Illustrate your own Persona

                                This "Persona Development Sheet" will give you several things to think about. You are
                                not expected to know all of these things about your persona, but they may help you.

                                What is your name? How did you get your name? Is there an English translation or
                                equivalent?

                                What period are you from? When were you born? What calendar do you use? How do
                                you tell time? What year is it?

                                Where are you from?  What part of the country do you live in?  Are you from a city, a
                                village, a manor, a farm?  What kind of building do you live in? What is the climate
                                like?  What is the terrain like?

                                With whom do you live?  Are your parents alive?  What are/were your parents names?
                                Do you have brothers and sisters (living or not)?

                                Are you married?  What are the marriage customs of your people?  At what age do
                                people get married?  Are there people in your household not related to you?  (guests,
                                retainers, servants, fosterlings)

                                What is the structure of the family/clan/tribe?  Are children raised at home or fostered
                                elsewhere?  How many generations of your family would your persona really have been
                                aware of?

                                What is the status of women among your people?  Can they own land or property?  What
                                trades can they enter?

                                What is your station in life?  Are you a noble, peasant, or other?  Are you wealthy or poor?
                                Is this likely to change?  What is the basic unit of money?

                                What do you do?  Do you work at a trade?  What are your daily responsibilities?  How do
                                you get paid?

                                What do you wear?  Are there laws restricting what you wear?  (sumptuary laws?)  Were
                                they commonly followed?  Would you have been able to bribe your way around those
                                laws?  How do you obtain or make your clothing?  How does your everyday garb differ
                                from your court garb?  How do you care for your clothes?  Do you have many clothes?
                                What do you eat?  What do you drink?  What is your typical daily menu?  Does your menu
                                change during the year?  How and where do you get what you eat?  How is your food
                                cooked and preserved?  How is it served?  (table manners and dining customs) What
                                spices do you use?  Are they imported?  Are they expensive?

                                What do you do for fun? What are your hobbies?  What entertainment is available to you?
                                Do you provide entertainment for others?  How?

                                Who are the heroes (contemporary, historical, or legendary) of your people?  What stories
                                do your people tell?

                                How were you educated?  What language(s) can you speak?  Can you read or write?  Did
                                you go to school?  What did you study?  How did you learn to do your work?  Who taught
                                you?

                                How do you keep clean?  How often do you bathe?  What preparations must be made for
                                your bath?

                                How were you involved or affected by warfare?  Do you, personally, fight?  Under what
                                circumstances?  What armor is worn, what weapons are used in your time and place?
                               (answer this one even if you do not fight)  How do people of your time and place get
                                weapons and armor?

                                What kind of medical care was available to you?  Who provides your medical care?  Do
                                you supply medical care for others?

                                Who is your ruler?  Who rules the neighboring peoples?  Who are the enemies/rivals of
                                your people?

                                What kind of legal system do you live in?  Who makes the laws?  What happens to those
                                who break them?

                                How does this affect you?  Have any events had a profound effect on your life?

                              The Challenge: Create Your Own Coat of Arms*

                                        1) Cut the Heater (Shield) using an example as displayed in the Heraldry Shop
                                         2) What’s your Persona? Using the handout, "So you want to have a persona"
                                             as a guide, develop your persona.  It should be simple, forceful, and easily
                                             recognizable presentation of you whose character could not be mistaken.
                                         3) Once you have developed your persona, use the handout "Symbolism of Heraldry"
                                             as a guide to create a pictorial image of your persona – known as a device.
                                         4) The device should fill the available space without overcrowding it.
                                         5) On a separate sheet of paper attached to the back of your shield, give an
                                             explanation as to how your symbols characterize your persona (on shield back).
                                         6) Additional resources are available for you to peruse on the teacher’s desk.

                               *Materials for this project are stored in the closet overseen by Lady DeLuca and Sir Keyser

                                   Performance Assessment: Heraldry Rubric

                                          Designing Your Own Coat of Arms

                              General Criteria                Point Assessment

                                    1) Project is on time                                     5        4        3        2        1

                                    2) Follows basic rules of Heraldry                5        4        3        2        1

                                    3) Shield exhibits understanding of             5        4        3        2        1
                                        Heraldry (use of color and symbol)

                                    4) Analysis is included                                 5        4        3        2        1

                                    5) Exhibited proper class decorum              5        4        3        2        1
                                       (full use of class time, care of
                                       materials, needed little teacher
                                       supervision)

                             Specific Criteria

                                   1) Partitions are clearly defined                   5        4        3        2        1

                                   2) Symbols are correctly interpreted            5        4        3        2        1

                                   3) Analysis is well thought out; giving          5        4        3        2        1
                                      clear interpretation of persona
                                      relationship.

                                  4) Color accurately used to show                  5        4        3        2        1
                                      relationship to persona.

                                  5) Analysis follows basic rules of                  5        4        3        2        1
                                      grammar, (complete sentences, etc.)

                                                                                                             Student Grade: _____