Back

Home

Heraldry

   Heraldry is the art of designing, and drawing, coats of arms for knights, and members of the gentlemanly classes.  Each knight had their own personal coat of arms, which distinguished them from others in their social status. 

Colours 

          There are only seven colours from which to choose from.

Two metals:          Gold (shown as yellow, heraldic name is “Or”)                    

                              Silver (shown as white, heraldic name is “Argent” )

Five colours:          Red (heraldic name is “Gules” )                      

                              Blue (heraldic name is “Azure” )                      

                               Green (heraldic name is “Vert” )                      

                               Black (heraldic name is “Sable” )               

                         and Purple (heraldic name is “Purpure” )                      

                               this last colour is reserved strictly for royalty. 

Shield divisions

         The simplest way of creating arms that are distinct from any other is to divide the surface into parts. This can be done in many ways. Here are a few to start with.

  Vertically down the middle                     Horizontally across the middle

Diagonally from left to right                   Chevron shape meeting at the

                                                                       centre of the shield

Quarterly