If heraldry was all about knights, shields, and battles, where did women fit in? Turns out, the answer is: everywhere!
While most women weren’t swinging swords (though thousands did throughout history), they played a crucial role in the preservation and evolution of heraldry. Without women, many family crests wouldn’t have survived through generations.
Can Women Have Coats of Arms?
Even from the medieval period, women weren’t left out of the heraldic conversation. They just had their own little twist on the rules. And no, it wasn’t just a “pink version” of the family crests men wore.
Women used coats of arms to preserve family identity through marriage, alliances, lineage, and inheritance. Some of their designs and common symbols might look dainty (like diamonds) but they represent centuries of girl power.
Famous Woman With Coats of Arms
When we talk about iconic women in heraldry, we can’t skip Jeanne d’Arc (a.k.a. Joan of Arc). Joan defied gender norms in the 15th century by wearing men’s armor, chopping her hair into what we call now the classic “French bob,” and leading an army of men into battle.
Her coat of arms was described as follows: A sword per pale argent hilted or between a crown in chief and two fleur-de-lys of the last.
Which translates to: a silver sword upright, flanked by a crown and two golden fleur-de-lis.
The heraldic symbols on her family crest symbolize her bravery and operating under a divine purpose (saints apparently told her to help King Charles VII take the throne). And while her bravery eventually led her to her doom, she remains a lasting symbol of feminine strength.
How Did Women Use Their Coats of Arms?
What’s the point of heraldry for women if they don’t go to war like men?
The design of women’s heraldry was special because it reflected their unique roles in society.
1. Preserving family identity
Women were essential to lineage continuity, especially when they were heraldic heiresses (the only child of a noble family).
Instead of their family crest disappearing when they married, the arms were often shown at the center of their husband’s arms using a small shield called an inescutcheon.
This signaled that the wife’s lineage and inheritance were not lost but just absorbed into a new generation and family.
2. Signaling marital (and widowed) status
In heraldry, a woman’s marital status could change her family crest design.
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Married woman: When a woman is married, her family crest and her husband’s merge, known as impalement .
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Widows: Widowed women displayed their arms on a diamond (lozenge) or oval instead of the traditional shield, which is associated with battles.
3. Expressing virtues and values
Heraldry for women wasn’t just like a Facebook relationship update but her bio itself! The symbols on her coat of arms often reflected personal virtues and values like fidelity, purity, grace, and love.
One beautiful example is Stella Isaacs, Baroness Swanborough, and founder of the Women’s Voluntary Service (now known as the Royal Voluntary Service). Her arms had:
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Rosemary - because it represented women’s qualities, as used in cooking, hair care, and having a pleasant scent.
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Flowers - to symbolize her love for gardening
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Bees - to represent the hardworking nature of women volunteers. The real busy bees.
What Heraldic Symbols Did Women Use?
Let’s break down the girl code of heraldic shapes and symbols:
Shapes:
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Lozenge - A diamond-shaped field used widely by noblewomen across Europe. The single ladies (yes, including the widowed ones) usually wore this. It replaced the shield, the shape tied to warfare (unless you were Joan).
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Oval or Cartouche - These oval (some are flattened) shapes were widely used from the medieval to Renaissance period. Even ancient Egyptian pharaohs used ovals to signify their royalty and power by carving this shape under their names in Hieroglyphs.
Symbols:
Women’s arms often featured:
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Fleur-de-lis - purity, grace, and French nobility
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Roses - love, beauty and devotion
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Hearts - sincerity and charity
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Crescents - honor and hope
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Shells - pilgrimage or spirituality
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Birds (like doves or swans) - peace and elegance
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Herbs and plants - often tied to household care, medicine, and gardening. They often show women’s influence in nurturing and healing.
Why Does Women’s Heraldry Matter Today?
Heraldry is still very relevant today, from self-expression to business to discovering more about your ancestral roots!
1. Personal branding
Having a personal crest for everything to mark your identity in the digital age is a great way to stand out! Use it for your business logos, personal emblems, or custom branding for creative professionals.
Think of it like a unique signature!
2. Weddings and Stationary
You can use your family crest for wedding invitations (by combining your family crest with your partner’s) and anniversary gifts. Having a family crest is a way to revive a centuries-old romantic tradition.
3. Home decor and Memorabilia
Imagine your family crest printed on mugs, framed art, or displayed on your office table. The symbols can also inspire jewelry designs. These are unique ways to celebrate your roots, start conversations, and weave family history into your daily life.
4. Genealogical research
Modern family tree research is actively tracing both sides of the family, which means women’s heraldic records are worth looking into, even if they weren’t bloodied knights fighting in wars.
Curious what your great-great-grandmother’s arms looked like? Finding your family crest can help you discover such details and use tools like family records and family trees.
If you’re excited to discover more about your roots but don’t have the time (and honestly, the energy) to do all these, our team of experts can help find your family crest and look for the symbols associated with the great women in your family tree!
Girl Power in Heraldry
Here’s the thing: even though most women weren’t suiting up for battle, heraldry was a way for them to have a voice, a visual identity and a lasting legacy.
Women’s contributions to heraldry were more than ornamental. They were foundational, carrying family names and preserving bloodlines.
And guess what? You can continue to carry that torch!
You can start exploring your family tree, find your family crest, and take inspiration from the heraldic symbols to make your own modern crest that reflects who you are.
Image credits:
Archduke Charles (later Holy Roman Emperor Charles V) with his sisters Eleonore and Isabella via Wikimedia Commons, source
Joan of Arc Enters Orléans by Jean-Jacques Scherrer via Wikipedia, source
Jan van Wassenaar and Josina van Egmond, a Dutch noble Family via Wikimedia Commons, source