Visual Metaphor for Weak Political Influence
In the novel the dragon is the symbol of House Targaryen, and it is everywhere from the coins to pennants fluttering in the breeze. Just like the pictures and effigies of dragons, the once great house is just that, impotent and nowhere near a powerful as it used to be. As of A Knight of Seven Kingdoms, House Targaryen is a house divided and preoccupied, a little too busy for their own good, trying to recover from an internal political coup to realize that they no longer hold the clout they used to. Hence, House Targaryen’s sigil--a drawing of a dragon--is an appropriate metaphor for a noble house that is having trouble hanging on to its power.
Visual Metaphor for Loyalty and Moral Inclination of the Bearer
Personal Sigils are more than just heraldic symbols and personal brands they are often a metaphor of the bearer’s allegiance--whether it is in support of the Iron Throne or in support of the usurper Daemon Blackfyre.
Visual Metaphor for Moral Dilemma or Economic Status
Ser Duncan’s Shield, both it’s quality and the sigil of choice, is often symbolic of his current moral dilemma(s) or his current economic situation. If he can afford it, he will go with a plain, unmarked shield when he participates His shield with his sigil of a tree in the middle of a field colored like the setting sun with a shooting star is painted on for him by his love interest Tanselle as thanks for defending her honor. This shield is shattered in the tournament and in time he earns another shield with the sigil of a hung man, a visual metaphor for his situation as a seemingly doomed man going up against impossible odds.
Visual Metaphor of the Heroes’ Journey
Ser Duncan’s armor, both the quality and condition of it, is a metaphor of his ongoing development as a hero and knight. As he begins his journey as a hedge knight, a poor Duncan manages to put together a ramshackle suit of armor from whatever pieces of armor Ser Arlan of Pennytree left behind. As he begins to win tournaments and find worthy causes to fight for however he slowly begins to accumulate enough resources to upgrade his armor and even get a helmet.
Visual Metaphor for Willingness to Be Stripped of Rank and Title
Aegon/Egg shaves his head to conceal his identity as a member of the illustrious House Targaryen, but more than that the act of shaving his platinum blonde locks is symbolic of his willingness to be stripped of rank and title in order to learn the art of statesmanship and knighthood from the most unlikely of mentors--a nameless, clanless former street urchin from Fleabottom, the hedge knight known as Dunk.
