# Coat of Arms Question



## hopewrites (Nov 25, 2011)

ignoring that my "J" is backward and that the frame is meant to look like a tribal butterfly wing (this was originally drawn as tattoo concept art) would it make a proper Coat of Arms and have i used Heraldry right in constructing it?


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## Jo Zebedee (Nov 25, 2011)

Um, a little limited knowledge here.

What you're showing here is the shield, which is only one part of a coat of arms; there would often be a motto, and crest, as well as some supporters - usually animals - around the edges.

There would normally be a shield shape, without embellishments; the above are the extra details surrounding it.

Is this a shared coat of arms between a husband/ wife or individual? If shared it's simplistic as each would bring at least their dominant themes to it, and maybe some individual touches; these aren't shown here. But the fact you have a line of partition on it indicates this is a combined coat of arms.

Your line of partition is a little confusing; you divide it into two and yet have a yellow line over both; I'm not sure I've seen this before. If the yellow is relevant, you could divide it into quadrants and use the yellow for the top quadrants; maybe if there's a shared ancestry.

I suppose to consider as well is at what stage the family is at; this a simplistic coat of arms, which indicates early heraldry. If this is later and there is a combination of heraldic/ noble families then this is too simplistic to show the intricacies of a combined family.

The charge you have chosen is an owl. It is front facing, wings spread, in the style of heraldic eagles,which is fine but perhaps doesn't let you explore the subtleties of stance; the sinister elements, and the link to kingship and loyalty.

I thought if it was for a simplistic crest in a society where heraldry is new, this is okay, if it's more established, it needs more detail.

http://www.internationalheraldry.com/

I've used this site in the past, it's detailed, but easy to read.


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## Ursa major (Nov 25, 2011)

A coat of arms doesn't have to have a crest, motto or supporters. These are often added over time.


Wiki gives the basic elements: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coat_of_arms.


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## Jo Zebedee (Nov 25, 2011)

Ursa major said:


> A coat of arms doesn't have to have a crest, motto or supporters. These are often added over time.
> 
> 
> Wiki gives the basic elements: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coat_of_arms.


 
Ursa says it better than me, Hope; if this is a basic coat of arms it's fine and doesn't need anything more; if it's more developed, it does.


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## The Judge (Nov 25, 2011)

Have a look at the Royal coat of arms, hopes, and you'll see what springs means about the supporters etc -- and before Catherine Middleton married William earlier in the year, her father purchased a coat of arms, and there was a lot in the papers explaining it, so if you google you might find the press release from the College of Arms.

But, if this is for a fantasy story, you can make whatever arangements you want for the heraldry.  You're not limited to what's done in real life.  I imagine that coats of arms were developed so knights could be recognised on the battlefield, so everything comes from that here (hence warlike creatures on the shields) but yours might have arisen for other reasons.


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## hopewrites (Nov 25, 2011)

I'll have to brush up on my art work if my Peregrine Falcon looks like an owl. Thanks for the links I put about two months worth of study into making it, what I wanted to know is if it reads the way I thought it would.
I didn't know that dividing was done for a family device, so thank you for that, because it is an individuals.


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## Jo Zebedee (Nov 25, 2011)

hopewrites said:


> I'll have to brush up on my art work if my Peregrine Falcon looks like an owl.
> 
> Oops
> 
> ...


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## Interference (Nov 25, 2011)

I've no idea, but it's pretty.


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## Gumboot (Mar 11, 2012)

Ursa major said:


> A coat of arms doesn't have to have a crest, motto or supporters. These are often added over time.
> 
> 
> Wiki gives the basic elements: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coat_of_arms.




In fact they're more authentic if they don't.  All of those additional elements were added later, once coat of arms became decorative rather than functional.  At the same time they also became more complex; in medieval times their purpose was to make knights easily distinguishable on the battlefield so they tended to be very simple.


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