When we think of coats of arms, we picture roaring lions, soaring eagles, and colorful shields. But there’s something often overlooked: the letters. Yes, those swirling, serious, sometimes silly-looking alphabets that wrap around scrolls, seals, and banners.
Fonts in heraldry held deep meaning. They carried family mottoes, marked the era a family crest was made, and reflected the pride (and precision) of scribes who crafted each stroke by hand, centuries before Canva was a thing.
Where Do Letters Appear in Heraldry?
In historical heraldry, text appeared in several important places:
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On seals (pressed into wax with inscriptions circling the edge)
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On banners or standards (used during battles)
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Carved on stone monuments (such as tombs or buildings with family arms)
Common Heraldic Fonts
1. Inscriptional Serifs
These are the OG fonts of heraldry.
Inscriptional serif fonts go all the way back to ancient Rome. The style is called capitalis monumentalis (which sounds like a villain from Gladiator).
Characteristics:
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Sharp lines and elegant curves
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Angled stresses (the parts that would snap if they were made of glass)
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Bracketed serifs (where the serif curves into the main stroke)
These fonts were carved into stone monuments, which means they were built to last, just like many noble family names.
You’ll see inscriptional fonts, especially in early seals or Latin inscriptions surrounding heraldic shields. They’re big, bold, and built for stone.
2. Old-Style Serifs
By the 15th century, fonts in heraldry softened a bit.
Old-style serifs took inspiration from Roman forms but became more handwritten in look. They had:
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Low contrast in stroke thickness
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Diagonal stress (think of how a calligraphy pen moves naturally)
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Bracketed, softer serifs
This style became popular because it was easier to read, even when hand-carved into wood or metal or embroidered on a banner.
This style caught on because it was easier to read, even when carved into wood, etched in metal, or stitched onto a banner. You’ll often see it in motto scrolls or shields from the Renaissance era, a time full of art, learning, and powerful families.
One famous example is the Medici coat of arms, which often featured mottoes in this softer serif style. It gave their design a sense of elegance without feeling too stiff. This the visual version of saying, “I’m classy, but I won’t bite.”
3. The Transitional Font
Transitional serifs came in the mid-1700s and started to look more like the fonts we see in books today. They had:
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Higher contrast strokes
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Sharper edges
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A more mechanical, clean-cut appearance
In heraldry, this font fits the Enlightenment’s love of order and balance. Designs became cleaner, and scrolls and banners on coats of arms looked tidier.
An initial letter Q from this time might have smooth, even curves, perfectly balanced loops, and a bold difference between its thick and thin lines.
If a coat of arms was updated or created during this period, there’s a good chance the lettering was transitional, showing the same precision and symmetry people valued in the science, art, and architecture of the era.
3. Gothic Lettering
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The letters looked:
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Spiky and narrow
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With thick up-and-down lines
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Thin side-to-side lines
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Plenty of fancy curls and hooks.
In heraldry, this style matched the mood of the time. Just like Gothic architecture reached high into the sky with detailed stonework, Gothic lettering felt tall, dramatic, and impressive. It worked perfectly with quill pens on parchment, making it a favorite for writing mottos and names on coats of arms.
Make Your Own Historic Lettering
If you’re making your own coat of arms, the font you choose matters just as much as the symbols and colors!
You can explore websites like DaFont.com and FontSpace to find fonts inspired by different eras. Here’s a quick guide:
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Lombardic Capitals – Bold, decorative letters often seen in medieval manuscripts (great for early coats of arms from the 1100s–1300s).
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Blackletter – Sharp, spiky script from the Middle Ages (perfect for designs with a knightly or Gothic vibe, 1150s–1400s).
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Garamond (Old-style serif) – Softer, Renaissance-inspired lettering (fits coats of arms from the 1400s–1600s, like the Medici family style).
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Trajan (Inscriptional Roman) – Timeless Roman capitals carved in stone (ideal for classical, authority-focused designs or mottoes with ancient roots).
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Transitional Serifs – Crisp, clean Enlightenment-era lettering (1700s), great for designs that want to feel scholarly and balanced.
Type your motto into a few of these styles and see which one tells the story you want your coat of arms to tell. The right font can link your design to a specific historical period, show off your personality, and make your crest feel like it’s part of a long tradition.
Why All Heraldic Fonts Are Valid
In heraldry, style doesn’t change meaning. Just like the letter "A" can be Arial, Times New Roman, or Comic Sans, the word Virtus on a banner is still Virtus, no matter how swirly it gets.
Heraldic experts like Charles Boutell explained how the language of heraldry was extremely precise. But as new designs and aesthetic trends revived the charm of family crests, many creators began bending those rules, adding personal touches and creative twists to make their designs and fonts reflect their own personality!
Find Your Family Crest and Decode the Letters
Wondering what fonts are hiding in your family history?
If you find your family crest, pay attention to the text. In heraldry, the style of the font is a time stamp. It can hint at when the design was made, where it came from, and even the personality it was meant to show.
Image credits:
Coat of Arms of Wrocław, Poland via Wikimedia Commons, source
The coat of arms of Pope Leo XI , source
Coat of arms of the Rothschild family via Wikimedia Commons, source
Edward III of England via WIkimedia Commons, source