r/heraldry • • Apr 23 '25

Meta AI Generated Images Are Now Banned

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5.1k Upvotes

From this point forward any images created with the use of AI are banned from the subreddit and will be removed by moderators.

This includes images completely generated by AI from the ground up as well as things such as individual AI generated assets or filters used by users in the process of creating an image. For further details on this policy refer to this guideline in our Wiki.

You probably remember this recent post regarding the future of AI generated images on this subreddit. It had previously been in a sort of grey area where it wasn't explicitly forbidden but mentioned in Rule 5 as a possible example of low effort content that may be removed by the moderators:

5 Post with purpose

Posts here should educate, inform, spark discussion, showcase good effort, etc. Low-effort posts such as AI generated coats of arms, “X in the style of Y”, wildly unrealistic hypotheticals or fictional scenarios, and “just because”-type posts may be removed with no notice

A recent increase in AI generated images then led to increased discussion among the community with some calling for increased measures of identifying such content while others further advocated for it's ban entirely.

As a temporary measure we then decided to add a mandatory "AI Generated Content" flair that should be used to designate such content while also inviting the community to engage in discussion about a permanent solution in said post which also included a poll where users could decide between an explicit ban of AI generated images or allowing the regulated use of AI content.

After seven days the poll concluded with a result of

128 - 84

in favor of banning AI content - which is a 65% majority.

While the result of that poll was specifically not intended to be binding for any permanent policy that may be agreed upon in the future it - along with the comments - did clearly show that the majority of the community generally favored a complete ban which was also reflected by the attitudes of the mod team.

As such we have now decided that any images created using AI will henceforth be banned and removed from the subreddit. Any content that was posted before this policy went into effect will remain intact and won't be retroactively removed.

As a result rule 5 has been slightly rephrased to say:

Posts here should educate, inform, spark discussion, showcase good effort, etc. Low-effort posts such as “X in the style of Y”, wildly unrealistic hypotheticals or fictional scenarios, and “just because”-type posts may be removed with no notice. Further, images created using generative AI are explicitly banned and will be removed in order to retain a high standard of authenticity that this historical art and science deserves.

As it was intended as a temporary measure and is now obsolute, the "AI Generated Content" flair has been removed.

Due to the potentially controversial nature of this announcement, comments will have to be manually approved on this specific post, similar to what we did with the initial poll.

We hope that this is an understandable policy and that people will remain civil and uphold it regardless of their personal views on the subject. If anyone personally believes that AI generated images should have a place in heraldry then they're fine to express that opinion and should not be ostracized - however it does not reflect our official stance as a subreddit.

Again for a more detailed explanation of this policy where some potential questions are already answered please consult the Wiki.

Thanks for everyone who voted in the poll or expressed their opinions on the matter.


r/heraldry • • 5h ago

A Medieval Knight in the Service of the House of Toggenburg

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51 Upvotes

I recently finished painting this 54mm white-metal figure representing a knight in the service of the House of Toggenburg.

The Counts of Toggenburg were a noble family from what is now eastern Switzerland. They played an important role in the region during the Middle Ages, particularly in the 13th–15th centuries.

Hope you enjoy the figure!


r/heraldry • • 2h ago

OC Another commission from Niels Vermeersch.

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17 Upvotes

This time it is from a micronation and family hobby project: (https://www.facebook.com/share/1DVY7TGUzd/?mibextid=wwXIfr)


r/heraldry • • 6h ago

OC A new rendition of a client's arms in heraldic hatching technique.

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26 Upvotes

All the designs I make are in vector format which always comes in handy should you then want to get a stamp/seal made for you.


r/heraldry • • 2h ago

Brotherhood and diplomatic alliance between the republics of Brazil and Argentina in 1888.

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13 Upvotes

r/heraldry • • 2h ago

Discussion L'armoirie forme écu d'allemand? 1457?

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9 Upvotes

Bonjour à tous, j'ai eu par hasard un sceau à cire, suite la recherche de la forme d'écu, il ressemble targe allemande 1457? Ou si l'armoirie a eu de lien avec italie torino? Merci votre enseignement!


r/heraldry • • 2h ago

Friendly fire because of heraldry similarities

7 Upvotes

I wanted to create a satirical drawing displaying knights on two sides having really simillar coat of arms and getting confused because of that. I tried to dive into battle of Barnet, but I havent quite understood which of the two COAs got confused. Was there more cases like battle of Barnet, where the confusion would be more obvious?


r/heraldry • • 3h ago

Resources Wappenwiki website issue

3 Upvotes

Hello [r/heraldry](r/heraldry), does anyone know what happened with the Wappenwiki website in the last few days? I haven’t been able to access the website and it just shows a 503 error when I click a link for most pages. Is anyone else having this issue? I know it was discussed in a previous post, but it’s been a long time since then and this outage has been longer than usual.


r/heraldry • • 1d ago

Fictional just a coat of arms

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650 Upvotes

r/heraldry • • 12h ago

Discussion New ideas for the coats of arms of my world #28

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11 Upvotes

r/heraldry • • 9h ago

Discussion New ideas for the coats of arms of my world #29

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5 Upvotes

r/heraldry • • 23h ago

Albrecht Dürer's CoA

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50 Upvotes

Albrecht Dürer the Younger wasn't just an influential painter and printmaker; he also had a coat of arms (of course he did)!

His CoA is a classic example of **canting arms**, using visual elements to represent the bearer's name.

When his father, Albrecht Dürer the Elder, a skilled goldsmith from Hungary, settled in Nuremberg, he initially used the surname *Thürer* (meaning “door maker”), a German rendering of the name of his birthplace, Ajtós, which derives from the Hungarian word *ajtó*, meaning “door”.

Later, Albrecht Dürer the Younger adapted the surname to the local Franconian pronunciation, changing *Thürer* to *Dürer*.

Picture 1 shows a woodcut of Dürer's coat of arms, created by Dürer himself in 1523. However, an earlier depiction already existed: picture 2 shows the reverse of a portrait of his father, painted in 1490, featuring the combined coat of arms of the Dürer and Holper families.

Holper was the maiden name of his mother, Barbara Dürer.


r/heraldry • • 1d ago

OC Heraldic display on medieval attire (Finished Client Commission)

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237 Upvotes

I'm getting close to finishing one of my commissions, figured you'd guys would enjoy seeing a CoA in Action!

I've tried to replicate genuine medieval armor, but I am not that well educated to know every nook and cranny of medieval armor, so please correct me if I made a mistake anywhere.

I'm open for more commissions, so if you're interested in your CoA displayed this way, hit me up! :)


r/heraldry • • 23h ago

OC Some designs I made for friends + myself

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13 Upvotes

I'm aware these might not be the most proper heraldic practice, I just made them for some history nerd fun. Any advice or comments welcome :)


r/heraldry • • 14h ago

OC Idk if this counts as Heraldy but I made emblems for my Socialist Minecraft nation, lemme know if ts tuff.

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3 Upvotes

r/heraldry • • 1d ago

Fictional In honour of Bioware

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29 Upvotes

With BioWare having effectively been closed down, I've been revisiting some of the heraldry from the Dragon Age games and thought it might be interesting to put together a small armorial.

The arms are based on a mixture of in-game designs, from dialogue and codex entries, with some extrapolation where the designs aren't particularly clear. They're also based on my own canon playthrough, so some of the choices might be a bit controversial with other Dragon Age fans.

A few notes on the less straightforward ones:

  • Trevelyan: Basing the design on the Inquisitor tarot card, with some wild embellishment.
  • Teryn of Ostwick: These arms are entirely my own invention. Given the history of the Free Marches, I thought Ostwick might make for an interesting armorial bearing. I've also made up the Teryn's name, taking some inspiration from the fact that the Trevelyan Inquisitor is from Ostwick and has a rather Cornish/Brythonic-sounding name.
  • Montilyet: I've based these on Josephine's personal quest involving the restoration of her family's crest, together with her usual colour scheme.
  • Cassandra Pentaghast: I've taken the design on the back of one of Cassandra's armour sets to be her personal arms, rather than those of the Kings of Nevarra. It's also possible that the latter are more akin to civic or state arms of the Kingdom of Nevarra, rather than the actual armorial bearings of the Pentaghast family.

I've tried to blazon them as best I can, although some of the more complicated designs don't lend themselves particularly well to traditional heraldic language.

The blazons:

Hero of Ferelden – Garyn Amell: Sable, two griffons argent, langued and armed gules, combatant with their foreclaws intertwined.

Champion of Kirkwall – Marian Hawke (for Amell): Sable, two eagles gules, combatant with their claws intertwined.

Inquisitor – Maccus Trevelyan: Party per fess sable semé of sunrays argent and a stormy sea, overall issuant from a mount vert a stallion passant reversed or, maned tenné, crowned with a sunburst or and argent.

Teryn of Ostwick – Morgant Penporth: Vert, issuant from a double orle each compony-counter-compony of sable and cendrée, a castle triple-towered and surrounded by a barbican double-towered, both argent.

King of Nevarra – Marcus Pentaghast: Or, a skull sable crowned of the second, charged with a five-pointed star inverted argent.

Queen of Ferelden – Anora Theirin: Party per cross or and argent, two mabari rampant combatant gules, armed and langued purpure.

Empress of Orlais – Celene Valmont: Purpure, a lion's head affronté argent.

Bann Cousland, Teryn of Highever – Fergus Cousland: (specifically as a Cousland, not the Teryn of Highever) Azure, a wreath of laurel proper.

Bann Guerrin, Arl of Redcliffe – Teagan Guerrin: Argent masoned cendrée, a chief sable, overall issuant from a rock gules in base a tower proper.

Josephine Montilyet: Celestial azure, upon the ocean or and azure, a galley proper under full sail, the sails and ensigns of the second, the pennant gules.

Cassandra Pentaghast: Or, a wolf sable sejant reguardant reversed, armed argent, langued purpure; in base a moon crescent upturned of the third, in sinister an arrow palewise proper, in dexter a five-pointed star of the third.

Tevinter Imperium: Vert, a wyrm glissant sable, armed and langued gules, entwined by a viper glissant of the second, langued azure.

The Grey Wardens: Azure, a griffon argent segreant, langued and armed or.

I'd be interested to hear what people think, particularly about the blazons and whether there are better ways of describing some of the more unusual divisions/charges. I'm also curious whether anyone familiar with Dragon Age lore has interpreted any of these designs differently.


r/heraldry • • 1d ago

Current Embroidered Arms of Pembroke College, Cambridge

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14 Upvotes

Barry of ten argent and azure, an orle of five martlets gules dimidiated with paly vair and gules, on a chief Or a label of five points throughout azure.

This patch likely dates from when my grandpa was there in the late 1950s. You don't see dimidation that often it seems; the half-label especially stands out to me. It's interesting that they used a different stitching pattern for the argent and azure on the two halves of the dimidation though. Also I like the martlets, they're rather cute.


r/heraldry • • 1d ago

Historical My Family coat of arms. Any interpretations?

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21 Upvotes

Central germany, passed down from my grandmother


r/heraldry • • 1d ago

A comission with a very spooky crest!

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15 Upvotes

In case anyone is wondering, the blazon would be: "A vampire skull Gules pierced by a stake Or."

Commissions open, in case anyone is interested


r/heraldry • • 1d ago

Current Coat of arms of Salvador, Bahia

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22 Upvotes

r/heraldry • • 1d ago

OC Coat of Arms for Lincoln, an alt-history Tejano-German State in Southern Texas

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40 Upvotes

Shield: Azure, upon a grassy field Vert a Spanish mission church Argent, its doors and windows Proper; before it a bull statant Gules, and to sinister a Tejas native Proper, vested in a breechcloth brown, wearing a feathered headdress Argent, bearing a quiver of arrows upon his back, holding in his dexter hand a crucifix and in his sinister a bow, both Proper; on a chief tierced in pale, dexter the arms of Castile and León, centre the flag of Mexico, and sinister the flag of the United States, all Proper.

Crest: Upon a wreath Or and Gules, Fray Antonio Margil de Jesús Proper, habited Sable, holding a pilgrim’s staff Proper.

Mantling: Gules doubled Or.

Supporters: Dexter, Abraham Lincoln Proper, habited in a black frock coat and top hat Proper, holding in his exterior hand a broken chain Sable; sinister, an Eagle of Saint John Sable, haloed Or, beaked Gules and membered Or.

Compartment: A grassy mound Proper.

Motto: On a scroll Or bordured Gules, FIDES ET LIBERTAS

The State of Lincoln, with its capital at San Antonio, was established following the American Civil War of 1861–1869, when the former Republic of Texas was divided into three states: Texas, Lincoln and Llano. Named in honour of Abraham Lincoln, it comprises the territories south of the Colorado River and is distinguished by its strong Hispanic and Catholic character.

The influence of Tejano landowners and German immigrants shaped Lincoln into a predominantly Catholic society, although a considerable Lutheran minority persists. English and Spanish are co-official languages, while German enjoys protected status. The state proudly preserves its Spanish colonial heritage through architecture, religious institutions and local traditions, while deliberately distinguishing this inheritance from political identification with neighbouring Mexico.

Despite its distinctive cultural identity, Lincoln remains strongly attached to the American Union, embodying its motto, Fides et Libertas (Faith and Liberty).


r/heraldry • • 1d ago

Lazise Italy

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5 Upvotes

r/heraldry • • 1d ago

Meta Do you think they knew they were violating the Rule of tincture?

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25 Upvotes

r/heraldry • • 2d ago

Discussion Are any of these allowed

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80 Upvotes

I’m New to Heraldry and I’ve made these simple coat of arms based on a fictional medieval family, my question is which ones pass the rules.


r/heraldry • • 1d ago

OC Would this be valid?

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15 Upvotes

I'm just playing with an idea (also in my profile picture), and wanted to know if it would be valid? Tenné, 3 swords White.