Medieval - Middle Ages: Heraldry / Family Crest - Coat of Arms Assignment

A creative and fun way to teach about Heraldry in the Medieval Era.

This resource begins with an overview of common Heraldry symbols, and four family crests for students to interpret based on the symbol codes provided. This gives students a chance to interpret the symbols and gain a sense of how every aspect of the crest holds meaning.

Second aspect provides a brief overview as to how Heraldry has extended beyond the Eurocentric world, with a few examples from India, Nigeria, Japan, and closer to home with Scotland showing even within Europe the standard 'shield' style is was not 'universal.'

After this, a few black templates have been provided for students to work with, though they can extend beyond these samples to begin to create something far more personal.

The end, I provided a reflection for students to reflect on their own crest, a chance for them to create an argument about what how it all ties together, a short paragraph that asks them to establish an argument about the crest they have created, to 'justify' or 'argue' what it all holds giving teachers something to examine beyond the creativity, holding some academic rigor over the student's project.

Looking for a creative and fun way to teach about heraldry and life in the Middle Ages? This resource provides an overview of what heraldry is, explains its purpose in medieval times, and discusses noble classes of the time. There is also an overview of a family's coat-of-arms, with its intent and purpose. The entire packet features visuals, but the most exciting part is that it includes the 12 different shapes of shields and 30 different design ways that shields were divided AND includes the color theory of medieval times, specifying colors used and their symbolic meanings. Also included is a brainstorming worksheet on character traits and how to incorporate them into a coat-of-arms design. I used this packet to preface a project where students created their own coat-of-arms and shield. This packet was very helpful in guiding and engaging students.