TLC Forum

I've been thinking a bit about heraldry lately. Somewhere I even have an old web page that was going to be dedicated to heraldry, where I had collected all the heraldic images from illustrated by Baynes, concept-designed by Weta, etc, but have never finished it.

If you could have your own coat of arms, Narnian-themed, Lord of the Rings-themed, or otherwise, what would the banner for your house or your personal arms be like?

Great discussion topic, Kristi!

I appreciate candles and stars in artwork, because natural light is beautiful and because I appreciate the idea of light shining in darkness as a symbol of my faith as a Christian. If I were to show up for a joust at Cair Paravel, I would be carrying a banner with a candle and a star on it.

I'd never really thought about it before, but then I was sketching in my notebook and ended up with a Narnian coat of arms. So I guess it could be mine. This is also the first coat-of-arms I've ever drawn, so cut me some slack.

The eagle and the dove at the top, of course, represent war and peace. The faun and the centaur holding up the shield do basically the same thing, although they more represent my personality as being light-hearted and talkative at times and serious at others. The Unicorn and Dragon are just there because I like Unicorns and Dragons (and I had empty space on my shield!), and the sword between them signifies the difference between the talking (Unicorn) and non-talking (Dragon) beasts in Narnia. The lion's head in the middle, of course, is Aslan, and the cross at the top links Him to Jesus. The crown around the cross is to remind us of His status as King of Kings, and also a sort of call-back to the line "Once a King or Queen of Narnia, always a King or Queen". Aaaand I guess that's all. Didn't think a whole lot about it as I was making it.

Very interesting topic Kristi! I'm not sure what I'd do if I created my own coat of arms, though a lion would definitely be on it. I'd have to go and look up meanings behind some of the designs but I suppose one could create meanings for certain things. I think I'll try to create a personal one.
As a side note my actual coat of arms has a lion rampant on a green background, so I'm pretty happy about that.

@Hobbit: That there is talent my good Hobbit, talent and no mistake. I'm really liking how you put it together and the meanings you put behind each thing - have you any idea what colours you'd choose?

@ Elanorelle: Awww, thank you! Wait...your actual coat of arms has a lion on a green background?? That is so not fair! My actual coat of arms has a sheep on it. Ba-a-a-a. *blank, sheep-like expression*
The colors? Ummmm...probably a golden lion on a red or blue background, and a green Dragon on a white background and a white Unicorn on a green background. The sword would have a silver blade with probably a red grip. The cross and crown would be gold.

Ooh, I like! Lovely work, hobbit, and I like the symbolism (even if you figured out most of it after the fact; my writing is like that all the time, so I totally get it!).
I'll have to figure out what mine would look like.

So, Kristi should be happy with me--I've finally figured out what to say here! *is a good giraffe* Although, I've got to say, now that I've thought this all out, don't be surprised if you find me making myself my own banner come February or March... Probably a hang-down-vertically sort, rather than a flutter-in-the-breeze-horizontally sort, so as to be able to put it up in my room along with the scrolls on my wall... *happy giraffe!* ^.^

All right. So this is what I've come up with that I would put on a banner to represent me:

1) Bread (quite likely to be accompanied by a stalk of grain or three). Bread reminds me that Christ is the bread of life. Just as I can eat bread daily for my physical hunger, I personally have a strong desire and instinct to turn to Christ for daily and continual spiritual sustenance.

2) Rain. Rain reminds me of God's love for us, which He bestows upon us so abundantly. He provides for us, having given us a wonderful world that can produce what we need to survive and be happy. And I want to love others and help others as God loves me and provides for me.

3) A beehive. This is as a representation for the hard and joyful work of building a life for myself, a productive and happy life that I can share with others to help them feel God's love for them.

And something or other in all that is going to have to be white (my favorite color)

That's all very cool, Islie!

Thanks Ariel! I like the idea, but not sure how to make it work visually in a way I like, heehee Maybe if I let it work itself around in my brain long enough I'll come up with something

Oo, I'll be thinking about this - a sketch might occur in the next couple days or so. ^_^ I've thought about coats of arms for myself before, but not in terms of Narnia or other fantasy worlds. A relation of mine, although possibly not a direct ancestor, had a white or silver horse on blue.