Heraldry

Coats of arms first appeared during the Middle Ages when they were painted on shields and banners to identify knights fighting in battles and tournaments. Today, coats of arms are symbols used by countries to identify themselves and to tell the story of their people.

  1. Write the name of the Canadian province or territory to which each shield below belongs.
  2. Study the shields carefully. Do you see any features that are the same?
  3. What story does each shield tell?
  4. The coat of arms of Canada, which was approved by royal proclamation more than 80 years ago – November 21, 1921 – is the only symbol that appears on every denomination of Canadian paper money. Look around. Can you find the coat of arms anywhere else?

Coat of Arms

shield-1 shield-2 shield-3 shield-4 shield-12 shield-5 shield-11 shield-6 shield-10 shield-9 shield-8 shield-7 shield-13

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