If you take a quick look at the coats of arms of the Scandinavian states, you cannot help but notice a detail common to almost all: almost everywhere there is an image of lions and leopards, equally exotic for the northern countries. Why are they present in the coats of arms of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland?

Banner that fell from the sky

The leopard on the coat of arms of Denmark appeared around 1190 under Canute VI Valdemarsson, almost simultaneously with the leopards of Richard the Lionheart. Consequently, we have before us one of the oldest state symbols. The Danish king's leopards were azure in a field of gold, decorated with scarlet hearts. This image was preserved in the coat of arms of Denmark under all rulers. It has survived to this day, and in the modern state coat of arms of the Kingdom of Denmark it occupies the first field.

The division of the shield on the Danish coat of arms is special. It is produced not with the help of lines, but with the help of a cross. This is no coincidence. After all, the cross - it is called Danenbrog - is considered one of the national emblems of the Danes. Sometimes images of cross banners were minted on coins by Danish kings, for example Regnald Gottfredsson in the tenth century or Valdemar the Great in the twelfth century.

However, legend connects the appearance of Danenbrog (this is the name not only for the cross, but also for the banner with the cross) with another ruler - King Valdemar II the Victorious. According to legend, a red banner with a white cross fell from the sky to his troops at a critical moment in the battle with the Estonians in 1219 and helped to win the victory. This is stated even in the “History of the Russian State” by N.M. Karamzin.

Since the 15th century, the coat of arms of the Danish kings was a combination of the coats of arms of the allied kings of Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Vandalia. In the center was a shield with their dynastic coats of arms. Later, Danish leopards and dynastic Oldenburg and Delmengorst signs appeared in turn in the middle shield, and depending on this, the entire heraldic shield was rebuilt.

In the 18th century, the Danish coat of arms took on a form close to the modern one: a shield with the dynastic coat of arms is superimposed on a large shield with the coats of arms of the kingdoms that are part of the domain of the Danish crown. The heraldic shield is supported by bearded savages with clubs, images of which appeared in the Danish coat of arms in 1449. In truth, no one gives an explanation for this: it is believed that the savages were “introduced” into the Danish coat of arms by the Oldenburg dynasty, thus declaring their ancient origins. The shield was crowned and surrounded by chains of the highest state orders of the Elephant and Danenbrog.

In 1960, the Great and Small state emblems of the Kingdom of Denmark were determined. The minor coat of arms was the actual coat of arms of Denmark, in which leopards were finally replaced by “leopard lions”. The large coat of arms of Denmark had a complex structure and lush decorations. It was used by the royal family, court and guard.

Queen Margaret II, who ascended the throne in 1972, renounced all titles not backed by real power, except for the Danish royal one. The emblems of the Germanic possessions—the coats of arms of the kingdoms of the Goths and Wends—disappeared from the coat of arms. Schleswig's leopard lions have survived since part of Schleswig was returned to Denmark in 1920.

The Danes explain the second field with three crowns as the emblem of the Kalmar Union, which united the Scandinavian kingdoms from 1397 to 1523. Under Margaret II, the complex-shaped “order” cross of Danenbrog was replaced by a straight “banner” cross.

Fire of volcanoes and water of geysers

In 1918, Iceland was declared an independent kingdom in union with Denmark. In 1944, the island state left the union and declared itself a sovereign republic. That's when the Icelandic coat of arms was created. The heraldic shield bears the design of the national flag and is supported by four shield holders. They are the guardian spirits of Iceland. According to ancient sagas, they must protect the island from the Danish kings. The symbolism of the colors of the Icelandic flag scarlet fire of volcanoes, silver water of geysers, azure of the sea and sky.

Three crowns

In Sweden, lions are preserved only in the large royal coat of arms. And this tradition has been going on since time immemorial. Shield-bearing lions have been enshrined in the coat of arms since the end of the 16th century and are depicted with forked tails. Let us pay attention to two other lions placed in the second and third fields of the shield, divided by a large cross. These are the so-called Gothic lions. They are depicted on top of silver streams in an azure field.

The story of their appearance is as follows. First, in the coat of arms of King Eric III around 1224, three leopards appeared at once, one under the other, as in Danish. This coat of arms was adopted by Eric III's nephew Waldemar, who belonged to another family of Folkungs. Waldemar's father, Earl Birger, had a different family coat of arms - a lion on top of three left baldrics. As you can see, it is very reminiscent of the images in the second and third fields of the shield on the modern royal coat of arms of Sweden. The thing is that King Valdemar was overthrown from the throne by his brother Magnus, who received the nickname Defender of the Peasants, who, unlike his predecessor, remained faithful to the family coat of arms of the Folkungs, but the lion has since become crowned.

The oldest known seal of Magnus the Protector of the Peasants has three crowns at the top and sides of the royal shield. In the 14th century, under King Albert of Mecklenburg, three crowns became the main symbol of Sweden.

There are several interpretations of this heraldic emblem. Some correlate the appearance of three crowns with the cult of the Three Kings, widespread in Europe, the wise men who brought gifts to the baby Jesus Christ. This cult was revived after the transfer of their relics from Milan to Cologne in 1164 by Frederick Barbarossa. Others see Swedish crowns as a symbol of the Holy Trinity. But there are also purely heraldic interpretations. Some heraldry experts see in this emblem either a crown from the family Mecklenburg coat of arms, reinforced by the sacred number three, or the legendary coat of arms of King Arthur, who embodies the moral ideals of chivalry, or some “fabulous coat of arms” of one of the ancient Irish kings.

The three crowns unexpectedly took on a new meaning when the Scandinavian kingdoms united into one state - the Kalmar Union. Swedish crowns then occupied the second quarter of the common coat of arms of the allied kings, and this symbol began to express the unity of Denmark, Sweden and Norway.

The Swedish coat of arms itself was formed during the years of the Kalmar Union. Under Karl Knutsson, who proclaimed himself King of Sweden in 1448 and reigned intermittently until 1470, the heraldic shield was divided into parts by a golden cross. According to legend, this emblem appeared in the 12th century. According to legend, the Swedish king Eric IX, before his campaign against the pagan Finns, saw a cross-shaped golden light in the sky. However, the origins of the symbol are much more ancient. The description of the life of the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great says that before the battle with his rival, the commander Maxentius, he saw a sign in the sky - a shining cross made up of stars. Constantine ordered this sign to be depicted on the weapons and banners of his troops, which allegedly helped win the decisive battle at the Milvian Bridge. Karl Knutsson introduced into the Swedish coat of arms a middle shield with the image of his own family coat of arms - a golden rook in a black field.

In 1523, the Kalmar Union collapsed. In Sweden, Gustav Vasa became king, and a new dynastic coat of arms, a sheaf, was placed in the middle shield instead of a rook. In Swedish, the generic nickname "Vase" is similar to the word denoting a sheaf, a bundle of twigs, a bunch of plants, and the like.

Gustav Vasa adopted the triple title "King of the Swedes, Goths and Wends", perhaps in imitation of the extremely magnificent titles of the Danish kings. Accordingly, the meaning of the three crowns of the House of Folkung was once again rethought. And this is exactly how they began to explain the origin of the three crowns on the coat of arms of Sweden.

Under Gustav Vase or under his son Eric XIV, the original colors of the coat of arms also changed. Instead of a black bunch in a golden field, a golden sheaf appeared in an azure-silver-scarlet field, beveled twice on the right. The shape of the sheaf gradually changed, which eventually began to resemble a vase with handles.

Later, the royal dynasties did not stay long on the Swedish throne. The large coat of arms remained unchanged all the time, only the dynastic emblems in the shield changed: the Palatines of the Rhine, the Landgraves of Hesse-Kassel and, finally, the Dukes of Holstein-Gottorp...

In 1810, the last of the Swedish Gottorp dynasty adopted Napoleonic Marshal Jean Baptiste Bernadotte, Prince de Pontecorvo. Eight years later, the marshal took the Swedish throne, taking the name Charles XIV John. As a sign of continuity, and not as a sign of kinship, which did not exist, in the middle shield of the royal coat of arms the coat of arms of the Vasa dynasty again appeared, and next to the princes of Pontecorvo, in azure above the argent stream (the wavy end) a silver bridge with three arches and two towers, and above the bridge is a Napoleonic eagle with two feathers.

After some time, the Napoleonic eagle on the Swedish coat of arms turned into a raven. It is difficult to say whether this confusion arose accidentally or intentionally. The word “corvo” means “raven” in Italian, and “rupte corvo” translates to “humpbacked bridge.”

The law of May 15, 1908 established the official image of the large and small coats of arms of Sweden. The place of the raven in the coat of arms of Pontecorvo was again taken by the Napoleonic eagle...

Lion of Saint Olaf

Around 1200, the ruler of Norway got his own coat of arms: a golden crowned lion of St. Olaf on a scarlet field with a battle ax in his front paws. This image is almost exactly reproduced on the modern coat of arms of Norway. On a pointed “Varangian” shield of red color, under a royal crown without precious stones, a lion walks with an ax in his paws.

The Norwegian royal coat of arms, like the Danish one, is decorated with dynastic symbols. Here we see the same shield, but there is a crown above it with precious stones. From underneath is released a mantle with ermine lining: The shield is surrounded by a chain with the insignia of the Order of St. Olaf, founded by King Oscar I in 1847.

Raising the sword and trampling the saber

The first Dukes of Finland were Swedish princes from the Folkung family. Their family coat of arms included a lion. The first coat of arms of Finland was granted in 1557 by the Swedish king Gustav Vasa to his son John, along with the title of Duke of Finland. This coat of arms was composed of the coats of arms of the two most important provinces of the duchy: Northern Finland (Satakunta) and Southern Finland, or Finland proper. The latter's coat of arms, among other things, depicted a black bear raising a sword. Later, a single coat of arms appeared, denoting all Swedish eastern possessions, including Finland and Karelia. The tomb of Gustav Vasa in Uppsala is decorated with this coat of arms. This is a crowned shield with a golden crowned lion in a scarlet field. The lion's right front paw is clad in armor and raises a sword; with its hind paws the lion tramples the thrown curved saber. The scarlet field is strewn with silver roses; there are nine of them on Gustav’s tomb. It must be assumed that it was taken from the Swedish royal coat of arms, and its gesture was borrowed from the coat of arms of Northern Finland or the Principality of Karelian, where the right hand was depicted with a raised sword.

When John Vasa ascended the Swedish throne, he combined his previous title “Grand Duke of Finland and Karelia” with the title “King of the Swedes, Goths and Wends and others” (in Latin Finland was called the Grand Duchy, and in Swedish - the Grand Duchy). John III, for reasons of prestige, included a closed crown in the royal coat of arms.

In this form, the coat of arms of Finland remained until the end of the century, and at the beginning of the 17th century the lion’s gesture changed somewhat: he began to trample the blade of the saber with his right hind paw, and clawed the hilt of the sword with his left front. The crown also disappeared from the lion's head. Soon the armor also disappeared somewhere, and the lion’s tail turned out to be forked. But ten silver roses survived.

The coat of arms of Finland looked similar when the Russian Romanovs took the throne. True, under Alexander II, a special Finnish grand ducal crown was introduced into the coat of arms. It looked somewhat ridiculous: with a two-headed eagle on the front prong, with high “auxiliary” prongs, but without side ones. The subjects themselves stubbornly did not want to recognize this crown, under any pretext replacing it with the Grand Duke's. Regardless of the officially approved coat of arms of “Russian Finland,” the Finns adhered to their traditions and everywhere used a coat of arms with an image repeating the shield from the tomb of Gustav Vasa, but with a closed crown.

The Finnish Declaration of Independence, proclaimed in December 1917, and the constitution approved in July 1919, consolidated this option. But in 1920, the crown stopped surmounting the shield, and the coat of arms curiously lost its symbol of sovereignty just when Finland truly became sovereign.

Georgy Vilinbakhov, Mikhail Medvedev

Anna Komarinets. Encyclopedia of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table /A. Komarinets - M.: Publishing House Ast LLC, 2001 - this article pp. 115-118

Identification system; subsequently the science of compiling and describing coats of arms.

Coats of arms and special signs on the shield and helmet, designed to help identify a knight during a battle or tournament, have traditionally been perhaps the most obvious feature that distinguished a knight from other members of medieval society. It is believed that the custom of using coats of arms arose in the 12th century, when a helmet with a visor appeared, completely hiding the face, and monotonous standard armor turned the knightly army into a single steel mass. All this contributed to the development of “identification marks” - heraldry. An even more urgent need for a developed coat of arms arose among participants in the crusades, in which knights from different countries could take part. There was a need to find some kind of system of signs and symbols that would allow - placed, for example, on a shield - to recognize knights.

Arthur's coat of arms. Late French version

The coat of arms was (and is called in theoretical heraldry today) special figures or symbolic images created on the basis of well-known, precisely defined rules and serving as permanent distinctive signs of an individual, clan, community or organization, as well as a city, region or an entire state.

There are known cases of the use of individual symbols and iconic images by famous warriors of antiquity and the Dark Ages. These signs remained the exclusive property of a certain person, while the medieval coat of arms went beyond simply an identification mark, since it became hereditary and acquired legal significance (when the coat of arms was used in seals). End of the 12th century and the entire XIV century, the era of the heyday of the knightly romance, was at the same time the era of the heyday of knightly heraldry. Literacy in those days remained the lot of only a very narrow circle, so the generally accepted language of coats of arms, emblems and symbols was of particular importance. Heraldry XIII – XIV centuries. actually took the place of the figurative language of this era, which almost everyone could speak. Therefore, it is not surprising that heraldry left its mark on almost all aspects of life in the Middle Ages.

Coats of arms adorned banners, standards and city buildings, and were displayed on the saddlecloths of horses. The knights returning from the Crusades brought with them the custom of imitating oriental luxury of clothing, and the so-called surcot, or cotte-hardie, worn over a long tunic with narrow sleeves, came into fashion. Noble persons wore clothing in colors corresponding to their coat of arms; ordinary nobles received such heraldic clothing from the king or from their lords, and also wore their coat of arms. Under Charles V (1330 - 1380, reign from 1364), suits of two coat of arms colors came into fashion in France: the right half of the suit corresponded to one coat of arms color, and the left half to another. This is how two-color dresses and fairies arose, which almost every humorist and satirist, starting with Mark Twain, made fun of, but which did not seem at all clownish to those who wore them in the 14th century.

Heraldry, or blazon (as it was called at the time of writing chivalric romances), appeared in the form of special knowledge precisely in the era of the Crusades. The custom of tournaments and the ceremonies associated with them, which became widespread around the same time, also contributed to the development of the terminology of heraldry and even the so-called heraldic language. At first, very few people knew the rules of this language, and with the increase in the number of personal coats of arms, these rules became very confusing. Heraldry, with its peculiar signs, figures, their endless combinations, various divisions of the coat of arms, etc., has turned into a very complex science. Heraldry was so firmly established as a part of knightly culture that neither the authors themselves nor their audience could imagine the Knights of the Round Table without correctly composed heraldic emblems.

The “historical” Arthur, whose official biography is given in his chronicle by Geoffrey of Monmouth, lived in the Dark Ages, when no heraldry yet existed. Its famous dragon banner is clearly derived from the battle standard of the mercenary cavalry of the late Roman Empire. The emblem on Arthur's shield may have originally been a cross and/or an image of the Virgin Mary - both the Welsh Annals of Cumbria and the Chronicle of Nennius mention this. Although Nennius says that he “carried this sign on his shoulder,” this may be due to confusion arising from the translation into Latin of the two graphically similar Welsh words “shoulder” and “shield.”

From the end of the 12th century. the cross and icon of the Virgin in Arthur's coat of arms are replaced by three crowns, which should obviously indicate his superiority over the other kings. In the 15th century with the spread of the belief that the three crowns stood for the three kingdoms (North Wales, South Wales and Loughria), the number of crowns in the coat of arms increased to 13, in order to represent all the kingdoms that had sworn allegiance to King Arthur. The field of Arthur's coat of arms is usually red in English sources and blue in French texts (in keeping with the blue field of the French royal coat of arms).

As for the Knights of the Round Table, it is clear from the texts of the chivalric romances and from illustrated manuscripts that various authors differ as much about the armorial emblems of their heroes as they disagree about what the Grail is. Nevertheless, no matter what coats of arms they gave to their heroes, these coats of arms were built in strict accordance with the rules of heraldry.

Before turning to the most famous coats of arms of the Knights of the Round Table, several heraldic terms should be clarified.

Since from the very first steps in the development of coats of arms, distinctive signs were placed primarily on shields, the coat of arms itself soon acquired the outline of a shield. The surface of the coat of arms (like the surface of a shield) is called the field of the coat of arms. Ancient heraldry distinguished four colors and two metals. Shields were often decorated with gold and silver, and these metals were transferred to the coat of arms, where they began to represent the corresponding colors. In the names below, the French term appears first, since English heraldry relied on French, as happened several centuries later with Russian heraldry.

Or – “gold” (later the same term began to denote the color yellow).

Argent - “silver” (later the same term came to mean white).

The colors used in heraldry are called tincture (this word takes into account the shade of the color). When describing the coat of arms, we are talking about “enamels”, since initially the colors on the coats of arms were applied precisely through enamel. Ancient heraldry recognized the following enamels:

Gules (geules) – red, or worm.

Azur – blue, or azure.

Vert (sinople) – green.

Sable - mob.

In the 15th century to these primary colors, several more components were added, the most common of which are purple (pourpur), ash (in German coats of arms) and orange (tenne) (in English coats of arms). Very rarely, so-called natural colors were also used. This was done in the case when, according to special instructions in the coat of arms, it was necessary to depict any animal (deer, fox, bull), known plant or part of the human body - in the color that is characteristic of them in reality: brown, red, gray, pink or flesh-colored etc. In the Middle Ages, heralds in such cases, instead of natural ones, resorted to the closest colors of heraldic tincture that matched the character. This is how gray or red deer, dogs and bulls appeared in coats of arms; lions were depicted as gold or red, parts of the human body - red or silver.

Around the middle of the 15th century. a list of coats of arms was compiled “Names, coats of arms and blasons of the Knights of the Round Table” (“Les Noms, Arms et Blasons des Chevalliers et Compaignes de la Table Ronde”), which contains drawings and descriptions of 175 coats of arms of the Knights of the Round Table. The list existed as an appendix to the famous “Book of Tournaments” by King René of Anjou (c. 1455), which contained detailed instructions for arranging tournaments “according to the rules established in the time of King Uther Pendragon and King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table.”

Some of the coats of arms given in this list are directly related to the plots of chivalric romances. For example, the coat of arms of Yvain, the “Knight with the Lion” is a golden lion in an azure field, or the coat of arms of Lancelot: three scarlet baldrics on the left in a silver field. The latter is a reference to the mention that Lancelot had the strength of three warriors. The coats of arms of Lancelot and Yvain shown here belong to the so-called vowel coats of arms. Initially, only those coats of arms were considered vowel, the emblem of which directly indicated the name of the owner; when naming a vowel emblem, the name of the owner of the coat of arms was simultaneously named. Subsequently, emblems-rebuses similar to those mentioned above also began to be called vowels. The vowels include, for example, the coat of arms of Tristan, which contains a play on words based on the name of the hero: greenery, golden lion.

Sometimes, as a result of a copyist's error, the coat of arms could change. So, for example, Kay's coat of arms changed, which was originally blazoned as the Silver Head in the Mob - the head here denoted Kay's position at the court of King Arthur (seneschal). As a result of the error, the word “chief” (head - a heraldic figure, which is a wide stripe at the top of the shield) turned into “clefs” (keys), and on the coat of arms of Kay - Seneschal, instead of the Silver Chapter, two silver keys appeared. In some cases, as a result of an error in reading the coat of arms, a completely new character appeared. A similar “double” of Sagramur the Desired was generated by an incorrect reading of his coat of arms in the “Second Continuation” of “Perceval” by Chrétien de Troyes.

Since several different traditions are intertwined in the Arthurian epic, its main characters, in various novels, have two or even three completely different coats of arms. Something similar happened, for example, to Gawain. In the French tradition, Gawain's shield is the right front corner of a worm in a silver field. According to Geoffrey of Monmouth, Gawain was knighted by Pope Sulpicius, who also granted him a coat of arms. In the novel “Perlesvo” this coat of arms is called the shield of Judas Maccabee - a golden eagle in a scarlet field. In the appendix to the Book of Tournaments, this coat of arms is again somewhat modified: a double-headed golden eagle in a scarlet field. Another coat of arms of Gawain (perhaps the most famous of all) is given in the novel Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: a golden pentagram in a scarlet field. In the Middle Ages, such a symbol was called the Seal of Solomon, or the “endless knot.” The same novel says that this coat of arms is exclusively personal, received for special merits and cannot be inherited. In the XIV century. in connection with the development of tournaments, tournament weapons began to differ significantly from combat weapons, and among knighthood it became customary to have a set of two shields: “shields of war” of a traditional triangular shape with a family coat of arms placed on it, and a “shield of peace”, a square tarch with a slot , into which a spear was inserted. A personal coat of arms was placed on this shield - for tournaments and peaceful adventures. Consequently, when he goes in search of the Green Chapel, Gawain takes with him a shield with his personal coat of arms, the “shield of peace.”

In general, when going on journeys and returning from them (this was especially true for the Crusades), knights placed special symbols on their coats of arms. Usually these were small birds, similar to swallows and depicted in profile, without a beak and without legs. These migratory birds were supposed to indicate that the knights were wandering and homeless. The coat of arms of Galahad, the perfect knight who achieved the Grail, is also associated with the Crusades - a red cross on a white field originally served as an identification sign of all the crusaders, participants in the first crusade, which began in 1096.

It is worth mentioning another sign that is often found in romances of chivalry - the white shield. With a white shield, that is, a shield with an empty field without any coats of arms or emblems or any other images, the knight entered the tournament if for some reason he wanted to remain unrecognized. In general, descriptions of tournaments in knightly novels are replete with references to how one or another hero, in order to remain unrecognized, “changes colors,” that is, appears with a shield of different coat of arms colors. Such a “masquerade” or reluctance to travel with one’s well-known shield, however, often turned into a tragedy. For example, Perceval and Bors fought without recognizing each other, who went in search of the Holy Grail, placing migratory swallows on their shields. Only the miracle of the Grail saved them both from death. In ignorance, Gawain killed his sworn brother Yvain the Desperate, who was traveling with a white (empty) shield, in a duel.

Although the coats of arms of Arthur's list were recognized as authentic and were given in all textbooks on heraldry until the end of the 19th century, only one of them found its way onto the pages of Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur - the coat of arms of Galahad.

Paul worked on the creation of coats of arms (according to the above-mentioned encyclopedia),

edited by Narwen (using WHP graphics - Heraldry Gallery)

After blogger Jane_A's post about the attributes of the newly minted Duchess of Sussex, I became interested in the topic of coats of arms in the British royal family and decided to look for information about it.

The royal coat of arms of Great Britain is considered personal to the reigning monarch. All other members of the royal family have their own heraldic insignia.

The coat of arms of Great Britain is not the only heraldic symbol of the entire United Kingdom. Scotland has a different version of the emblem. That is, at the moment there are two active coats of arms in the country, which have significant differences.

The heraldic insignia of the British monarch includes a shield divided into four equal parts. The first and fourth depict three golden leopards walking (the official name is “walking lions on guard”). This is how England is designated on the coat of arms. Ireland is represented in the third part of the shield in the form of a harp on an azure field, and Scotland in the second, in the form of a rising lion. The shield holders are a crowned lion (English symbol) on the left and a chained unicorn (Scottish symbol) on the right. In the crest above the shield is a crowned leopard.

The Scottish coat of arms of Great Britain also includes a crowned lion and a chained unicorn holding a shield, but the lion is on the right and the unicorn on the left. In the crest there is a crowned lion sitting upright. The shield is also divided into four equal parts. In the third niche there is a harp symbolizing Northern Ireland. The first and fourth niches are occupied by rising lions (one each) representing Scotland, and the second by three golden lions on a scarlet background. In the Scottish version of the coat of arms, on the crown crowning a golden helmet, instead of a marching golden crowned leopard, sits a scarlet lion holding a sword and scepter in its paws. The Scottish version differs significantly in that the coat of arms depicts a crowned unicorn. Moreover, the lawn is decorated only with thistles, while the main version also contains roses and clover.

Prince Philip's coat of arms

The 1st quarter of the shield with lions is the coat of arms of Denmark. The 2nd quarter of the shield is a white cross on a blue background - this is the coat of arms of Greece. The right shield holder from the Greek royal coat of arms is Hercules, girded with the skin of a lion, crowned with an oak wreath and holding a club in his right hand. The 3rd quarter of the shield is the Battenberg coat of arms - two black pillars in a silver shield. In the 4th quarter there is the coat of arms of Edinburgh. The left shield holder is a lion in a ducal crown, on the neck is an azure naval crown - during the Second World War, Philip served in the English fleet. Surrounding the shield is the sign of the highest and oldest English Order of the Garter. The motto, written on the tape in Old French, reads: “Honi soit qui mal y pense” - “Let him be ashamed who thinks badly of it.” Below is the motto God is my help God will help me.

Prince Charles coat of arms

Four-part shield, with shield and silver tournament collar. The shield is the royal badge of Wales under the crown of the Prince of Wales. In the first and fourth parts of the shield there is an image of three golden leopards in a red field - the coat of arms of England, in the second part - a red lion in a golden field - the coat of arms of Scotland, in the third part - a golden harp with silver strings in a blue field - the coat of arms of Ireland. On the shield is a golden royal helmet with a golden mantle, lined with ermine fur, crowned with the crown of the Prince of Wales, with a crest - a golden royal leopard, crowned with the crown of the Prince of Wales and a silver tournament collar around the neck. The shield surrounds the insignia of the Order of the Garter. Shield holders: on the right (heraldic) - a golden lion, crowned with the crown of the Prince of Wales, with a silver tournament collar on his neck, red tongue and claws; on the left (heraldic) - silver, with golden arms and mane, red tongue, a unicorn with a golden collar in the form of a crown and a golden chain from it, below the collar is a silver tournament collar. The shield holders are placed on a stand on which are located: the coat of arms of the Duchy of Cornwall crowned with the crown of the Prince of Wales; the heraldic badge of Edward the Black Prince, a heraldic Welsh dragon with a silver tournament collar around its neck. Motto ribbon: silver with gold letters "ICH DIEN" (I Serve).

As the Scottish Duke of Rothesay, Charles has a different coat of arms.

Four-part shield, with shield. The shield is the coat of arms of Scotland with a blue tournament collar above a lion. The first and fourth parts of the shield depict the personal coat of arms of the Stuart dynasty: in a golden field there is a blue belt with a silver checkerboard pattern. In the second and third quarters is the coat of arms of the Lord of the Isles: on a silver field there is a black rook with red flags and a golden deck. On the shield there is a golden royal helmet with a golden mantle, lined with ermine fur, crowned with the crown of the Prince of Wales, with a crest - a Scottish royal red lion, sitting in front, with an image of a blue tournament collar on the neck, crowned with the crown of the Prince of Wales, holding in his right paw a silver sword with a golden hilt, and in his left paw a golden scepter. The shield surrounds the chain of the Order of the Thistle. Shield holders - silver, with golden arms and mane, red tongue, unicorns crowned with the crown of the Prince of Wales with a golden collar in the form of a crown and a gold chain from it, below the collar a blue tournament collar, holding standards: on the right - with the image of a central shield, on the left - a Scottish one flag. The shield and shield holders stand on a green lawn, with green posts and thistle flowers.

Princess Diana's coats of arms

This is the coat of arms of Diana, née Spencer, before her marriage to Prince Charles.

Since the late 16th century, the scallop has been a symbol of the Spencer family's coat of arms.

Translated from French, the motto means “God and my right.”

After her divorce from Charles, Diana's coat of arms underwent changes.

Camilla's coat of arms

Camilla's coat of arms was created in 2005 and combines the coats of arms of her husband, the Prince of Wales, and her father, Bruce Shand. Around the shield is the ribbon of the Royal Victorian Order. The only newly created element of the coat of arms is the shield-holder boar.

Prince William's Crest

Four-part shield: in the first and fourth fields the coat of arms of England - three golden leopards with azure arms in a scarlet field, in the second field the coat of arms of Scotland - in a golden field with a scarlet double inner border, overgrown with lilies, a scarlet rising lion with azure weapons, in the third field the coat of arms of Ireland - a golden harp with silver strings in an azure field. On top of the shield is a silver title with three ends encumbered with a scarlet scallop shell (escalope).

Around the shield is the symbol of the Order of the Garter.

On top of the crown is a golden royal helmet. Golden mantle lined with ermine. Crest: gold, crowned with the open crown of the children of the heir to the throne, a leopard with a silver title (as in a shield) on the neck, standing on the crown of the children of the heir to the throne.

Prince Harry's coat of arms

Four-part shield: in the first and fourth fields the coat of arms of England - three golden leopards with azure arms in a scarlet field, in the second field the coat of arms of Scotland - in a golden field with a scarlet double inner border, overgrown with lilies, a scarlet rising lion with azure weapons, in the third field the coat of arms of Ireland - a golden harp with silver strings in an azure field. On top of the shield is a silver title with three ends, burdened with three scarlet scallop shells (escalope). The shield surrounds the symbol of the Royal Victorian Order of Knight Commander.

Shield holders: on the right - a British one, crowned with an open crown of the children of the heir to the throne, a lion with a silver title (as in a shield) on his neck; on the left is a Scottish unicorn with the crown of the children of the heir to the throne and a silver title (as in a shield) on its neck.

The shield is crowned with the crown of the children of the heir to the throne with the peer's cap inside.

Crest: gold, crowned with the open crown of the children of the heir to the throne, a leopard with a silver title (as in a shield) on the neck, standing on the crown of the children of the heir to the throne.

Princess Anne's coat of arms

At the base is the state coat of arms of Great Britain with the addition of a tournament collar with three ribbons, like the daughter of a monarch, with a scarlet heart depicted on the central ribbon, and the cross of St. George on the outer ribbons. The shield is topped with a crown corresponding to the dignity of the princes - royal children, with the owner's cap. The rhombic shield belongs only to the ladies' coat of arms.

Coat of arms of the Duke of York

Four-part shield: in the first and fourth fields the coat of arms of England - three golden leopards with azure arms in a scarlet field, in the second field the coat of arms of Scotland - in a golden field with a scarlet double inner border, overgrown with lilies, a scarlet rising lion with azure weapons, in the third field the coat of arms of Ireland - a golden harp with silver strings in an azure field. On top of the shield is a silver title with three ends encumbered with an azure sea anchor.

Coat of arms of the Earl of Wessex

Four-part shield: in the first and fourth fields the coat of arms of England - three golden leopards with azure arms in a scarlet field, in the second field the coat of arms of Scotland - in a golden field with a scarlet double inner border, overgrown with lilies, a scarlet rising lion with azure weapons, in the third field the coat of arms of Ireland - a golden harp with silver strings in an azure field. On top of the shield is a silver title on three ends encumbered with a Tudor rose.

The shield is surrounded by the ribbon of the Order of the Garter.

Shield holders: on the right - a British one, crowned with an open crown of the children of the monarch, a lion with a silver title (as in a shield) on the neck; on the left is a Scottish unicorn with the crown of the monarch's children and a silver title (as in a shield) around its neck.

The shield is crowned with the crown of the monarch's children with the peer's cap inside.

Crest: gold, crowned with the open crown of the children of the monarch, leopard with a silver title (as in a shield) on the neck, standing on the crown of the children of the monarch.

Philip's coat of arms is the most original. Which coat of arms did you like best?

Updated 26/05/18 08:58:

This is William's correct coat of arms

Updated 26/05/18 18:18:

Coat of arms of Duchess Catherine

Anariel Rowan

Coats of arms by Tolkien

(Introduction to Tolkien's Heraldry)

The main sources of our knowledge about the coats of arms of Tolkien’s world are, firstly, the Professor’s texts, and secondly, his drawings published in “Drawings of J.R.R. Tolkien” and in the book by K. Scull and W. Hammond “J.R. .R. Tolkien: artist and illustrator." Almost all further information is drawn either directly from Tolkien, or from the comments of K. Scull and W. Hammond to his works, but we will mainly talk about those coats of arms that the Professor not only described, but personally drew. The reproduction quality is very poor even in the printed edition, so I advise you to look at this coat of arms as depicted by Avahandelel (here: http://numen.tirion.su/gallery/emblem_westland.htm). There is also a separate coat of arms of the Silmarils themselves: "an ancient emblem representing the origin of the Silmarils from the Light of the Trees on Ezellohar." Most likely, the eight-pointed star was also a sign of the descendants of Feanor, since we see it on the Gates of Moria, in the creation of which Calabrimbor, the grandson of Feanor, participated.
As we see and know from the text of the LOTR, the Gates of Moria bear several different emblems: “At the top - where Gandalf could still reach - intertwined elven writing curved in an arch. Below, although the lines of the picture disappeared or blurred in places, the outlines of an anvil and a hammer, topped a crown with seven stars. Below them were depicted two trees with crescent-shaped fruits. More clearly than anything else, a single star with many rays shone in the middle of the door. “These are the emblems of Durin!” “And the Tree of the High Elves!” “And the Star of the House of Feanor,” said Gandalf.” In the drafts, the Gates of Moria and the emblems depicted on them looked like this: Fingolfin's coat of arms is similar in colors to his father's, but the eight flames are similar to the image on the coat of arms of Fëanor. Five-pointed silver stars on a blue background are reminiscent of the blue and silver banners of Fingolfin's army that came to Beleriand, as well as Fingolfin's shield - blue and decorated with crystals. “Coat of arms of Finarfin and his House, especially Finrod”: not two circles, like Finarfin’s older brothers, but one, and the petal rays are straight, not curved. This may be a stylized version of the emblem on the Ring of Barahir: two snakes vying for a wreath-crown of golden flowers. The coat of arms of Maia Melian, Queen of Doriath, is very complex: concave and convex squares and circles superimposed on each other, star-flowers. Perhaps the coat of arms is intended to reflect the very nature of Maya Melian, who, being a spirit, took on the flesh and appearance of the Children of the One. The colors of the coat of arms - blue and grey-silver - recall that Melian was a spirit of twilight who emerged from the gardens of the Ramparts of Lórien.
Lúthien has two coats of arms, perhaps as a sign that she had Maiar and Eldar blood in her veins. Both coats of arms depict the niphredil snowdrops that bloomed in the forests of Doriath at the hour of her birth. The first of the coats of arms with its blue field color and complexity - either a flower with twelve petals, or four snowdrops - resembles the coat of arms of Melian, the mother of Luthien. In the center of the second coat of arms is an elanor, and with a black background and four five-pointed stars, this coat of arms resembles the coat of arms of Elu Thingol, the father of Lúthien. The heraldry of Gondolin is described in the texts - the early "Fall of Gondolin" and the later "On Tuor and his coming to Gondolin". According to the second, Turgon used the coat of arms of Fingolfin. According to both texts, the coat of arms of Tuor was a swan's wing, in the "Advent" the Swan is the coat of arms of Annael and the people who raised Tuor, the swan's wing on azure is the coat of arms on the shield left for Tuor in Vinyamar. The coat of arms of Idril, wife of Tuor and daughter of Turgon, is similar to the usual elven coats of arms. It is called Menelluin Irildeo Ondolindello (Cornflower Idril of Gondolin). This coat of arms has twelve touches, as befits the coat of arms of a royal daughter, and is quite complex: it depicts either twelve cornflowers on a black field, or small cornflowers are depicted in twelve black “petals” on a blue background. Drafts for this coat of arms: On the second, the star is enclosed in a blue circle, an image of the sky, and four four-pointed stars are depicted in the corners on a black background. This is practically all that can be said about the elven coats of arms drawn by the Professor. Among many other arts, the people who came to Belariand adopted the art of heraldry from the Eldar. Judging by the harp and torch, this coat of arms was created in honor of Finrod's meeting with the first people who came to Belariand. Most likely, this coat of arms was created by the people themselves when they first became acquainted with the art of heraldry, since the coat of arms depicts concrete objects and is unlike the abstract geometric coats of arms invented by the elves themselves. In contrast to the Elven ones, the coats of arms of humans are either symmetrical along a vertical axis or have a clearly defined horizontal axis. The movement is not circular, it seems to emanate from the center, trying to break through the boundaries. The coat of arms of Hador in its abstractness is reminiscent of the coats of arms of the Eldar, and in its colors - red and blue - it is similar to the Winged Sun and the coat of arms of Fingolfin, whose House the House of Hador served. Coat of arms of Beor. A few words about the crown of Gondor. This is how it is described in the LOTR: “It was shaped like the helmets of the Citadel Guardians, but it was taller and all white, and the wings on both sides were made of pearls and silver and resembled the wings of a seabird, for it was the emblem of the kings who came from beyond the Seas; and seven adamantine gems were on her hoop, and a single gem shone above, and its light was like a flame."
In the Appendices there is the following explanation: “The Crown of Gondor is shaped like a Númenórean military helmet. At first it was indeed an ordinary helmet; they say it was the helmet of Isildur, in which he fought during the Battle of Dagorlad... But in the days of Atanatar Alkarin it was replaced with a helmet decorated with gems, which was used at Aragorn’s coronation.”
In the Letters the Professor adds the following: “I think that the crown of Gondor (the Southern Kingdom) was very high, like the crown of Egypt, only with wings that were bent back” and draws this: