How to Design a Family Shield for Free
In the Middle Ages, one of the best ways to identify an armor-covered knight, soldier or servant was to examine his coat-of-arms. The symbols covering this shield-shaped emblem communicated the power of a local leader to a basically-illiterate populace.
A family shield said special positive things about a powerful family--a lion or dragon for bravery, gold coins for wealth, a cross for religious faith, perhaps a special picture that told about where the family lived, a battle they had won or a pilgrimage they had taken.
Coats-of-arms were used to identify skilled craftsmen who belonged to voluntary "families," or guilds, often displaying the tools of their trade--today we call those logos or advertising!
You don't have to live in the Middle Ages to make a family shield or coat of arms--and, whether you know a lot about the history of your family or not, making a family shield with your family lets you communicate your values and activities.
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Instructions
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Making Your Family Shield
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Use your pencil and paper two ways to begin. On one piece of paper, draw a shield-shape. To make a traditional heraldic shield, divide your shield in quarters by drawing one line down the middle and another across the middle. On the second piece of paper, start a list of the things you want to say about your family--all family members can contribute.
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Decide what ideas go where on your shield quarters. Traditionally, the top two quarters of a heraldic shield reflect family history. While you probably don't have royal ancestors, perhaps you want a symbol that tells where your family comes from: a shamrock for Ireland, a mountain for Switzerland. Maybe it's more complicated: your dad is Brazilian and your mother is from England; what matters most to them is their farm, which you still visit every summer. The traditional way of handling this is to divide each of your top quarters with a diagonal line--now you have a little more room to tell your story.
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Move down to the bottom quarters. These traditionally refer to your family now. Let your children speak up--they may be the artists who create your family symbols.
You live for your camping vacations every year. Everyone agrees that the dog just has to have a place. Your daughter loves music, and both your boys skateboard. If, again, you have lots of ideas, divide your bottom quarters vertically--music notes, two skateboards, a tent, and--of course--the dog. -
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Rearrange your ideas any way you want. Steps 2 and 3 are only suggestions. What matters most in creating a family shield is saying what you want to say about your family. Forget about your Step 2 predecessors, make a big camping tent and put everything else you want to say inside it! Make the dog the center of the picture--he's definitely the center of the family! You don't have to find anybody on a battlefield. It's not the Middle Ages any more.
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Search out pictures to use for your ideas. Good sources are magazines and online clip-art. Use them as is, or get family members to draw. This is about your family--even if your 6-year-old's drawing of the dog is missing a leg, it's a valuable contribution and a valuable snapshot of the day you made your shield.
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Make your pictures in your favorite colors--that's what the royals did. Blue, red, bright yellow and black are the traditionals, but that was before markers were invented. When you choose your colors, remember that a shield is supposed to say something to the people who look at it, so you may want to let each family member choose a single favorite color and add black for outline. Better bright than pastel--this may be hard news for your pink-loving princess, but you can probably compromise by outlining everything in black.
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Decide how you want to display your shield. In the old days, royal families put it on everything--battle flags, the maids, horse-blankets and jewelry. Perhaps a poster-sized shield in your den is just what you want. Then again, your results have turned out very well--spread your family pride around. Make a banner to hang on the patio--the neighborhood is full of commercial ones celebrating the seasons. Paint it on your boat. Use fabric paint to make a set of camping-trip summer T-shirts. Most of all, enjoy the work your family has done to make your family shield--you have a lot to be proud of.
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