Meaning of Coats of Arms

It is fruitless to try to determine "the meaning" of a specific coat of arms.  Coats of arms were, for the most part, freely adopted by individuals at some point in the Middle Ages or later. In almost all cases, it is impossible to say what meaning, if any, they saw in the arms they adopted. Even in the case of grants of arms, it is usually not known who designed the arms (the recipient or the royal herald) and what he had in mind.  There are exceptions, of course.

For example, there are cases where an anecdote, true or legendary, is attached to the origin of a coat of arms   Also, for the most prestigious and important coats of arms, such as those of kingdoms, legends built up over their origins, and symbolic meaning was attached to them as well.  In some cases, modern scientific research has been able to provide some guesses as to the origins of particular designs for example the case of the fleur-de-lys in France.

One broad category of arms for which the meaning is easy to guess is that of canting arms (armes parlantes): those are arms for which the blazon (the verbal description) offers a pun on the name of the family.  Examples are extremely numerous, and in many cases some unusual or bizarre charges have come into heraldry solely for the purposes of a pun.

Another category of examples concerns augmentations, that is, additions to a coat of arms either granted by a sovereign or adopted by a bearer to publicize his allegiance to an individual or cause.  Many Italian coats of arms have a label gules or even a chief azure with fleurs-de-lys or and a label gules to promote their faithfulness to the Angevin kings of Naples.  During the conflict between the German Emperor and the Pope, a number of Italian families received or adopted an eagle sable as mark of allegiance to the Emperor.  Later, during the 15th and 16th centuries when France was involved in Italian politics, the arms of France appeared on Italian coats of arms (a famous example being the Medici).

It is true that some charges have some symbolic meaning attached to them, though the meaning is by no means universal nor unambiguous.  Medieval men were fond of legends attributing peculiar behavior to animals, and relating those examples of behavior to human virtues or vices: thus, the animals became emblems of such virtue or vice.  The eagle's presumed ability to stare at the sun without becoming blind became a source of metaphors.  The pelican was supposed to open its breast with its beak to feed its young in times of distress, and the bird thus became a symbol of generosity or parental devotion (and also of the Redemption, which is why it is often shown above the cross in 14th c. depictions of the Crucifixion).   As such, it is almost always represented in the act of so feeding its young in heraldry.   As an other example, the bee, because of its behavior, was long seen as a symbol of industriousness, and thus became a favorite of Englishmen enriched by the Industrial Revolution.

However, even when it is known that a certain animal is often associated with a certain trait or abstract notion, it does not mean that any coat of arms with such a charge was intended to recall that trait or bring to mind that notion.  It is thus pointless to try to decipher a coat of arms when one has no other specific information about the origins of the arms.

Source: http://www.heraldica.org/topics/meaning.htm

Updated May 18, 2009                                                                                                                                         Copyright 2008, 2009 - Order of the Blue Cross Foundation