ARTHURIAN HERALDRY

compiled by Modar Neznanich

The Arthurian legends date back into the Middle Ages. As such there has been many changes throughout time. One classic example of this is the addition of the Lancelot character that did not enter the stories until the time of Eleanor of Aquitaine. Due to story changes and multiple sources for the tales, the heraldry attributed to these fine characters has seen adaptations also. What follows is a listing of characters from the Arthurian legends who have coats-of-arms associated with them.

However, I cannot verify the total accuracy of these associations, as the various accounts many times contradict each other and, at times, themselves. Additionally, the references come from a variety of sources. Some I have come across, others have been sent to me by colleagues, and the result is a hodge-podge of information gathered over a twenty years period.

This information is therefore presented for more of an entertainment value rather than a scholarly work.

Each character from legend is listed in the following manner:

1. Their name is listed with any alternate names/spellings in parentheses

2. Their position, lineage or relationships are listed.

3. The heraldic device (or devices) that have been associated with them at various times is listed.

(Note that many characters bear the arms of their father/family rather than an individual coat of arms.)

Aglovale (Agloval de Galles)
<Son of Pellinor, brother of Perceval and Lamorat>
Arms: Purpure semy of crosslets Or, a lion passant guardant argent armed and langued gules.

Agravaine (Agravain)
<Son of Lot, brother of Gawaine, Gaheris and Gareth>
Arms 1: Purpure, a double-headed eagle displayed Or, beaked and membered gules, overall a bend vert.
Arms 2: Purpure, a double-headed eagle displayed Or, beaked and membered gules, overall a fess vert.
Arms 3: Argent, a lion rampant and a peacock gules.
Arms 4: Argent, three lions rampant gules.

Alisander le Orphelin (Alixandre)
<Paternal cousin of Tristram>
Arms: Vert, a lion rampant argent

Arphasar
<Brother of Esclamor>
Arms: Sable, a saltire argent.

Arthur
<King of the Britians>
Arms 1: Azure, thirteen crowns or.
Arms 2: Azure, three crowns or.
Arms 3: Gules, three crowns or.
Arms 4: Azure plain.
Arms 5: The virgin Mary proper.

Arthur le Petit
<Natural son of Arthur>
Arms: Sable, a tree or.

Bagdemagus
<King of Gore>
Arms: Gules, three sinister gloves apaumy argent.

Balan
<Brother to Balin le Savage>
Arms: Argent, a boar passant sable.

Balin le Savage (The Knight with Two Swords)
<Brother to Balan>
Arms: Argent, a boar passant sable between three mullets azure.

Ban of Benwick (Ban de Bénoic)
<Father of Lancelot>
Arms: Argent, three bends gules.

Baniers le Forcené
<Knight>
Arms: Gyronny argent and gules.

Bedivere (Bédoier)
<Constable of Arthur>
Arms: Or, a gonfanon gules.

Blamore de Ganis (Blanor)
<Son of Nestor de Guines, grandson of Lancelot l'Ancien, brother of Blioberis and cousin of Lancelot>
Arms: Argent semy of crescents sable, three bends gules.

Bleoberis de Ganis (Blioberis)
<Brother of Blamore>
Arms: Argent semy of crescents sable, three bends gules.

Borre le Coeur Hardy
<Son of King Arthur and Lyzianor>
Arms: Argent, a dragon passant sable.

Bors le Noir (Bohort)
<Son of King Bors de Ganis, elder brother of Lionel, father of Helin le Blanc>
Arms: Ermine, three bends gules.

Bors de Ganis (Bohort de Gaunes)
<Brother of Ban de Bénoïc, father of Bohort and Lionel>
Arms 1: Argent semy of estoiles sable, three bends gules.
Arms 2: Ermine, three bends gules.

Brastias (Brasias)
<Knight of Duke Gorlois; retired and became a hermit>
Arms: Vert, an armoured arm palewise embowed argent.

Breuse Sans Pitie
<Brother to Bertelot>
Arms: Sable, a winged serpent displayed argent.

Brian de les Isles
<Lord of the castle of Pendragon>
Arms: Sable, a hound courant argent.

Brunor le Chevalier sans Peur (Bruin)
<Father of Brunor le Noir and Dinadan>
Arms: Argent plain.

Bruin le Noir (Brunor, Breunst, Brewnor, La Cote Male Taile)
<Son of Brunor le Chevalier sans Peur , younger brother of Dinadan>
Arms: Argent, a lion rampant chequey sable and gules, armed and langued vert.

Carados of the Dolorous Tower
<Brother to Turquine>
Arms: Sable, a tower argent.

Colgrevaunce de Gorre
<Knight>
Arms: Gules, a serpent palewise Or.

Dinadan
<Son of Brunor le Chevalier sans Peur , elder brother of Brunor le Noir>
Arms 1: Argent, a lion rampant sable armed and langued vert.
Arms 2: Sable, a lion rampant Argent.

Ector de Maris (Hector des Mares)
<Son of Ban, Half-brother to Lancelot>
Arms 1: Bendy gules and argent, a sun in splendor azure.
Arms 2: Argent, three bends gules overall a sun azure.

Érec
<Son of Lac>
Arms 1: Or, three serpents' heads gules langued vert.
Arms 2: Lozengy Or and gules.

Esclamore (Esclabor le Méconnu, Esclamor)
<King of Babylon; brother of Arphasar, father of Palamède and Saphar>
Arms: Chequey or and gules.

Gaheris (Guerrehet)
<Son of Lot>
Arms 1: Purpure, a double-headed eagle displayed Or beaked and membered argent within a bordure semy of gouttes gules.
Arms 2: Purpure, a double-headed eagle displayed Or beaked and membered argent within a bordure engrailed.
Arms 3: Argent, three eagles displayed gules.
Arms 4: Argent semy of eagles displayed gules.

Galahad (Galaad)
<Son of Lancelot>
Arms: Argent, a cross throughout gules.

Galeholt of the Long Isles (Galahalt the Haut Prince)
<Possible son of Breunor of Castle Pluere>
Arms: Argent seme of estoiles azure, a lion rampant gules.

Gareth (Gaheriet)
<Last son of Lot, younger brother of Gawaine>
Arms 1: Purpure, a double-headed eagle displayed Or beaked and membered, overall a bendlet gules.
Arms 2: Argent, a canton gules semy of eagles argent.

Gawaine (Gauvain, Gawain)
<Eldest son of Lot , father of Guinglain>
Arms 1: Gules, a pentacle Or.
Arms 2: Gules, a pentangle Or.
Arms 3: Gules, a pentagram Or.
Arms 4: Gules, a mullet voided and interlaced Or.
Arms 5: Purpure, a double-headed eagle displayed Or.
Arms 6: Purpure, a double-headed eagle displayed Or beaked and membered azure.
Arms 7: Argent, a canton gules.

Griflet le Fise de Dieu
<Son of Cardol>
Arms: Or seme of thistles sable.

Guinglain
<Son of Gawaine>
Arms 1: Argent, a bend raguly gules.
Arms 2: Ermine, a lion rampant argent.

Helin le Blanc (Hélain le Blanc )
<Son of Bors le Noir>
Arms: Argent, three bends gules overall a label sable.

Ider (Yder)
<Knight>
Arms: Gules, three lions' heads Or langued sable.

Karados
<King of Estrangore>
Arms: Azure, a crown argent.

Kay (Keu, Cei, Kai, Kex)
<Son of Ector, foster-brother to Arthur, became Seneschal of England>
Arms 1: Azure, two keys palewise addorsed argent. [Canting arms]
Arms 2: Sable, a chief argent, [Canting arms---chief was pronounced ché]

Kay the Stranger (Keu d'Estraus, Kay de Stranges, Kainus le Strange)
<Nephew of Karados>
Arms: Or, two bars-gemels sable.

Lac
<King of Estregales, father of Érec and Brandelis.>
Arms: Or, three serpents' heads gules langued vert.

Lamorak de Galis (Lamorat de Gales, Lamerake of Wales)
<Son of Pellinor, brother of Perceval and Agloval, nephew of Lamorat de Listenois>
Arms 1: Purpure semy of crosslets Or, a lion passant guardant argent armed and langued gules.
Arms 2: Purpure semy of crosslets, a lion passant guardant Or.

Lamorat de Listenois
<Uncle to Lamorak de Galis>
Arms: Purpure a lion passant guardant argent armed gules

Lancelot (Lancelot du Lac, Lanceot of the Lake)
<Son of Ban, father of Galahad>
Arms 1: Argent, three bends gules.
Arms 2: Bendy gules and argent.
Arms 3: Bendy argent and gules.

Lavaine
<Son of Bernard of Astolat, brother to Tirre>
Arms: Gules, a ship Or sailed purpure.

Lionel
<Second son of Bors de Ganis>
Arms: Argent semy of estoiles sable, three bends gules.

Lot
<Father of Agravaine, Gawaine, Gaheris and Gareth>
Arms: Purpure, a double-headed eagle displayed Or beaked and membered azure.

Lucan
<Cup-bearer of Arthur>
Arms: Or, a lynx rampant gules armed sable.

Mador de la Porte
<Brother to Gaheris de Kareheu>
Arms: Sable, seven plates, 2,3,2, each charged with a fleur-de-lys gules.

Marc of Cornwall (Mark of Cornwall)
<Cornish King>
Arms: Argent plain.

Marhaus (Morolt)
<Son of King Marhalt>
Arms: Barry argent and azure, a lion rampant gules.

Meliagrant
<Son of King Bagdemagus>
Arms: Azure, three dexter gloves apaumy argent.

Melias de Lile (Mélian de Lis)
<Son of the King of Denmark>
Arms 1: Gules, a fox Or armed and langued azure.
Arms 2: Argent , a lion issuant gules.
Arms 3: Argent ,a maunch gules.

Meliodas of Lyonesse (Méliadus de Léonois)
<King and Father of Tristram>
Arms: Vert plain.

Méraugis de Port-les-Guez
<Natural son of King Marc of Cornwall>
Arms: Argent, a bordure gules.

Mordred (Mordret, Modred, Medraut)
<Son of Margawse and Arthur, half-brother of Gawaine>
Arms 1: Purpure, a double-headed eagle displayed Or and a chief argent.
Arms 2: Argent diapered gules.
Arms 3: Bendy argent and sable.

Nabon le Noire (Nanowne le Petite)
<Knight>
Arms: Argent, three lozenges in fess gules.

Ozana le Coeur Hardy
<Knight>
Arms: Quarterly argent and gules.

Palomides (Palamède, Palamides, the Saracen)
<Son of Esclamor, brother of Safere>
Arms: Chequy argent and sable.

Pellinor
<King of Listenois, father of Percivale, brother of Lamorat de Listenois>
Arms: Or semy of crosslets azure.

Percivale of Wales (Perceval, Parzival)
<Brother to Aglovale and Lamorat, son of Pellinor>
Arms 1: Purpure semy of crosslets Or.
Arms 2: Gules plain.

Pharamon
<King of Gaul and, according to French Arthurian legends, a knight of the Round Table.>
[Ancestor of Clovis, whose original arms of " Azure three toads Or." were changed upon his conversion to
" Azure, three fleurs-de-lys Or."]
Arms: Sable, three toads tergiant Or.

Sadok
<Brother or cousin to Edward of Orkney>
Arms: Argent, a fess wavy sable.

Safere (Saphar)
<Brother of Palomides, son of Esclamor>
Arms: Per pale vair and chequy or and vert.

Sagramore le Desirous (Sagremor le Desreez)
<Nephew of the Emperor of Constaninople>
Arms 1: Gules, two stars Or and on a canton argent a star sable.
Arms 2: Gyronny or and vert.
Arms 3: Gyronny or and sable.

Segwarides (Segurades)
<Brother of Palomides>
Arms: Or, a mountain sable.

Tor (le Fise Aries)
<Natural son of Pellinor>
Arms: Or semy of crosslets sable.

Tristram (Tristran, Tristan)
<Son of Meliodas>
Arms 1: Vert, a lion rampant Or armed and langued gules.
Arms 2: Vert, a boar rampant Or armed and langued gules.
Arms 3: Vert, a boar passant Or armed and langued gules.

Turquine (Terican)
<Brother to Carados of the Dolorous Tower>
Arms: Argent, a tower sable.

Ulfius
<Knight of Uther Pendragon>
Arms: Or, a wolf passant gules.

Urien
<King of Moraife or Gorre, father of Yvain, brother of Lot>
Arms: Azure, a lion rampant Or armed and langued gules.

Urre of Hungary
<Brother-in-law to Lavaine>
Arms: Checky sable and Or.

Yvain (Ywaine)
<Son of Urien>
Arms 1: Azure, a lion rampant Or armed and langued gules.
Arms 2: Azure, a lion rampant argent.
Arms 3: Or, a lion rampant gules.

Yvaine (Yvain l'Avoutre, Ewain, Uwain, Owain)
<Natural son of Urien>
Arms: Azure, a pale or.

Related Links

Some Notes on Merlin by C. Scott Littleton and Linda A. Malcor

©1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 Ron Knight / Modar Neznanich
Baron Modar Neznanich, OPel
e-mail: modar@everestkc.net

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