Designing a Heraldic Shield - Research Paper Example

? Heraldic Shield Heraldry is the practice of designing, displaying and describing courts of arm in heraldic shields. A heraldic shield is a shield that has distinguishing symbols to help identify a group in events like combats or sport competitions. These shields are used in court of arms where every character that appears in shield has a symbolic meaning. Normally, these shields display the power and authority the judicial system has over the country. In recent times, sports teams have come up with their different individual shields symbolizing their names and vision (Bell et al, 22). The very shield in question has several constituents. The eagle can be used as a symbol of representing power authority and the sun. The eagle is the king of the birds; this shows authority it has over other creatures. Rarely do eagles lose in combat; this shows they have strength and power to rule. Therefore, they symbolize strong and powerful leadership. Indian herbalists and wizards use the feathers of eagles in their treatment of the sick. This shows that the eagle has a medicinal value and this can be used to symbolize the gift to give life to the hopeless. Eagles have been known to have a clear vision and soaring spirit. These are best qualities a leader can have; a clear vision means that the leader can make wise and just decisions. A soaring spirit means the leader is always aiming for more. This symbolizes the initiative and ambitions that an exemplary leader should have in order to lead his or people to greater prosperity (Bentley et al, 54). This is the main reason why eagles are connected with wealth and prosperity. The most outstanding character that distinguishes the eagle from other living creatures is the ability to take responsibility. The eagle is monogamous in nature; interestingly, the male and female eagles both share the responsibility of taking care of their young ones. This is not only symbolic but also enlightening. This shows responsibility as the leader should be responsible enough in order to lead people. This as well helps to advice people who tend to run away from responsibilities like taking care of their young ones. The eagles can be used to represent freedom. This observation is ttained by the size of their territories; an eagle can have a home ranging in thousands of acres this shows that the eagles are not afraid of conquering new territories in the bid of enjoying their freedom (Bohl & Rynn 85). In most mythical beliefs, it is said that the spirits of the eagles are free and independent creatures that roam alone. Through this aid in educating people on the significance of being free, we are able to make choices alone without relying on others every time because, in life, some decisions are made alone as they are personal. This symbolizes the rights and freedom of an individual to choose their own paths in life that seem suitable to them. The picture of the eagle in heraldic shield demonstrates exceptional leadership, power, authority and vision in a group organization or country (Connell et al, 156). An acorn is small seed from an oak tree. Normally, it is green and most fall of the tree when matured. When they fall off from the mother tree, another oak tree can emerge from the fallen seeds. The procedure is normally performed thoroughly over and over until a whole forest emerges from a single acorn. This helps to symbolize the process of achieving greatness by starting out from scratch. This concept is applied to encourage people whose lives or worlds have fallen that they can still achieve greatness life. It encourages people to realize their full potential (Cornwell et al, 78). If an acorn with no brains can become a forest, what can a person with brains and senses achieve if he puts his minds to it? This is a symbol of hope to those who feel their destined fail due to a single fall or slip at one point in their lives or careers. Imagine an acorn that has fallen down - it has no survival techniques and yet a forest can emerge from it. This has been applied to inspire people for a long time, especially the young ones, by stating that for one to succeed, the place of origin is not significant, what is crucial is their determination. The green color normally represents the environment the acorns are green in color and can be used to symbolize the wealth that comes from the environment (Hill, 85). The reversed US grand seal is a symbol with Latin writings and an eye of providence. The two mottos in the proper seal are “Annuit coeptis”, meaning that all Seeing Eye has approved of all the undertakings of the people. “Novus ordo seclorum”, when translated, means an order of new ages or simply the new world order. When these two mottos combines and translated, it reads “God has favored our undertakings”. The eye of providence or all Seeing Eye is a symbol of renaissance. This eye of providence associated with the eye of Horus. Horus is the son of Osiris and Isis. He was the god of the rising sun, the bearer of light. It is for this reason that the eye of providence is used to represent enlightenment. With enlightenment come knowledge and wisdom which are extremely valuable in the growth of a country or an institution (Lloyd, 77). The pyramid shows the position in which people sit when meditating. To get enlightenment, one is always required to meditate. When this symbol is used in an organization, it means the people running the business ought to be enlightened and that they take their time meditating upon the critical decisions they make or are about to make. The blue is the most popular and overwhelming color of many people. Blue is associated with trust, reliability and commitment. The color of the sky and oceans appears the part of the daily lives. This makes it reliable because of its ever-present nature. Blue color is normally associated with having a relaxing effect on most people; this is why most people just love watching the sea and the sky. This helps in calming down people by reducing stress and tension and can even lower blood pressure. Most people prefer wearing blue to other colors because of its simplicity (Slater, 55). A recent survey showed that 40% of people like wearing blue colored clothes and another 45% feel comfortable trust concerning people who wear this color. This shows that blue can be used to represent trust. When a shield has a blue color, it means that the foundation of the group to whom the shield belongs can build on trust and commitment. The picture of a dawn is a symbol of eternal hope. Every dawn symbolizes a new day with lots of opportunities and potential to reach success. This inspires people to work hard and to put behind their failures of yesterday and to become eager in making the best out of today. It also encourages people that every day is a beautiful day; the success of the day depends on an individual. This application is used to inspire people to continue working hard. After every bad day people go through, they should know that there is always a tomorrow. This encourages people not to give up in their endeavors because the future may be brighter than the present (Bohl & Rynn 85). The white color is associated and compared to something holy and peaceful. Therefore, the color symbolizes and shows that a group is law abiding and their intentions are pure. White is associated with everything that is admirable, pure and clean. If the color is embedded in a heraldic shield, it shows purity in all the undertakings of the group, as well as trustworthiness of the people because they mean no harm to society. It can also show God fearing people because white is normally seen as the color of heaven and angels. The dragon has been known for its ability to breathe fire or ice. This means that it will do anything necessary to protect its possessions. This shows that the group that has the dragon in their heraldic shield will fight to the end for their rights and beliefs. Since dragons breathe fire, which can be both a kind master and wicked servant, it shows that the organization will help those who help their purpose and will easily destroy people who stand in their way, not by necessarily killing them (Connell et al, 186). This is a symbol of commitment and dedication to the purpose of an organization. Works Cited Bell, Doug, Ian Morrey and John R. Pugh. Software engineering: a programming approach. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall International, 1987. Print. Bentley, Jon Louis. Programming pearls. 2nd ed. Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley, 2000. Print. Bohl, Marilyn and Maria Rynn. Tools for structured and object-oriented design: an introduction to programming logic. 7th ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2008. Print. Connell, Mark, Raje Airey and Richard Craze. The complete illustrated encyclopedia of symbols, signs & dream interpretation: identification and analysis of the visual vocabulary and secret language that shapes our thoughts and dreams and dictates our reactions to the world. London: Lorenz, 2008. Print. Cornwell, Hilarie, James Cornwell and W. Ellwood Post. Saints, signs, and symbols. 3rd ed. Harrisburg, PA: Morehouse Pub., 2009. Print. Hill, Patricia M. Logic programming. Berlin: Springer, 2009. Print. Lloyd, Seth. Programming the universe: a quantum computer scientist takes on the cosmos. New York: Knopf, 2006. Print. Slater, Stephen. The complete book of heraldry: an international history of heraldry and its contemporary uses. New York, NY: Hermes House, 2003. Print. Read More