An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/schildern

by Friedrich Kluge

schildern, vb., ‘to paint, depict, describe,’ allied to MidHG. schilt, ‘coat of arms’; comp. MidHG. schiltœre, m., ‘artist’; the shields were orig. painted in the MidHG. age of chivalry with coats of arms, and even, according to Tacitus, Germ. vi. (“scuta lectissimis coloribus distinguunt”), in the OTeut. heroic period. Comp. Du. schilderen, ‘to paint, depict, describe.’