Today, again we discussed about the coat of arms. For the charge, whether it be an animal or an object, does it always represent something and have a certain meaning?
Something I was thinking about in class was that our government has its own coat of arms. The eagle holding the arrows and olive branches in seperate feet. The eagle looks at the olive branches, or to the right side on all the seals except for one. On the presidents desk, the eagle looks at the arrows instead of the olive branches.
I realize that this is very uncommon, but the different position of the head means something different when it's facing the opposite way. Was there ever changing of the coat of arms when heraldry was more common? Could your charge or sheild change due to accomplishments or failures?
Marci, that's a very interesting question. I know that additions could be made to your coat-of-arms to reflect accomplishments and honors, but i wonder if charges and symbols could be taken away because of failures. danielle r
And Sam, I think that in traditional heraldry all charges were symbolic of something whether it be a specific accomplishment, family symbol, honor, or a sign of religion. I don't think they were just put decorative charges and symbols on the coats-of-arms because they liked the way they looked. (I could be wrong though) :) danielle r
Marci, I think maybe the reason the eagle’s head is pointed towards the arrows on the president’s desk is a reference to his title as Commander in Chief of the United States Army since the arrows represent war. I’m not sure though, that was a complete guess. I tried to look it up for you, but there wasn’t any indication as to why it's different that one time. Also, things pointed sinster have different meanings based on the history of the owner of the charge. Typically, however, things pointed sinister indicate slain enemies and feminine qualities. Also, things pointed dexter mean masculine and all things positive. I hoped that helped you.
Also, Sam, I think Danielle is right. I don't think that the people who designed coat of arms just added things because they looked good. I think that everything on the coat of arms is symbolic.
5 comments:
Something I was thinking about in class was that our government has its own coat of arms. The eagle holding the arrows and olive branches in seperate feet. The eagle looks at the olive branches, or to the right side on all the seals except for one. On the presidents desk, the eagle looks at the arrows instead of the olive branches.
I realize that this is very uncommon, but the different position of the head means something different when it's facing the opposite way. Was there ever changing of the coat of arms when heraldry was more common? Could your charge or sheild change due to accomplishments or failures?
Marci, that's a very interesting question. I know that additions could be made to your coat-of-arms to reflect accomplishments and honors, but i wonder if charges and symbols could be taken away because of failures.
danielle r
And Sam, I think that in traditional heraldry all charges were symbolic of something whether it be a specific accomplishment, family symbol, honor, or a sign of religion. I don't think they were just put decorative charges and symbols on the coats-of-arms because they liked the way they looked. (I could be wrong though) :)
danielle r
Marci, I think maybe the reason the eagle’s head is pointed towards the arrows on the president’s desk is a reference to his title as Commander in Chief of the United States Army since the arrows represent war. I’m not sure though, that was a complete guess. I tried to look it up for you, but there wasn’t any indication as to why it's different that one time. Also, things pointed sinster have different meanings based on the history of the owner of the charge. Typically, however, things pointed sinister indicate slain enemies and feminine qualities. Also, things pointed dexter mean masculine and all things positive. I hoped that helped you.
Also, Sam, I think Danielle is right. I don't think that the people who designed coat of arms just added things because they looked good. I think that everything on the coat of arms is symbolic.
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