A caution before the list
Many books and websites offer lists of what each heraldic symbol “means”. It is tempting, but the evidence for such fixed meanings is thin. Medieval treatises on arms existed, and some did attach moral or symbolic qualities to colors and figures, but these were often written after the system was established and do not describe how families actually chose their designs. A better approach is to treat the associations below as ideas that people could draw on, not as rules.
The word for any object placed on a shield is a charge. The simple geometric shapes that run across the shield, such as bands and crosses, are usually called ordinaries.
Lions
The lion is probably the most familiar heraldic beast. It was already a symbol of strength and royalty in the ancient world and in medieval bestiaries, so it was a natural choice for kings and great lords. It appears in the arms of English kings, the rulers of León in Spain, and many noble families across Europe.
Its pose is part of the description. A lion rampant stands on its hind legs, ready to strike; a lion passant walks with one front paw raised. A lion with its head turned to face the viewer is called guardant. Those poses are conventions of drawing and blazon, and they do not necessarily carry separate meanings. Three golden lions on red became closely tied to the English crown by the later twelfth century, though the exact stages of its adoption are discussed by historians.
Eagles
The eagle was linked with empire because of its use in ancient Rome. In the Middle Ages it is associated with the rulers of the Holy Roman Empire, who used a black eagle on a gold field, and a double-headed form is found in later periods. Eagles also appear in the arms of smaller German and Italian families. As with lions, it was often chosen as a sign of rank or lordship, and the choice could reflect a connection to the emperor.
Crosses
The cross is very common in heraldry, and it exists in many forms: the plain cross, the cross crosslet, the cross patty, the cross fitchy with a pointed foot, and others. A cross on a shield could suggest piety, a crusading connection, or a link to a saint or a church. Some crosses were associated with places or peoples, such as the red cross of St George used by English soldiers and the cross used by military orders such as the Knights Templar, whose emblem was a red cross on a white field.
Care is needed, though. Because crosses are simple and bold, a family could choose one purely for visual impact or because a neighbor or overlord used one. The popular belief that every cross on a shield marks a crusader is unsupported.
Other creatures and figures
- Bears, boars and stags: hunting animals were common and were tied to the noble pursuit of the chase. They may also have been punning references to names.
- Dragons, griffins and other fantastic beasts: these draw on bestiaries and legend. A griffin, part lion and part eagle, could combine the qualities associated with both animals.
- Birds: besides eagles, martlets (small birds drawn without feet), swans and others appear frequently.
- Fleur-de-lis: a stylized lily strongly linked with the French kings, who displayed golden fleurs-de-lis on blue. Its origin and original meaning are debated.
- Roses, stars, crescents and shells: plant and sky motifs were common. The scallop shell, for example, is linked with pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, but it also appears in arms with no pilgrim connection.
Canting arms: pictures that are puns
One of the best-documented reasons for choosing a charge is wordplay. Canting arms, or arms that pun on the bearer’s name, appear throughout the period. A family called Lucy might display pike fish, since the Latin and French words for pike resembled the name, and the Spanish kingdom of Castile used a castle. These examples remind us that a symbol could be there for a very simple reason. If a design has a visual joke, that may be the whole explanation.
Colors
Writers on heraldry sometimes gave each color a virtue: gold for generosity, red for courage, blue for loyalty, and so on. Such lists exist from the later Middle Ages, and they helped to shape the popular idea of “meanings”. But there is little sign that most bearers picked colors on that basis. Practical reasons, including paint availability, contrast and visibility at a distance, probably mattered more. The design side of this is discussed in the article on coat of arms design.
How medieval viewers read arms
Most medieval people who saw arms were not decoding hidden messages. They were recognizing a family. The question “who is that?” had a practical answer: “he is the man with the red lion”. When symbols did carry meaning, it was often local and specific, tied to a lord’s lands, a saint’s cult, a family legend or a marriage alliance. In Christian devotional art, symbols had set meanings, and this is covered in the article on religious iconography, but a shield was a different kind of object from a stained glass saint.
Reading arms today
If you want to understand a coat of arms, the most reliable questions are practical ones. Whose arms are they? What other arms are nearby on the same monument, and what do they say about family connections? Does the charge pun on a name? Is the same symbol used by the bearer’s overlord? These routes lead to evidence. A general list of meanings can be a starting point, but it is not an answer.