How to Make a Knight's Coat of Arms
Of all the leftovers from the Dark Ages, from suits of armor to the ideas of chivalry, one of the more complex and misunderstood has been the knight's coat of arms. The tradition grew to families, universities and even corporations. Making your own coat of arms, however, is much easier than most people think.
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Instructions
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Decide who or what it's being made for. Is this a family crest? A club crest? Something for a school? Regardless of what the coat of arms is being designed for, the person designing it should be familiar with what group it is supposed to be representing, as well as with the goals and intentions of that group.
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Choose the shield. The shield is the basis of any coat of arms and at its simplest is a plain shield with a single symbol on it known as a charge. What that symbol is should be chosen based on the accomplishments of the group the coat of arms stands for. Lists of symbols and meaning can be found in heraldry books at local libraries and on genealogy websites (see Resources).
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Choose the crest. A crest, which was a later development in coats of arms, is a charge painted onto the ridge of a helmet. On a coat of arms, the helmet is often above the shield as the second most important feature.
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Decide on the motto of the coat of arms. The motto was originally a battle cry, but since the evolution of coats of arms, many mottos now express more worthy sentiments. The seals of state governments, police departments and college universities are good modern examples.
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Choose supporters. As the name might imply, supporters are human or animal figures who stand on either side of the shield and give support. It's been theorized that supporters first started as "filler" for artists who designed seals, but nowadays supporters are used to represent higher orders of chivalry, corporate power or long-standing tradition.
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Tips & Warnings
Before adding any element to a coat of arms, check its meaning. The color purple, for instance, represents royalty, so it shouldn't be used as an element simply because it looks good.
Certain elements of designs have very restricted meanings, such as royal crests. It's often a good idea to check these to make certain that they haven't been accidentally duplicated.
