Archive for July 1st, 2010
04. Foster Coat of Arms
Foster
Crest: An arm in armor embowed, holding in the hand a broken tilting spear: proper.
Motto: Si fractus fortis. (If broken, still strong.)
Foster Arms: Argent, a chevron, vert, between three bugle-horns, sa., stringed, gu.
Webmistress Note:
Having studied the meaning behind the Foster Coat of Arms, I discovered the following definitions:
Embowed – the arm is bent at the elbow.
Proper – the way it appears in nature. The armor would be colored silver or gray, to match the way it appears in its natural coloring.
Argent – Silver or White. The “Field” (background) color would be represented as either silver or white.
Chevron – The ^ shape across the center of the shield.
Vert – Green. The color of the chevron.
Bugle-horns – In heraldry, bugle-horns are the sign of the forester or hunter.
sa. – Sable. Black. The color of the horns.
gu. – Gules. Red. The color of the strings.
Upon further investigation, I also discovered that the “helm” (or helmet) shown below the Crest is specifically a Jouster’s Helmet in style on the particular Coat of Arms chosen by our branch of the Foster family. This hints that the “broken spear” could, in fact, be a “broken lance” indicating Victory. Not all Foster Coats of Arms show this particular helmet, nor do all of them contain the broken spear in the Crest. To my knowledge, all Fosters however claim the Family Motto, Si Fractus Fortis, in some definition or other.
Below is my own drawing, recreating the full colors and details of the Foster Coat of Arms. The drawing is available for sale on CafePress on t-shirts, steins, mugs, prints and more. If you would like to support our site at Trek to Texas, purchasing your own copy of the Foster Coat of Arms would be a great way to help support the site.
