FREE! Click here to Join FunTrivia. Thousands of games, quizzes, and lots more!
Heraldry Quizzes, Trivia and Puzzles
Heraldry Quizzes, Trivia

Heraldry Trivia

Heraldry Trivia Quizzes

  1. Home
  2. »
  3. Quizzes
  4. »
  5. History Trivia
  6. »
  7. Specialized History

Fun Trivia
7 Heraldry quizzes and 80 Heraldry trivia questions.
1.
  Cock and Bull Story   popular trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Heraldic symbols signify something, whether it be a character attribute, a reference to an act of heroism, an indication of wealth, or perhaps something connected to geography. Can you figure out what these animals symbolize?
Average, 10 Qns, reedy, Oct 05 12
Average
reedy gold member
585 plays
2.
  The Key on Coats of Arms   great trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
The Key appears on many coats of arms of cities and nations. Can you identify these cities or nations with keys on their coats of arms, as I try to describe them in plain, unheraldic, terms?
Average, 10 Qns, shvdotr, Feb 23 14
Average
shvdotr gold member
228 plays
3.
  The Queen's Beasts   great trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Welcome to the royal bestiary of England. This quiz presents questions on ten of the kingdom's heraldic beasts. Alas, HM's corgis will not be making an appearance.
Average, 10 Qns, LilahDeDah, May 01 05
Average
LilahDeDah
1581 plays
4.
  Fantastic Heraldry    
Match Quiz
 10 Qns
Can you match these fantastic creatures used in heraldry with what they represent?
Average, 10 Qns, reedy, Dec 14 21
Average
reedy gold member
Dec 14 21
310 plays
5.
  Royal Heraldry    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Heraldry evolved so that men could be told apart by the designs on their shields during battle. This quiz will look at some of arms of the royal and noble houses of Europe.
Average, 10 Qns, daver852, Sep 19 13
Average
daver852 gold member
1295 plays
6.
  British Heraldry   popular trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 20 Qns
Here are a few questions to test your knowledge about the science of arms. Please note that these questions apply to British (UK) heraldry; the rules of heraldry on the Continent and elsewhere are a little different.
Tough, 20 Qns, daver852, Jul 31 05
Tough
daver852 gold member
1464 plays
7.
  Rules of Heraldry    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
A quiz on the science of heraldry.
Difficult, 10 Qns, durry, Jul 31 05
Difficult
durry
834 plays

Heraldry Trivia Questions

1. Perhaps the most famous coat of arms with keys has the crossed keys of heaven, or the keys of Saint Peter. On which tiny country's coat of arms do these keys appear?

From Quiz
The Key on Coats of Arms

Answer: Vatican City

In Matthew 16:19, Jesus tells Peter, "I will entrust to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven." The seal of Pope Pius II in the middle of the 15th century established the use of gold for one key and silver for the other. San Marino's coat of arms shows three white towers, while Luxembourg's shows a red rampant lion, and Liechtenstein's has four quadrants with different designs plus a shield in the center.

2. A set of six-foot statues of the Queen's Beasts was created for this event in 1953. Which?

From Quiz The Queen's Beasts

Answer: Queen Elizabeth II's coronation

The Queen's Beasts are human-sized replicas of ten animals (some real, some mythic) that were important to the various Houses of UK royalty and nobility. These statues were placed at the entrance of Westminster Abbey for the coronation ceremony of Elizabeth II. You can see the Heraldic Beasts in all their glory at Kew Gardens today.

3. Why did heraldry evolve?

From Quiz British Heraldry

Answer: To distinguish warriors during battle

Around the beginning of the 12th century, full-face helmets made it difficult to identify men in battle, so knights began adding unique decorations to their shields and other equipment.

4. This island nation features a key on its coat of arms, as well as on the coat of arms of its capital city. Which island nation of the Western Hemisphere, noted for its cigars, is it?

From Quiz The Key on Coats of Arms

Answer: Cuba

On the Cuban coat of arms, a shield is divided into three parts. A gold key is on the top third in blue water with land on its left and right, symbolizing Cuba as the key to the Americas. Havana's coat of arms shows a gold key below three white towers, which represent three castles that defended Havana. The shield, or escutcheon, on the Jamaican coat of arms shows a red cross on a white field. On each arm of the cross and in its center are five pineapples. Cyprus, in the Mediterranean, and the Seychelles, in the Indian Ocean, are not in the Western Hemisphere.

5. What were the officials who recorded and regulated the use of armonial bearings called?

From Quiz British Heraldry

Answer: Heralds

I hope you got this one right! Eventually heralds were organized into a College of Heralds, under a King-At-Arms, and were required to maintain records of all arms, and to document the right to their use.

6. Most terms used in British heraldry come from which language?

From Quiz British Heraldry

Answer: French

Norman-French was the language most commonly used by the upper classes in England when heraldry began.

7. What is the proper term for a full display of armonial bearings?

From Quiz British Heraldry

Answer: An achievement of arms

A coat-of-arms refers to the embroidered surcoat a knight wore over his armor to keep off the sun; a crest is a device worn on top of a knight's helmet. Although "coat-of-arms" is almost universally used in America, the correct term is "achievement of arms."

8. An eye-catching coat of arms with a pair of gold keys lying diagonally across a shield, half blue and half black, belongs to an English county lying between London and Sussex. What county is this?

From Quiz The Key on Coats of Arms

Answer: Surrey

In 1965 Surrey County adopted a coat of arms featuring two golden keys of Saint Peter, lying diagonally across a shield divided into a blue half on the right and a black on the left. The keys represent the Abbey of St. Peter at Chertsey, which once held a large amount of land in Surrey. Below the keys on the blue half is a woolpack, representing the wool trade of medieval Surrey, and above the keys on the black field is a sprig of oak, a symbol from the former Earls of Surrey.

9. The Royal Arms of Ireland are of a later date than the previous ones. They consist of a blue shield charged with a musical instrument, one that has long been associated with Ireland. Which one is it?

From Quiz Royal Heraldry

Answer: Harp

The Royal Arms of Ireland are "Azure, a harp or, stringed argent." That is, a gold harp with silver strings on a blue shield. Heraldry did not come into Ireland until the Normans invaded the country in 1169. The earliest reference to these arms dates to 1280, but it was not until the reign of Henry VIII, in 1541, that these arms became official.

10. Cats are fierce creatures, and they can often be found in heraldic arms. Can you determine which feline is incorrectly matched with it's heraldic description?

From Quiz Cock and Bull Story

Answer: Cat: Courage, vigilance, and loyalty

The true meaning behind the heraldic cat is 'liberty, vigilance, forecast, and courage'. The definition given in the question, 'courage, vigilance, and loyalty', belongs to the heraldic dog. It is interesting that 'vigilance' can be found in both, but one hardly ever puts 'loyalty' and 'cat' in the same sentence. An example can be found in the coat of arms of the city of Coventry in England. The crest atop the coat of arms has a cat, and it is standing as if at guard, symbolizing 'vigilance'.

11. The Black Bull was the symbol of the House of Clarence, whose members were allies of the royal House of York. In the language of heraldry, how is "Black Bull" to be expressed?

From Quiz The Queen's Beasts

Answer: a bull sable

Sable is the correct heraldic term for black, and the name of the color comes after the animal's name. The Clarences used the black bull as one of the "supporters" of their coat of arms; that is, one of the two animals on either side. A description of such a supporter might read: "On the dexter side a bull sable ducally gorged Or". This translates as "On the right side is a black bull with a gold duke's coronet around its neck".

12. What two metals are used in British heraldry?

From Quiz British Heraldry

Answer: Gold and silver

Gold (or) and silver (argent) are the only metals used in heraldry.

13. In English heraldry, what is the sign of cadence (mark displayed on top of an existing coat of arms) to signify the eldest son?

From Quiz Rules of Heraldry

Answer: a label

The second son gets a crescent, the third a mullet, the fourth a martlet, the fifth an annulet, the sixth gets the fleur-de-lys, the seventh a rose, the eighth a cross moline and finally a ninth son gets a double quatrefoil. No system has been broadly incorporated for the eventuality of a tenth son.

14. Many countries in continental Europe used the eagle as the main charge on their Royal Arms. It is thought that the popularity of the eagle as a heraldic device dates back to what early civilization?

From Quiz Royal Heraldry

Answer: Roman empire

The eagle was a symbol of the Roman empire, and Roman legions carried standards topped with an eagle into battle. The Byzantine empire and the Holy Roman Empire also used an eagle as a symbol of imperial authority, so it was natural that many countries such as Prussia, Poland and Russia would incorporate the eagle into their arms.

15. In heraldry, what is the term used for "a color"?

From Quiz British Heraldry

Answer: A tincture

There are five colors commonly used is British heraldry: black (sable), blue (azure), red (gules), green (vert), and purple (purpure). There are other colors, but they are almost never found in British arms. Even purple is not seen very often.

16. Both Henry VII and his son Henry VIII used a dragon and this canine (the symbol of the House of Richmond) as supporters of their coats of arms. What is this regal dog, much favored by royalty?

From Quiz The Queen's Beasts

Answer: Greyhound

From the time of Edward III (the first known use of heraldic royal supporters) until James I introduced the Lion and the Unicorn (which have been in use ever since), many different animals supported the royal arms, including ravens and swans. Henry VII was the son of Edmund Tudor, earl of Richmond, and the greyhound was a symbol of that family. (See? No corgis.)

17. The language used to describe one's arms is called a:

From Quiz British Heraldry

Answer: Blazon

For example, a blue shield with a horizontal silver stripe would be emblazoned "Azure, a fess argent." The rules of the blazon are very detailed and precise; a good heraldic artist can reproduce a depiction of even very complex arms if they are emblazoned properly, even if he or she has never seen them.

18. In heraldry, what term is used to denote the shield?

From Quiz British Heraldry

Answer: Escutcheon

Hence the expression, "a blot on the escutcheon."

19. Purple (purpure) is a color not often encountered on Royal Arms, but one ancient Spanish kingdom used a purple lion on a silver shield. Can you figure out from the description I've given you which one it was?

From Quiz Royal Heraldry

Answer: Leon

The actual blazon of the Royal Arms of Leon is "Argent, a lion rampant purpure crowned Or, langued and armed gules." A purple lion wearing a gold crown, with a red tongue and claws, on a silver shield. Since Leon means lion in Spanish, the arms are quite appropriate. Arms that make a visual pun on a country's or a person's name are called "canting arms." The arms of Castile are also canting arms; they consist of a golden castle on a red shield.

20. The field, or background, of a shield may be described as a metal, a color or a:

From Quiz British Heraldry

Answer: Fur

The most common furs are ermine and vair (squirrel).

21. An object placed upon the shield is called a:

From Quiz British Heraldry

Answer: Charge

There are hundreds of different charges; probably the most common is the cross, of which there are dozens of variations. Very common geometric charges are called "ordinaries."

22. The bottom of the shield is called the base; what is the top called?

From Quiz British Heraldry

Answer: The chief

The chief refers to the top of the shield; it may also be a charge, a horizontal band at the top of the shield.

23. When did the College of Heralds make its first "visitation" throughout England to record arms and enforce their proper usage?

From Quiz British Heraldry

Answer: 1483

The College of Heralds was founded by Richard III in 1483, and the first visitations were made that year.

24. In heraldry, what does a "bar sinister" imply?

From Quiz British Heraldry

Answer: Nothing, there is no such thing

In heraldry, "sinister" means left, "dexter" means right. A "bar" is a horizontal band, thinner than a "fess." It inclines neither to left nor right, hence there cannot be such a thing as a "bar sinister." A diagonal stripe running from the upper right (from the bearer's point of view) to lower left is called a "bend," a thinner stripe a "bendlet," and a bendlet cut off before it reaches the edges of the shield a "baton." A "bend sinister," "bendlet sinister," or "baton sinister," i.e., one running from upper left to lower right, has sometimes been used to denote illegitimacy, but the practice is not common.

25. In heraldry, what is a "mullet?"

From Quiz British Heraldry

Answer: A five-pointed star shape

One of the many terms one must become familiar with when studying heraldry. A "mullet" is intended to represent the rowel of a spur. A "star" in heraldry is not the same as a "mullet." Stars always have six or more points.

26. Men display their arms on a shield. Upon what do unmarried women display their arms?

From Quiz British Heraldry

Answer: A lozenge

Unmarried women display their arms on a diamond shape called a "lozenge." An exception is made for the Queen, who displays her arms on a shield.

27. Animal or human figures at the side of the shield are called:

From Quiz British Heraldry

Answer: Supporters

Supporters are usually found in civic and corporate arms; when found in arms belonging to an individual, they most frequently, but not always, indicate nobility. They are usually, but not always, found in pairs, one on each side of the shield. "Usually, but not always" is a phrase that crops up quite often when discussing heraldry!

This is category 11063
play trivia = Top 5% Rated Quiz, take trivia quiz Top 10% Rated Quiz, test trivia quiz Top 20% Rated Quiz, popular trivia A Well Rated Quiz
new quizzes = added recently, editor pick = Editor's Pick editor = FunTrivia Editor gold = Gold Member

Teachers / educators: FunTrivia welcomes the use of our website and quizzes in the classroom as a teaching aid or for preparing and testing students. See our education section. Our quizzes are printable and may be used as question sheets by k-12 teachers, parents, and home schoolers.

 ·  All questions, answers, and quiz content on this website is copyright FunTrivia, Inc and may not be reproduced without permission. Any images from TV shows and movies are copyright their studios, and are being used under "fair use" for commentary and education.