Daniel Gerhat
Historical
coats of arms
I accept commissions for the illustration of historical coats of arms (both Hungarian and international) based on images or descriptions (blazons) provided by my clients. For Hungarian noble families, I also offer research services to identify a family's historical coat of arms before proceeding with the illustration.
Assumed
coats of arms
Bring your family’s legacy to life with a professionally designed coat of arms, adhering to the rules of heraldry, and the heraldic traditions of your country, if applicable. I offer a full range of services, from consulting you on heraldic symbolism, through agreeing on a design, to the finished product.
What is heraldry?
During the High Middle Ages, European knights started painting their shields and adorning themselves with various types of ornaments during tournaments for identification. The artistic representation of these shields and ornaments are called coats of arms, and heraldry is the study of these arms, and also the name of the related field of art. As these coats of arms - unique identifiers of certain lords - started being passed down within families and clans, they essentially became one of the earliest, still existing form of branding within familial communities, which not only pay homage to the earliest ancestors of the bearers, but also tell the stories of these families.
While different countries developed their own heraldic traditions over time, it is generally a misconception that coats of arms belong to families, or surnames to be exact. Coats of arms, in the early years, were assumed by knights, and later on granted by kings and queens to certain individuals and their descendants. These symbols were generally passed down through the male line of families, which, corresponding to the general way of inheriting names in European tradition, meant that the arms were indeed inherited within the same family, and were thus associated with distinct families, however a shared surname does not entitle one to use historical coats of arms which were in use by individuals with the same name, only if they descend from the original grantee.
Illustrating coats of arms
Coats of arms only really exists as descriptions, which we call blazons. The function of a blazon is to describe the elements of the arms for the heraldic artist to then illustrate using their own artistic style, while still adhering to the rules of heraldry. As each heraldic artist uses different techniques and works in their own style, the same coat of arms can be illustrated in countless different ways.
My artistic style includes a more naturalistic depiction of the elements, and of the arms themselves in general. I work digitally using industry-standard software (e.g. Adobe Illustrator) to draw each coat of arms using vector graphics. I take great care to illustrate my designs in a way that each element in a coat of arms interacts with the rest, casting shadows, reflecting light, etc. This technique draws inspiration from the masterful painters employed by the Austro-Hungarian court during the late 1800s, resulting in illustrations that aim to please on their own without any additional ornamentation.