Working Out The Meanings Of Coats of Arms

Coats of arms speak of the family history and heritage through the years. Often people and nations like to use coats of arms to portray their values, principles and what they stand for. Coats of arms have certain symbols with meanings and depict the heraldry, colors, animals and various other symbols. They have been here for centuries. A few elements common to most of the coats of arms are discussed here.

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 figure on coats of arms quite frequently. The lion is the most common. The lion rampant standing on its hind legs represents dauntless courage. The heraldic lion indicates bravery, strength, and valor. The lion features more often in royal crests and many national crests than any other animal.

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.

Other animals include boar and the bull for bravery and valor; the cat, which indicates liberty and vigilance; the rooster means perseverance and courage; the dolphin means swiftness, charity, diligence, and love; the dragon is a valiant defender; a fish means a generous and true mind, full of virtue; the ram indicates authority; and the serpent represents wisdom. Even the unicorn is used to indicate extreme courage and virtue.

Plants in many coats of arms also have definite meanings just like animals and colors. For instance, the shamrock represents continuity and a sheaf of wheat stands for a harvest of hopes. The most common plant used on coats of arms is the rose that signifies hope, happiness, elegance and beauty. Laurel leaves are signs of victory, and the lily stands for purity.

Oak tree in general represents great age, strength, continuous growth and fertility. However, its variations in form of leaves and nuts indicate different things. Acorn is used to depict strength and antiquity.

Besides the animals, plants and colors that are highly symbolic weapons and armor are also used they speak out more clearly. Hands or arms held in arm indicate leadership. Helmet is symbolic of strength, invulnerability and wisdom. The axe stands for military duty, arrow for battle readiness, hammer for honor and dagger depicts justice while a shakebolt shows victory. The spear and spike aptly describe a valiant warrior.

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