Making a Coat of Arms

Introduction
On this page I will describe my personal process of making personal Coats of Arms in the Squadron for instructional purposes. In short, a Coat of Arms has the following parts, from top to bottom: Crest, Torse, Helm, Mantle, Shield and Motto. Depending on your rank, they may also have a Coronet, Supporters and Knightly Orders. As an example, here is the Arms of Lord Joseph Fletcher:




 * Crest: Historically a figure or symbol fastened to the knight's helmet, making it easier to identify him on the battlefield.
 * Torse: In order to wear the mantle, a sort of cloak hanging from the medieval knight's helmet, one part of it is twisted into a circle and laid on top of the helmet.
 * Helm: The protective headgear of an medieval knight. In heraldry (the rules of coats of arms), different helmet styles signify different social ranks (knights, barons, earls, etc.).
 * Mantle: A sort of cloak hanging from the medieval knight's helmet. On coats of arms, it is usally shown torn into strips to show that it has been used in combat.
 * Shield: The main distinguishing marks of a medieval knight, and his personal emblem on any occation. A retainer or footman would use the colours of his lord's coat of arms to show his allegiance.
 * Motto: A sentence saying something significant about its owner. For example stating a guiding principle, or a traditional family saying.


 * Coronet: The traditional headdress of the British nobility, showing the social rank (baron, earl, etc.) of its wearer with symbols like vair fur, pearls and strawberry leaves.
 * Supporter: Persons of special note and accomplishment would have animals or persons on each side of their coat of arms, holding the arms upright. In the Squadron, only Sea Lords have this privilege.
 * Knightly Orders: When awarded an order of knighthood, it can be attached to the bottom of the shield of your coat of arms.

Examples of Arms belonging to each social rank in the Squadron:

Before you start
Please remember that the Squadron follow a strict set of rules regarding the use of heraldry. These rules are closely similar to real rules of heraldry, albeit somewhat more flexible and simplified. Please read the following pages and plan the design of your Coat of Arms accordingly:


 * Regulations Regarding the Use of Coats of Arms - The official heraldic regulations in the Squadron. Use to find out what you can use or cannot use on your Coat of Arms.
 * Orders of Knighthood - Primarily a page on the regulations regarding our Knightly Orders, it contains the specific order badges etc. you are entitled to use on your Coat of Arms.
 * Armorial Achievements of the Squadron - The Coats of Arms of current and former captains in the Squadron in Naval Action. Use for inspiration.
 * Armorial Achievements of Retired Officers - The Coats of Arms of the retired officers from Pirates of the Burning Sea. Use for inspiration.
 * Heraldric Animals and Objects - A very short list of symbols you may choose use on your shield. Use for inspiration.

Step 1: Planning
Before you start making your Arms I would recommend that you decide what your final product should look like. My preferred check-list is this:

The colours of a coat of arms are divided into two "classes" called Colour and Metal. A coat of arms must contain at least one Colour and one Metal. You can use more, but preferably no more than three or four in total. Two objects with the same colour should not be in direct contact with one another, two Colours can not be on top of each other, and two Metals can not be on top of each other.
 * What colours do I want to use?

The colours of each class are:

Metal: Yellow, White

Colour: Black, Blue, Red, Purple, Green, Orange

Note: Each colour includes all the shades of that colour. Ultramarine, Navy Blue and Baby Blue are all considered to be the Colour Blue in heraldry and must not be in direct contact with each other.

An ordinaire is a geometric shape that is used on your shield. The six most common ordinaries are found just below on this page.
 * What types of ordinaries do I want to use?

You are free to choose any animal or other object you want on your coat of arms. If you do a Google search for "heraldic charges" you will find several objects and their symbolism. Look at the Squadron coats of arms or search the Internet to find inspiration on which symbols you want to use. You will need to find symbols for the following:
 * What animals/objects/symbols do I want to use?

Shield: At least one symbol must be found for the shield. A symbol on a shield is called a charge.

Crest: At least one symbol must be used as a crest. The crest is an animal or object that rests on top of the helmet on your coat of arms.

Step 2: The shield
When you have decided what your shield should contain, you can start designing it. I always started with a standard shield with a size of 480×600 pixels to give all my arms the same style from the very beginning of the process.

Adding ordinaires

 * Ordinaires are geometric figures added to the shield in order to make it more unique. Ordinaires are not mandatory to add and a shield does not have to contain one.



Below I have listed some versions of the standard shield but with different ordinaries:

Note: If the ordinaire splits the shield into multiple parts (as the chevron and saltire, for example), it is possible to have different colouring on either side.

Division of the field

 * An alternative to ordinaires is a division of the field, which uses the same shapes as the ordinaires but divides the shield into differently coloured fields instead of adding a detail on top of it.

Adding charges
When you have chosen your shield with the preferred ordinaire or division, it is time to add the charges. Charges are animals or objects that are attached to a Shield to say something about the owner's personality, virtues and achievements.

Regarding symbology, there are many ways to interpret the different charges used on shields. The easiest way to go about this is to consider the usefulness, usual traits or traditional reputation of the object or animal you want to use. On the top of my head, I can find the following symbolism in these randomly chosen charges:

Charges indicating birth
When Armorial Achievements are to be inherited by family members of the owner, certain rules of Cadency apply:


 * As long as the owner is still alive, he will have sole ownership of the Arms until he dies.
 * The first son of the owner is the only family member that will inherit the complete Coat of Arms.
 * The following sons will inherit the Shield only, marked with symbols indicating their place in the family hierarchy as second son, third son, etc.
 * Before the original owner dies, the first son will also only use the Shield, with a symbol indicating that he is the first son of the original owner.

The Charges indicating birth:
 * The first son - A horizontal strip with three tags hanging down (is removed on the death of the father as the son inherits the Arms).
 * The second son - A crescent (the points upwards).
 * The third son - A five-pointed star.
 * The fourth son - A martlet (a kind of bird).
 * The fifth son - A ring.
 * The sixth son - A fleur-de-lis.
 * The seventh son - A rose.
 * The eighth son - A cross moline.
 * The ninth son - A double quatrefoil.

Example: The Richards brothers both use the Arms of their father, but with different charges indicating birth:

Inescutcheons
If you marry a holder of his/her own Arms, recieve another Shield due to some distinguishing act, inherit the Arms of a relative or otherwise have the right to display two separate Arms, the Shields of these Arms are often merged together into one Shield. The merging of two Shields into one makes them "inescutcheons", and is usually displayed "quartered": Placing one inescutcheon in the upper left and lower right part of the Shield, then placing the other inescutcheon in the upper right and lower left. An inescutcheon may also be displayed by simply placing one of the shields on top of the other.

Step 3: The mantling, helm and crest
The Mantle was a sort of cloak hanging from the medieval knight's helmet. On coats of arms, it is usally shown torn into strips to show that it has been used in combat. They are shown using the shields main Metal and Colour. If your arms bear more than one Colour and/or Metal, you must chose what to show on your mantle.

These are the mantles I have used when making Arms:

The Crest was historically a figure or symbol fastened to the knight's helmet, making it easier to identify him on the battlefield. Like when chosing a Charge, it could more or less be any symbol or object. It was not uncommon to use the Shield's main charge as a Crest (A shield with a Boar as a Charge, also has a Boar as the Crest).

Step 4: The motto scroll and Knightly Orders
The motto is a sentence saying something significant about its owner. For example stating a guiding principle, or a traditional family saying. It is usually in latin or english, but might be in another language if your character's backstory makes it logical. The motto should not be too long. Two or three words look far less cluttered, than a sentence of six or seven words.

These are the motto scrolls I have used when making Arms: