicates purity. The oak tree is a symbol of antiquity, strength, continuous growth and fertility. The leaves and nuts of the oak tree also indicate different things. The acorn represents strength and antiquity. Besides colors, plants and animals, coats of arms also include weapons and armor. Hands or arms clad in arm indicate leadership. The helmet represents strength, invincibility and prudence. The axe signifies military duty and the arrow is a symbol of preparedness for war. A hammer stands for honor and the dagger indicates justice. The shackle bolt is a symbol of victory, the spear and the pike both represent an honorable warrior or valiant knight.
Jazmin Begbie is the chief writer for, and editor of Any Coats, there's a wealth of knowledge on the website, plus their free newsletter is well worth signing up for too. Want to read more Coats articles?, just go to: www.anycoats.com/articles Don't reprint this article. Instead, reprint a free unique content version of this same article.
Article Source:- Link Building
Please Rate this Article
5 out of 54 out of 53 out of 52 out of 51 out of 5
Not yet Rated
