FAQ
What’s right and left in a coat of arms?
Dexter is right, not so? And sinister is left, okay? So why is my right hand opposite the part of the shield that is described as being dexter?
We’re so used to looking at a coat of arms as something that hangs on the wall: a printed piece of paper, or a painting hanging there, or perhaps a bit of architectural moulding (that might or might not be painted in the right colours) that we forget that this was something actually carried in battle.
Knights originally put designs in particular colours and shapes on their banners and their lance-pennons.
These designs were focused on the lance or the pole to which the banner was fixed. A lion, for example, would always face that way, since it would be facing forward going into battle.
Afterwards they actually wore those designs as clothing – the surcoat, a garment which covered the armour from the shoulders to the thighs.
The warrior’s most important hand was the one he wielded his sword with – more often than not, the right hand.
A great deal of positive superstition was attached to the right hand, and even more negative superstition to the left.[1]
So the focus of the design on the surcoat was to the right hand. The lion[2] on the knight’s breast faced the right, and so did the mirror image of the lion on his back.
And when knights began wearing armour that hid their faces, they also bore this design on the shield.
Here, also, the focus was on the right hand – the right hand of the man bearing the shield.
So as you looked at the warrior his right was on your left, and to this day the dexter (right-hand) side of the shield is on the left as you look at it.
