Encyclopedia > Supporters

Article Content

Supporters

In heraldry, supporters are figures placed on either side of the shield and depicted holding it up. These figures may be real or fantastic animals, human figures, or (more rarely) plants or inanimate objects.

This example, the Coat of Arms of Prince Edward Island, uses two foxes as supporters.

Supporters are typically an example of special royal favour, granted at the behest of the sovereign.

See also:

Shield -- Crest -- Mantling -- Compartment -- Motto

All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License

Search Encyclopedia

Search over one million articles, find something about almost anything!

Featured Article

French resistance

... and communists who had fled Gestapo. Many of them hid in the forested regions, especially in the unoccupied zone. They joined together to form maquis bands and began ...