Hadhafang Sword
Hadhafang Sword
Is there a name for the ornate decorations found on armor and such?
On some fancy armors and weapons, you see on them very intricate and ornate patterns and images engraved (embossed, raised, etc.–I don’t know).
I’m wondering if there’s a specific name for this or for the process or art.
I suppose a more recent example of this can be found in the Lord of the Rings movie Trilogy by Peter Jackson. The elven weapons, especially, have intricate decorations on their swords, specifically like hadhafang, Arwen’s sword (Liv Tyler).
I’m very curious as to what this is. And it would help me convey some imagery I have in my head for this fantasy story I’m working on.
For weapons, I think simply “embellishments” – which gives you an idea of what it is, and also that they are decorative and not functional elements of the weapon (although they may have symbolic significance). If there is a more specific name that is not simply a description of the particular pattern or image engraved, I have never heard it. For your story, embellishments is a good start, but words like “engraved” for those cut in, “embossed” for raised embellishments, and maybe some things like “inlaid” for set-in stones and enameled if you want enameled parts, too. You can, of course, use “decorated” just as well. 
Those terms are all good for metal; if you’re thinking of anything for leather it may require different terms.
And I hope you won’t mind if I go into more detail on one part that I find personally fascinating- it may be of some use depending on how many parallels you want with our world, or even just to give an idea of some elements of the craftsmanship of shields.
For shields, there is a lot of terminology, because they were used to identify specific knights in battle. I believe that the things that are actually on a shield can be called “devices.” The art of describing shields can be called heraldry or blazonry, with heraldry refering to the heralds who would call them out, and blazonry referring to the art of describing the shield (or, outside of battle, the entire coat of arms, which became more complex as time went on and included supporters, crests, etc.); “blazon” is for the language itself. This language in English was heavily influenced by French and, of course, predates modern English, but the simpler shields are easy enough to understand by learning just a few words.
For example, take Henry II of England’s coat of arms (link under Sources). The blazon for it is “Gules, a lion rampant Or.” Although very short, this would actually tell an artist or tapestry weaver everything s/he needed to know to reproduce this shield. “Gules” = red, “a lion rampant” means the lion should be standing facing left on its left hind paw with the other legs raised, and “Or” means gold. The order of this is background color, the device, and then its color.
These images served many purposes. One was to show royalty, another one’s lineage, and also to show marriage when the wife was also armigerous (and if she was and he wasn’t). Another purpose was to describe the character of the bearer of the arms through traditional symbols. Moreover, such things could be used to make claims – the coat of arms of the English royal family demonstrate a history of this. On it you can see references to their claims to Ireland, Scotland, England, and on shields of the princes of Wales, to Wales, but also to France. My second link below is to a good website source on traditional images, shield divisions, and blazonry. If you decide to include any of it, though, in your story, keep it simple– by the end of the Middle Ages the arms were really complex and to some extent muddled, atleast for royalty.
Good luck with your story and hope this was useful- I’m slowly working my way through The Encyclopedia of Flags and Heraldry so that’s why I included so much info on it– I find it really interesting.
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