Heraldic Symbols: How to Recreate Medieval Arms

One important purpose of medieval heraldic symbols was recognition. A knight might need to be identified at a distance, often while wearing a helmet and armour. This made strong shapes, clear colour contrasts, and simplified figures essential. Heraldic arms quickly became hereditary and developed into visual markers associated with families, territories, institutions, and individuals.

Recreating these symbols accurately requires more than placing a lion or cross on a shield. The process involves understanding tinctures, charges, shield forms, heraldic terminology, and the visual conventions used by medieval artists.

Start With the Original Heraldic Description

The first step is finding a reliable blazon, or formal description, of the arms. Blazon is a specialised vocabulary that allows a coat of arms to be reproduced without relying entirely on an existing illustration. The same description can therefore guide different artists toward essentially the same composition.

Look for the following elements:

• The field, which serves as the background of the shield, is an important element.
• Tinctures, including metals and colours, are also important.
• Charges, such as lions, eagles, crosses, fleurs-de-lis, or stars.
• Ordinaries, such as bends, chevrons, and fesses.
• The position, direction, and number of charges must be specified.
• Any marks used to distinguish related arms.

This information should be established before drawing. A surviving illustration may contain artistic variations, while the blazon provides the structural information needed for reconstruction.

For practical reproductions, historical designs can also be adapted into modern formats such as custom patches. The important point is to preserve the defining heraldic features rather than simply copying decorative details.

Use Historically Appropriate Tinctures

Colour is one of the most important technical features of heraldry. Medieval heraldic tinctures were divided into metals and colours. The two metals were Or, meaning gold, and Argent, meaning silver. The principal colours were Gules, Azure, Sable, and Vert, while Purpure was used less consistently.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art describes Or and Argent as the two metals and Gules, Azure, Sable, and Vert as the principal colours, while noting that Purpure (purple) was used only occasionally.

The traditional rule of tincture is equally important. Metal should generally not be placed directly on metal, and colour should not be placed directly on colour. A gold lion would therefore normally appear against a coloured field, while a red charge would normally appear against gold or silver. This contrast helped heraldic devices remain visible from a distance.

Do not assume modern colour charts provide exact medieval matches. The College of Arms notes that heraldry has no fixed Pantone shades. Once the tincture is correctly identified, artists have some freedom in selecting an appropriate shade.

Simplify the Charges

Medieval heraldic animals were not drawn like natural-history illustrations. A lion was constructed from recognisable shapes and exaggerated features. Its posture, claws, tail, tongue, and head position carried visual importance.

The same principle applies to birds and mythical creatures. Start with the silhouette. Then add the defining features.

Avoid excessive shading. Heraldic charges were intended to remain identifiable when reduced in size or viewed from a distance. Fine anatomical detail can weaken the design.

Historical examples also show that heraldic devices appeared outside shields. The Metropolitan Museum of Art records heraldic emblems on shields and flags, architectural decoration, furniture, works of art, clothing, and horse equipment. Harness pendants from the medieval period provide particularly useful references for studying how symbols were adapted to small physical objects.

Match the Shield to the Period

The shield itself can help establish whether a recreation looks medieval or modern. Shield shapes changed across Europe and over time. Almond-shaped shields were used in Europe from around the late tenth to the thirteenth century, while shield forms continued to evolve thereafter, with considerable regional and functional variation during the later Middle Ages and Renaissance.

For an accurate reconstruction, identify the approximate date and region first. Then select a shield shape appropriate to that context.

This matters because using a shield form characteristic of a distinctly later period in a reconstruction intended to represent a medieval setting can create a noticeable chronological mismatch.

Reproduce the Design, Not Just the Symbol

A convincing reconstruction depends on proportions. The charge should occupy an appropriate amount of the field. Lines should remain bold. Repeated elements should be evenly spaced. Symmetry should be maintained where the original design requires it.

Historical manuscripts can help resolve uncertain details. Medieval heraldic compilations, known as ordinaries and alphabets, arranged arms by their charges or by names. They helped heralds identify existing arms and work with new designs.

When reconstructing a symbol, compare several period sources whenever possible. Look for consistent evidence in manuscripts, seals, monuments, textiles, and surviving objects.

The goal is not to make the design look artificially old. It is to understand the visual system that made medieval heraldry effective. Once the rules of tincture, composition, proportion, and symbolism are understood, even a modern reproduction can retain the structure and character of its medieval source.