Coat of arms of Ulster
Okay, so imagine you have a special picture that shows some important things about you and where you come from. That's kind of what a coat of arms is for a place or a family. The coat of arms of Ulster is a special picture that represents the area in Ireland called Ulster.
The picture has a few different parts, so let's look at them one at a time.
First of all, there's a red hand in the middle of the picture. This hand is one of the most famous symbols of Ulster. If you've ever heard the phrase "red-handed," it comes from this symbol! The legend goes that a long time ago, there were some warriors who wanted to be the ruler of Ulster. They agreed that whoever could touch a certain spot on the land first would be the winner. But when one warrior saw that he was about to lose, he cut off his own hand and threw it onto the spot. So the red hand on the coat of arms reminds us of that story.
Around the hand, there's a blue background with a white border. This part of the picture is meant to look like a shield, which is something knights would use to protect themselves in battle. The blue color and white border are just for decoration, but they make the picture look nice.
Above the hand and shield, there's a crown. Crowns are something that kings and queens wear to show that they're in charge. This particular crown is called a mural crown, because it has some little towers on it like a castle or a city wall.
Finally, there are some animals on each side of the picture. On the left side, there's a red lion. Lions are often used in pictures like this because they're very strong and brave. On the right side, there's a white horse. Horses are also strong and brave, but they're also really fast.
So when you look at the coat of arms of Ulster, you can see all these different things that help tell the story of the area and its history.
The picture has a few different parts, so let's look at them one at a time.
First of all, there's a red hand in the middle of the picture. This hand is one of the most famous symbols of Ulster. If you've ever heard the phrase "red-handed," it comes from this symbol! The legend goes that a long time ago, there were some warriors who wanted to be the ruler of Ulster. They agreed that whoever could touch a certain spot on the land first would be the winner. But when one warrior saw that he was about to lose, he cut off his own hand and threw it onto the spot. So the red hand on the coat of arms reminds us of that story.
Around the hand, there's a blue background with a white border. This part of the picture is meant to look like a shield, which is something knights would use to protect themselves in battle. The blue color and white border are just for decoration, but they make the picture look nice.
Above the hand and shield, there's a crown. Crowns are something that kings and queens wear to show that they're in charge. This particular crown is called a mural crown, because it has some little towers on it like a castle or a city wall.
Finally, there are some animals on each side of the picture. On the left side, there's a red lion. Lions are often used in pictures like this because they're very strong and brave. On the right side, there's a white horse. Horses are also strong and brave, but they're also really fast.
So when you look at the coat of arms of Ulster, you can see all these different things that help tell the story of the area and its history.