There are three basic elements of a coat of arms. The shield which bares the actual coat of arms, the crest which is placed on top of a helmet. Some families do not have "crests" on top of their helmet and ostrich plumes were often used in their stead and is what we use in our embroideries.

The third element is called the mantle. Originally, when a knight displayed is coat of arms, he would put his shield on a stand and drape his coat or mantle over it then top it with his helmet. Usually the coat was torn and tattered to depict battle. As the artists of the time recorded these in paint they used their artistic license to make the mantles more elaborate. This is the origin of our "Classic" Mantle.

As heraldry became more a family honor, the stands were enhanced and the shield were often held up or supported by animals and figures. A few families, in their coat of arms, specify what those supporters are. But most do not and leave this choice up to the individual. This is the basis of our "Chevalier" Mantle styling. The "Lord & Lady" Mantle is a variant on this design because of its intricate design is available on in the larger Duke and Grand Baron sizes.

The "Embattled" Mantle, our most popular, was designed on a tradition of a knight displaying swords along with his shield.

Early emperors of Austria and Germany used the eagle as a major element of their coat of arms. To show their ties to their emperor, some used the eagle as a back drop to mount their shields to. Others throughout Europe adapted this strictly for the way it looked. Our "Eagle" Mantle stems from this tradition.

The first two groups of images to the right show the mantles available in our single and double coat of arms embroideries. The third shows the "Supporters" available for our Chevalier Mantling. The supporters are show in their "natural" colors but may be sewn in the heraldic color of your choice. Silver, Gold, Red, Blue, Green, Purple, Brown and Black. Just note: Black does not always stand out well on the black background, though our embroiderers try to make every effort to make your coat of arms to your liking.