Chivalry

The person who comes to mind nowadays when hearing the word chivalry is Oprah. She is a perfect example of someone with a lot of money who puts it to good use. She gives money to a number of charities and is always helping those in need.

Nagle Family Crest

I could not find a picture of my actual family crest.  It is shaped like a generic shield and colored yellow.  There are three black nails on it, with the head of the nail at each of the three points on the shield.  All three black nails      meet in the middle with their points touching.  The name Nagle is of German decent, and translates to "nails" in German.  The surname Nagle was of occupational origin, which means it is based on the occupation of the man at the time.  This was before there was a system of surnames like there is today.  The person who originally had the name Nagle was a nail maker, which is where the translation comes from.   

McNulty Crest

I chose to mix the original crest for McNulty with some new aesthetic features such as the red stripes and more detailed animals. The animals one the crest are a lion and stag, the lion represents bravery, valor and strength while the stag represents one who will not fight unless provoked. It also includes the Red Hand of Ulster which represents the Northern part of Ireland known as Ulster.

Hall Crest

I chose to do something new, since I couldn't find any original Hall Family Crest. I drew it in paint and used a stag, griffins, unicorn, and phenix because of their symbolism and tried to incorporate different colors and textures, and created a design for the background.

Marella Crest

Since my family has an untraceable coat of arms, I created my own with my own family symbols and motto. I chose this shield because the swords and the book show the fight my family has and intellect we've gained. The wings with the cross symbolize faith, the arrows fight, the trojan shows the italian pride and strength, and the ship shows that my family came to America by sea. I picked the color red for my shield because red is the color of a warrior. The green banner goes along with the red shield and white backround to accent the colors of the italian flag. The motto "Al Fine" is in italian for 'to the end.' I did this to show that I want my family name to carry on until the end of time.

Reminiscing...

It's time to think about where we have been together and where you will be going next year.
[That is an allusion to one of my favorite creepy short stories by Joyce Carol Oates, "Where are you going, where have you been?" Check it out sometime...]

In your comments:

• What will you remember most about this year in ELA?
• What did you learn that you didn't know?
• What have you become more skilled at doing?
• What are you looking forward to next year?

Thank you for a wonderful year--I look forward to watching your progress...
Have a relaxing and inspiring summer...
Dr.G.

Mariano Crest

This is the family crest that I created on my own. Instead of taking a crest online or basing it off of something I used paint to make my own. There are many symbols, and each symbol means something. The crests that are on my shield are the crests of my ancestors. The top left green box represents Abington High School and the sports that I do here. The small blue words are phrases that have meaning to me that I typed into Google translate and changed into a language that was significant to me. My saying "Te Solum Vivere Semel" means you only live once, in Latin. The lightning bolt is something out of Greek mythology that represented Zeus, and he represented power and leadership. The stack of books represent the knowledge that I have gained so face and also the fact that I like to read. The Phoenix wings on the outside of the crest represent rebirth and second chances. The scale that the griffin is standing on represents equality and good judgement.

Kulikowski Family Crest

I do not have a picture of my crest, because I drew mine, but my crest has the two symbols on my family crest: a crescent moon with stars and a cross, as well as a horse, heart, crown, and daisy. Above is my family crest. I was unable to find out what the moon symbolizes, but the stars symbolize nobility. I was unable to find the exact type of cross, although it does resemble an Eastern Cross. The heart in which I chose represents ambition, the daisy represents dedication, the horse stands for dependability, and the crown symbolizes imagination.

Colquhoun Family Crest and Coat of Arms

This is my real family crest and coat of arms. I am of Scottish descent and this is the Cahoon, or the old spelling is Colquhoun, family of my father's side of my family. In the crest, the deer or stag is red, and it is in both the crest and coat of arms. The color red means warrior or martyr and military strength and the stag means one who will not fight unless provoked, peace, and harmony. On the shield, the white means peace and sincerity and the black means constancy or grief. The shape of the line on the shield is an engrailed line and it means Earth or land. The motto on both the crest and coat of arms "Si je puis" is old French for "If I can".

Sullivan crest

This is the Sullivan family crest I created. I chose white because it stands for peace and sincerity, gold because it represents generosity and then red for military fortitude. I chose the otter because it represents laughter, curiosity, playfulness, joy and originality. The red asterik is the Red Hot Chili Peppers logo. And the Latin motto means "stay calm and create."

Crane Family Shield

My coat of arms has a Celtic cross, a crane, a lion and a shamrock. The Celtic cross has to do with Ireland and i'm mostly Irish. The crane is on my shield because it's my last name and because it's a symbol for grace and peace. The lion is on my shield because it represents bravery and strength and I think some of the people in my family are very strong considering some of the things they have had to go through. A shamrock is also on my shield for the fact that I am Irish. I chose the blue background since it means truth and loyalty and my family considers them two very important qualities. Lastly I chose the motto Live and Love because if you don't live your life to the fullest then you might not ever find love.

Kelly's Shield

I don't have a picture of mine because I printed out a coloring page shield and printed out different symbols. But on my shield I have a blue circle, a lamb, and a snake. The blue circle stands for the truth. The lamb stands for gentle and the snake stands for wise. The colors I colored on it are yellow, blue, and pink. Yellow means generous, blue is the truth, and pink is love. When people ask me to describe myself I usually can't. So for picking out the symbols and colors I asked a friend what she thinks of me and then looked up the different symbols for the way she described me. Which was generous, honest, and wise. I picked the color pink on my own because to me it stands for the love in my family.

Family Crest

Rather than create a new fly crest, I found a crest and the motto from a family named Manley and based mine on that. The motto "manus haec inimica tyrannis" was an actual motto of the Manley family and means, "this hand is hostile to tyrants." I based the rest of the crest on that motto. The red on the sheild and the fact that there is a stripe down the middle represents military strength. The blue represents strength, and the boar represents fighting to the death.

Picardi Coat of Arms

My coat of arms consist of a lion, a knight's helmet, arrows and a cross. The lion represents power and strength of my family, hense the motto "live strong." The helmet represents loyalty that my family and I show to friends and family. The arrows represent the skills my family has in terms of education, sports and other things that test our skills. The cross shows my family's catholic religion and our faith in a god. Coming from an Italian family, religion has been a big part of that side of the family.

Coat of Arms

My coat of arms consists of a Celtic Cross, an Iron Cross with wings, an anchor with a snake on it, and a pair of hands folded in prayer. The two top crosses reprsent my nationalities. The Celtic Cross is used widely in Ireland which is where a large part of my family comes from. Another part of my family is German and the Iron Cross is a military decoration that was used by Germans since they were part of Prussia. The praying hands represent my religion and the anchor represents my love of the ocean, boating, fishing, and swimming. The motto "Hakuna Matata" from the Lion King is Swahili for no worries. I chose it as the motto because I think it describes a good way to live life, living without stress.

Shannon's Sheild

I chose to create a  new sheild and not base it off of anything. First i chose green and yellow as the colors on my sheild because green means hope and joy and I take on both of those traits. Also yellow means loyalty. The symbols I put on my sheild is first a lion because a lion represents couarge, next I put a hand to show faith. I also placed a heart on my sheild to show sincerity and love. Lastly I placed the sun to show my broad mind. The motto I chose is "never regret", I think this a a great motto to live by because I believe that if you did something that means that at one point in time that is what you wanted, so don't regret anything move on and grow from it because that is what makes you.

Ryan Family Crest

I chose to use the website makeyourcoatofarms.com because it had so many different symbols and sayings and shields that I knew i couldn't make anything better if i did it freehand or in paint ect. So I began by choosing the colors red, green and white for my crest which stand for warrior, joy and faith. I chose the colors red and white and green because on my actual family crest, those are the actual colors on it. My motto also includes the word faith which is close to me because it is my middle name and I was given that name as a good reason. My symbols stand for determination(eagle), Inventive(keys), polite(anchor), and dignified(sun). I chose the shield I did because its very pretty and looks regal. It also looks European and my family originates from Europe. I used a little bit of original back ground by putting a little twist on it to end up with my final crest you see now.

Thompson Shield.

My shield represents the way I have been brought up in my home. Love and Honor is my motto. To us this represents how we should love one another regardless of who they are, what they've done, or even if they have hurt us before, and honor each other through times of struggles and success. I chose the pink background because it represents love, and kindness, another characteristic I have been brought up knowing was essential. I also chose a heart for the first symbol, to represent "Forgiving" because I have learned that forgivness is important to have. The second symbol was a dog, to represent "Faithful" because to my family, faithfulness is one of the most important aspects of a family. It also carries on to other realtionships as well. The next symbol is a cross, representing "Merciful" because we believe you need to be merciful to others because no one is perfect, including ourselves. The last symbol I chose was wings representing "Humble" because I learned that even if you held up as highly as angels wings are, you shouldn't boast or be prideful, intsead let others talk about the great things you have done.
                                                                 I  did chose to design my own shield.

The Rooney Crest

I modified my crest from an existing design. I chose to do this because I found the crest designs and symbols very interesting and creative. I chose the four symbols of a sun, a flower, a moon, and a star. The sun symbolizes the trait caring. I also chose to put a flower on my crest which symbolizes the trait of being outgoing. The moon stands for loyalty and the star stands for the trait of being friendly. The colors I mainly used on my family Coat of Arms was yellow and green. Yellow symbolizes joy, happiness, intellect, and energy. The color green means growth, harmony, freshness, and fertility. I chose the quote on my crest "You Only Live Once" becasue I think that people should live every day to its full potential and not let simple things bother them because anything can happen suddenly.

Odenweller Crest

I chose the colors red and orange for my crest, although you cannot see them. The colors stood out which symbolizes leadership. The sun on my crest represents a friendly person, which I try to be all the time. The flower represents being trustworthy, which means that I can keep secrets and people can trust me. The star on my shield represents being kind. Also the moon represents being dependable. People can count on me and I will always have my friends back and stick up for what I think is right. The red on my shield represents blood which means bravery and it can also stand for love. The yellow represents the sun which also stands for being outgoing and "lighting up people's days."

Heraldry Posts

As an author, please post about your experience creating a shield, crest or coat of arms.

Let us know:

1. Whether you created your own shield or modified an existing design and why...
2. What the symbols you selected are, what they mean and why you chose them ...
3. What the colors or shapes involved mean...

If you can insert the part or all of your finished design, please do so.
Again, if you can't copy and paste, take a picture of it with a camera or phone, save it to your pictures and insert as any other graphic.

Then, comment on the designs of others.
In particular, please ask questions about design considerations that have not been explained.

King Arthur: Is He Real?

King Arthur fits the classic heroic archetype--noble figure, protector of the weak, valiant combatant, flawed man, quest-driven wanderer.

You have encountered this character, many of you for the first time. Writers across the ages have found reason to retell Arthur's stories, and stories of those characters peripheral to him: Igraine, Morgaine, Merlin, Guinevere, Lancelot, Mordred. Even today, we speak of chivalry, knights and quests. When we describe a person as Arthurian, a place as Camelot, something elusive as the Holy Grail, our audience knows what that allusion means.

Today you saw National Geographic's King Arthur:Is It Real?

In your comments:

What do you think? Is Arthur real?

Does it matter? Why or Why not?

What purpose do Arthurian tales serve in today's age?

Are you curious now to investigate additional tales of medieval chivalry or history?

Why or why not?