Heraldry in Games: What Coats of Arms and Banners Mean

Why heraldry matters in games

A shield painted with a lion, a banner divided into bold colours or a seal displayed above a castle can communicate a great deal before a character speaks. In historical games, tabletop campaigns, role-playing games and strategy titles, heraldry helps players identify factions, understand authority and remember relationships between characters or territories.

These symbols are not simply decorative medieval artwork. Heraldry developed as a visual system for identifying people and groups, especially when armour, helmets and battlefield conditions made faces difficult to recognise. Games often adapt that system to make political structures, family connections and military loyalties easier to follow.

Understanding the basic language of heraldry gives players practical advantages. It can help you read a fictional map, distinguish an ally from an enemy, create a coherent character emblem or assess whether a game is using historical conventions accurately. It also makes banners, shields and coats of arms more meaningful during family activities, living-history events and creative projects.

What a coat of arms actually represents

A coat of arms is a formal heraldic design associated with a person, family, institution, territory or other recognised bearer, depending on the tradition involved. The shield is the central element, but a complete achievement of arms may also include a helmet, crest, supporters, a motto, a compartment and other components.

Popular culture often treats a coat of arms as a badge belonging automatically to everyone with the same surname. That assumption is unreliable. Heraldic rights and registration practices have varied by country and historical period. In England, the College of Arms explains that coats of arms are granted to individuals and then may pass according to established rules of inheritance. A surname alone does not prove a right to use a particular design.

Games simplify this issue because they need readable symbols. A fictional house may use one design for all members, while a strategy game may assign a single emblem to an entire kingdom. That is a storytelling choice rather than a universal historical rule. When examining a game, ask what the emblem identifies: an individual, a dynasty, a military unit, a town, a realm or an organisation. The same image can have a different function in each setting.

The visual grammar of a heraldic shield

Heraldry uses a specialised vocabulary to describe the shield. The background is called the field. A major geometric shape placed on it is often called an ordinary. Examples include a horizontal stripe known as a fess, a vertical stripe called a pale, a diagonal stripe called a bend and a cross. Smaller recognisable images, such as animals, plants, tools or celestial bodies, are called charges.

The design is normally described from the bearer’s viewpoint. In heraldic language, the viewer’s left is the bearer’s right, often called dexter, while the viewer’s right is sinister. This can seem counterintuitive when reading a blazon, the formal written description of arms.

Many games do not use formal blazoning, but the underlying principles remain useful. A player designing a faction emblem should decide which element is the field, which forms the main structure and which details provide identity. A crowded shield may look impressive in an illustration but become unreadable on a small game token, flag or screen icon.

Useful questions when reading a shield include:

• What is the main background colour or pattern?
• Is there a dominant geometric division, such as a cross or band?
• Which charge attracts attention first?
• Are there small marks that distinguish one branch of a family from another?
• Does the surrounding equipment change the emblem’s function or status?

Colours and metals: tinctures without oversimplification

Traditional heraldic description groups colours into tinctures. The two metals are gold, usually shown as yellow, and silver, usually shown as white. Common colours include red, blue, black, green and purple, although usage differs across periods and heraldic traditions. Some systems also recognise furs, such as ermine patterns, as distinct treatments.

A widely taught rule says that colour should not normally be placed directly on colour, or metal directly on metal. The purpose is contrast. A red charge on a blue field may be harder to distinguish than a red charge on a gold field, particularly at distance. This principle is a design guide rather than a complete explanation of every historical coat of arms. Historical heraldry contains exceptions, regional variations and designs that do not fit simplified classroom rules.

For game design, contrast is especially important. A banner may be viewed in poor lighting, printed at small size or displayed beside several similar symbols. Strong contrast between the field and the principal charge improves recognition. Colour should not carry the entire meaning, because players with colour-vision differences may struggle to separate red from green or blue from purple. Combine colour with shape, pattern, animal forms or lettering where appropriate.

The table below gives a practical reading guide, not a fixed dictionary of universal meanings.

Heraldic feature	What it does in a game	Practical design question
Field	Provides the main visual background	Is it clear when the emblem is reduced in size?
Ordinary	Creates a strong geometric structure	Does it distinguish the faction from related groups?
Charge	Supplies a memorable animal, object or symbol	Can players identify it at a glance?
Tincture	Creates contrast and supports faction recognition	Is the design still readable without relying on colour alone?
Border or mark of difference	Shows a branch, rank or variation in a fictional system	Have the rules for the variation been explained?

Animals, objects and poses on coats of arms

Animals are among the most recognisable heraldic charges. A lion, eagle, bear, boar or wolf can suggest a faction’s identity, but no single meaning applies everywhere. A lion may be used for courage, royal association, local tradition or simply visual impact. An eagle may refer to imperial imagery, a regional emblem or an invented culture. The context supplied by the game matters more than a generic list of symbolic definitions.

Heraldic animals are often shown in conventional poses. A lion rampant is upright on one hind leg, while a lion passant is shown walking. An eagle displayed is generally shown frontally with wings spread. These terms allow a designer or player to distinguish related arms without changing the animal itself.

Objects can indicate occupation, geography, mythology or political history. A key might represent guardianship or a gate, but it could also refer to a specific place in the game world. A hammer may suggest craft, industry, a deity or a famous historical event. A tree may represent a landscape feature, an origin story or a dynasty named after a woodland.

When analysing a game emblem, separate three levels of meaning:

1. Formal meaning: what the heraldic description actually identifies, such as a red lion on a gold field.
2. Narrative meaning: what the game’s story says the symbol represents.
3. Player-facing function: how the emblem helps with navigation, team recognition or decision-making.

This distinction prevents assumptions. A symbol may have a traditional association, a fictional explanation and a practical interface role that do not perfectly match one another.

Banners, flags and standards are not all the same

Games often use the words banner, flag, standard and pennon as if they were interchangeable. In historical contexts, these terms can describe different shapes, uses or relationships to the bearer, although terminology varies between periods and sources.

A flag is a broad term for a piece of fabric displaying a design. A banner commonly presents heraldic arms in a form associated with a person or group. A standard was often a long, tapering flag used for identification and display, and it could carry several devices rather than only a shield. A pennon was a smaller, often pointed flag associated with a particular bearer or unit. These distinctions are useful for interpretation, but fictional settings may deliberately use simplified terminology.

The direction in which a flag is displayed can alter how a design is perceived. A shield-shaped emblem may be adapted to a rectangular or swallow-tailed field, and details may be enlarged so they remain visible while fabric moves in the wind. A banner in a game may therefore show a simplified version of the arms rather than a complete achievement.

For a practical activity, compare three versions of the same emblem: a shield, a large hanging banner and a small pennon. Keep the principal shape and colour arrangement consistent, then remove minor details from the smallest version. This demonstrates why historical and fictional designers use visual hierarchy.

Heraldic clues for reading factions and relationships

A well-designed game can use heraldry as a visual family tree. Related factions may share a field colour, ordinary or principal charge while adding a border, changing a tincture or introducing a secondary symbol. An alliance may be shown by combining devices, placing two shields together or adding a common badge to separate banners.

Players should be cautious, because resemblance does not always prove a relationship. A game may reuse colours to indicate gameplay categories rather than genealogy. Similar animals might represent unrelated regions, and a common cross or star may be chosen for readability rather than historical continuity.

When exploring a new setting, create a simple heraldic record. Note the following for each emblem:

• The group or character associated with it.
• The field and its main tinctures.
• The principal charge or ordinary.
• Any visible variation from a related emblem.
• Where the emblem appears, such as a shield, building, map, uniform or flag.
• Any explanation supplied by the game’s rules or narrative.

This method is useful for tabletop campaigns and family-friendly strategy games. It turns visual details into evidence without requiring players to memorise every fictional history. It can also reveal when a game’s factions are intentionally designed around contrast rather than strict heraldic inheritance.

Designing a fictional coat of arms for a game or activity

Creating a fictional emblem works best when the design begins with a clear identity rather than a random collection of impressive symbols. Decide what the group needs to communicate. A travelling party may need a portable badge, a noble house may require a dynastic shield and a local team may need a banner recognisable from across a field.

A practical design process is:

1. Define the bearer. Decide whether the arms belong to an individual, family, settlement, guild, army or fictional state.
2. Choose one main idea. Start with a place, creature, tool, legend or value connected to the bearer.
3. Select a simple field. Use a background that provides contrast with the main charge.
4. Add one dominant charge. A single strong image is usually easier to recognise than many small ones.
5. Introduce a secondary distinction. Use a border, small mark, altered tincture or additional charge only if it serves a clear purpose.
6. Test several sizes. View the emblem on a large banner, a shield-sized illustration and a small token.
7. Write a short blazon or plain-language description. This preserves the design if it must be redrawn.

Avoid assigning fixed moral meanings to colours without explaining them in the setting. Red does not automatically mean evil, blue does not always mean loyalty and black does not necessarily signify death. A game becomes more coherent when its symbolism is established through its own history and used consistently.

Using heraldry safely and respectfully in group activities

Heraldic design is suitable for drawing sessions, role-playing games, history projects and outdoor team activities. It can be especially effective when each participant creates an emblem for a fictional household or expedition and then explains the design choices.

For children, provide a limited palette of shapes and charges rather than presenting heraldry as a test of specialist vocabulary. Ask practical questions such as, “What would make this banner recognisable from far away?” and “Which detail tells us that these two groups are related?” This encourages observation and design thinking.

When using historical arms, avoid presenting uncertain legends as established facts. Many popular explanations of heraldic symbols were written long after the arms themselves appeared. It is safer to say that a symbol is associated with a place, family or tradition when the evidence is clear, and to label an interpretation as fictional when it comes from a game.

Physical banners should be attached securely, kept away from roads and moving vehicles, and used with attention to wind and visibility. If an activity involves poles, costume weapons or public spaces, follow the safety instructions and local rules provided by the organiser or venue. Heraldry adds meaning to an activity, but it should never encourage unsafe behaviour or imply that a fictional emblem grants real-world authority.

Frequently asked questions

Does every coat of arms have a hidden symbolic meaning?

No. Some designs have documented associations with a person, place, event or tradition, while others may have been selected for appearance, inheritance or identification. Modern claims that every colour and charge has one universal meaning should be treated cautiously.

Can a game give the same coat of arms to an entire family?

It can as a fictional convention, but historical heraldic practice is more specific. Rules concerning inheritance and differences between related arms vary by country and period. A game should explain its own system if those distinctions matter to play.

Why do some banners show a shield while others show a long flag?

Different flag forms served different purposes, and fictional settings often simplify or combine them. A shield usually presents the core arms, while a banner or standard may adapt the design for display, movement or recognition at a distance.

Are heraldic colours always symbolic?

No. Colour can support contrast, identification and visual continuity without carrying a fixed message. Any specific symbolic meaning should come from the game’s setting or from a documented historical context.

What is the best first step when designing an emblem?

Decide who or what the emblem identifies, then choose one clear central idea. A simple design with strong contrast is easier to recognise, explain and reproduce across shields, cards, maps and banners.