Learn all about why coats of arms were so important in medieval times, and why their popularity spread beyond the knights to allow everyone to choose a design for themselves and their family. This 32-page booklet details the development of coats of arms, and then includes pages of colors, symbols, and patterns, along with their meanings, and then explains how families "took" a coat of arms for themselves, to represent their name or their character. After you've learned the symbolism and the rules for coats of arms, you can make your own, with the help of the large pattern in the back of the book, and an added bonus - a stencil that includes some of the popular fierce animals, simple symbols, and zigzagging lines that you can use to create your own impressive and expressive coat of arms. - Jess

Customer Review

 
Jimmie L. from Asia wrote the following on 06/02/2007:
This book is an excellent choice to supplement your study of the Middle Ages with a hands-on project. Although it is more expensive than the Dover title in this category, it is worth the extra few dollars. Why? First of all it is a full color book; the beginning ten pages have huge illustrations and a few paragraphs of meaty text of historical background. These images will draw in your children, even little ones. The remaining twenty pages go into more detail about the coats of arms themselves. There are brightly colored examples with explanations of the symbolism behind each design. Secondly this book comes with a durable, plastic stencil for drawing your own coat of arms. Although the Dover title may be more appropriate for middle school and older students, if your child is at the elementary level, this book is the better choice.