Heraldry of the Legend of Zelda - 1987

Coat of Arms for the Legend of Zelda

Heraldry reached a permanent and eternal height in the video game universe with the release of Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda -1987. The game stands out as the best of the best games from the 8 bit era.

It is set in the fanciful European middle ages of dragons, wizards, and monsters.

The game came in a box that features a heraldic shield quartered via a skinny cross. Each quadrant has different symbols. The lower port quarter features a heart while the lower starboard features a lion on one leg with reminder in attack stance. The upper starboard quarter features a key on an angle with the locking tip nearer the corner.


Finally the most unique part the upper starboard corner - which is typically the canton section. It features golden stripes. The neat part is, that the gold stripes are actually the outer grip ridging painted in gold.


Original Game Cartridge with Gold Paint
notice the missing piece on the sticker is a heart

Here is the original game. The gold stripes are actually the gripping end of the game cart. The shield of arms are repeated but notice another heart replaces the golden stripes.








Screen Shot from the Game
Link's Shield of Arms is gold cross

In the game Link's shield of arms is a golden cross on brown. It is able to defend against most enemy attacks like arrows and rocks.






Comic Strip with Shield of Arms
The Legend of Zelda 1987

In the instruction booklet that came with the game a drawing shows Link with his shield of arms but the cross is red and the shield has bronze colour.



Close up of Original Shield
The Legend of Zelda 1987

A cross serves at the original shield of arms for link. It's Christian connotation is no accident. Originally one of the level up items was originally called the 'BIBLE' in Japan, but in the American Market they changed its name to 'MAGIC BOOK.' Watch the video below to see the original 'Zelda BIBLE.'




Game Review of Original Japanese Disc Version of Zelda 1986

Dr. Wayne Dyer - Herald Shield on 90s style Shirt

Dr Wayne Dyer with Heraldic Shield Design

Here the sweater worn by Dr. Wayne Dyer has the faint outline of a shield in white. His port side is Navy Blue and his starboard is an aboriginal brown.








Dr. Wayne Dyer often chooses clothing with a hidden message. Certainly the design of this shirt called his attention, and was worn on purpose. What exactly it says it unknown, but surely it has a spiritual overtone.

Heraldry - What is it?

From a modern point of view heraldry is art, history, and in an elemental form the ancient descendant of flags, logos, and trademarks.

Today you can not use certain icons or logos without permission from the owner, likewise in the middle ages heraldic designs were 'owned' by affluent and high society. Using it without permission was illegal and could have resulted in legal action. Thus today, if you use certain corporate logos without permission like the Nike swoosh, they can come after you with a pack of hungry lawyers.

There is no accident that heraldry sounds a bit like hereditary - since the early versions of a coat of arms was inherited.

Essentially an image can be owned and use of those images without proper procedure may cause result in grief, especially if money is involved.

The foundation of heraldry rests solidly on the symbols of a warrior's shield.

The designs, patterns, and icons found on a warrior's shield have always been important. All the civilizations of the world from the aboriginals of America, tribal Africa, the feudal houses of Japan and Europe have held this art-form in high esteem.

It was in Europe near the end of the first millennium when Heraldry received its codified reputation through the elite families of Europe.

However battle shield art was not invented in Europe, since this holy rite was practice by all the literate by book and literate by nature tribes of the world.