Your Family Coat of Arms and Other Myths

Many people, mostly Americans, believe that every family was once issued a coat of arms and then everyone born with that family name automatically gets to use the same coat of arms. If you believe that, it is time to correct the myth.

NOTE: There is an exception. I am told that Samurai families in Japan do have family coats of arms although they do not resemble British or European coats of arms. In any case, if your ancestry is 100% Japanese Samurai, the rest of this article does not apply to you.

To begin with, coats of arms are never issued to families; they are issued to individuals. Coats of arms are issued by heralds and there are different heralds in each country in the United Kingdom and in Europe. A coat of arms is granted by the King of Arms in England and in Ireland, while the court of the Lord Lyon King of Arms grants that right in Scotland.

England, Northern Ireland, Wales, and Scotland have the most rigid system of heraldry (coats of arms). Other European countries do record and permit coats of arms, but do not restrict their use as much as do the English and the Scottish heralds. A repository called the College of Arms holds an official register of all granted coats of arms that exist in England and Wales.

The United States has never accepted the concept of nobility and therefore has no officially-recognized heralds. Several American organizations claim to be able to issue coats of arms but any such arms issued by an American organization have to be considered as "unofficial." There is no official issuing body in the U.S. Most Americans who wish to obtain legitimate coats of arms apply first in the name of a foreign-born ancestor with the heralds in the country where that ancestor lived. The American descendant may then apply to use the ancestor's coat of arms as his own as his "inherited right to arms."

Throughout history, an individual could apply for a coat of arms and the heralds would decide whether or not to approve it. Coats of arms generally are issued to men although there are numerous exceptions. The Queen of England always has a coat of arms, as do many high-ranking officials. For instance, Margaret Thatcher was issued a coat of arms when she was prime minister.

In medieval days, coats of arms were issued only to knights and to noblemen as an emblem to be displayed on shields and on various banners for use in battle. After all, it was difficult to see through the eye slits in the helmets they wore and every soldier wanted to make sure he was swinging the broadsword at the enemy, not at his commanding officer. The brightly painted coats of arms helped identify the combatants back in the days before uniforms.

As the years passed and the battles decreased, a wealthy merchant class began to flourish and many merchants obtained coats of arms as well. So did clergymen, elected officials, and a few others. In every case, the coat of arms has always been issued to an individual, not to a family. You might find a coat of arms issued to someone with the same family name as yours, but that doesn't mean that you are entitled to use the same arms.

When a man is entitled to display arms, his sons also may apply for coats of arms. Note that granting of coats of arms is not automatic, each person must apply. Sons usually are granted coats of arms that are very similar to their father's but are changed slightly, to add some small detail that shows that this is the shield of their own branch of this particular family. If a man has multiple sons, each son applies for his own coat of arms with slight differences, even different from those of his brothers. The use of slightly modified coat of arms is called "differenced arms."

When the father dies, the eldest son may then apply to use exactly the same coat of arms that his father used. Once granted, he stops using his differenced arms. His younger brothers continue to use their differenced arms, however.

Obtaining permission to use your deceased father's coat of arms is not automatic. For instance, each King of England traditionally uses his own design and does not use that of his father.

There have always been a few instances in which women could inherit a coat of arms and to use them. However, a woman can not pass them along to her children unless she has no brothers. If this is the case, the woman owns the coat of arms, to pass along to her children, and she is considered to be the heraldic heiress to the coat of arms.

The wearing or display of coat of arms is restricted in most countries that recognize the ownership of coats of arms. There are no such restrictions in the United States; you may wear someone else's coat of arms, if you wish to. Even the countries that do restrict usage rarely enforce such laws. Therefore, the sale of bogus "family coats of arms" is rarely stopped by the authorities.

In the countries that do restrict usage, only one person may use any particular coat of arms although a grantee's sons or younger brothers might be using similar, but differenced, coats of arms, assuming they have applied for and received permission to use those differenced arms.

Did you ever receive an ad for "your family's coat of arms?" That ad isn't worth the paper it is printed on or the electrons used to display it on your computer screen. Regardless of your last name, you should display a particular coat of arms only if (1.) you have applied to the heralds for permission to display the particular arms and (2.) if such permission has been granted. Once that happens, you are the only person in the world authorized to display that coat of arms.

Displaying arms without proper authorization is a form of impersonation; you are trying to identify yourself as someone else. Legal or not, such impersonation is always in bad taste.

For authoritative information about heraldry (the display of coats of arms), I suggest you look at the following:

Polish Genealogy and Heraldry Society: http://www.feefhs.org/pol/frg-pghs.html

Luxembourg Society of Genealogy and Heraldry: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/hotel_claravallis/genealog.htm#genealogy

Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies - Encompasses all aspects of genealogical and heraldic research, art and practice: http://www.ihgs.ac.uk

Heraldry Society of Scotland: http://www.heraldry-scotland.co.uk

Heraldry Australia, Inc. - Australian Heraldry Society: http://www.heraldryaustralia.org

Heraldiska Samfundet - Swedish academy for the science of heraldry and related subjects: http://www.heraldik.se

Slovenian Society for Heraldry, Genealogy and Vexilology: http://genealogy.ijp.si/hslov/all/index.htm

The Birmingham and Midland Society for Genealogy and Heraldry: http://www.bmsgh.org/

Scandanavian Heraldry Society: http://www.heraldik.org/

Office of the Chief Herald of Ireland: http://www.nli.ie/en/heraldry-introduction.aspx

The Augustan Society - An international genealogical, historical heraldic and chivalric society: http://www.augustansociety.org/

South African Heraldry: http://www.geocities.com/heraldrysa/

Heraldry Society of Sweden: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/1284

Cambridge University Heraldic and Genealogical Society: http://www.cam.ac.uk/societies/cuhags/

Russian College of Heraldry: http://www.armorial.ru

Slovak Genealogical-Heraldic Society: http://www.genealogy-heraldry.sk/

Heraldry in South Africa: http://freepages.family.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~heraldry/page_optima.html

South Australian Genealogy & Heraldry Society Inc.: http://www.saghs.org.au

Royal Heraldry Society of Canada: http://www.heraldry.ca

The American College of Heraldry - a non-profit body with the aim of aiding in the study and perpetuation of heraldry in the United States and abroad: http://www.americancollegeofheraldry.org

Croatian Genealogical and Heraldic Society - CGHS: http://feefhs.org/cro/frg-cghs.html

CUHAGS - The Cambridge University Heraldry and Genealogy Society: http://www.cam.ac.uk/societies/cuhags/

The Heraldry Society - The Heraldry Society exists to increase and extend interest in and knowledge of heraldry, genealogy, ceremonial and allied subjects: http://www.theheraldrysociety.com

The College of Arms - England. Holds the official register of all Coats of Arms or heraldry in England and Wales. Also grants arms to individuals and organizations: http://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk

Comments

[David]

Great Article, just the other day I posted on my blog about my great great grandfather's coat of arms from Austria, it was issued in 1918. It was interesting to learn so much in this article, as most I thought that it was issued to an individual, but then could be used by that family. Always like the insights that you bring to the genealogy world.

[Rupert Butler]

Little suggestions: (1) Margaret Thatcher would not have been granted arms as prime minister per se. She resigned in 1990. I cannot readily find the date of her grant, but I expect either it was triggered by her appointment to the Order of Merit on her retirement or was made necessary by her elevation to the peerage in 1992. (2) I think that for a long time corporate bodies have been granted arms - you may be right, if what you know is that the bearer is the titular head of the organisation. Colleges of Oxford University, cities and local government bodies, bishops of the church all come mind. Bishops' memorials sometimes have their arms halved with the titular arms, as if the bishop is the wife of the diocese. (3) Kings (and queens) follow normal heraldic rules of succession until there is a good reason not to. The royal coat of arms now is much as it was many centuries ago. The French lilies dropped out when we gave up a pretence to the French crown; the arms of Guelph appeared for a while when the crown passed to George I; at some time quite recently the Irish harp took its place in the fourth quarter.

You might be interested to know that the badges of squadrons and higher formations of the Royal Air Force are granted by a King of Arms and approved by the Queen; ships badges in the Royal Navy are less authoritative, being only subject to approval from within the admiralty. Is there any such formality in US practice ?

Thanks for your article

[John P. DuLong]

While it is indeed true that "The United States has never accepted the concept of nobility" your conclusion "and therefore has no officially-recognized heralds" is not exactly correct.

You are assuming the arms are always tied to the concept of nobility, but this is simply not the case. For example, in France, during the Ancient Regime, arms were used by all classes of people. Commoner arms are also found in many other European countries. And most arms throughout the history of most European countries were assumed and not granted. In addition, many of our Founding Fathers used arms and did not view the use of arms to conflict with their republican principles. Furthermore, the bans against establishing a system of nobility in our Constitution do not apply to arms, which, although used by and associated with the nobility, are really independent of the nobility.

The fact that we lack "officially-recognized heralds" is due in part to our anti-aristocratic attitude but more so to the misconception that arms are exclusively used by nobles. There have been several schemes proposed since the founding of our republic to regulate arms, but none of them have ever succeeded, mostly due, I believe, to arms being seen as unnecessary to regulate, thus leaving the adoption of unique arms for Americans up to individuals with no need for an official recognition. As you suggest, it is bad form for Americans to just assume the arms of another person, but there is nothing stopping an American from adopting unique arms. The American College of Heraldry is particularly well suited to assist Americans who want to design and adopt their own arms.

Lastly, you neglected to mention the American Heraldry Society whose website is located at http://americanheraldry.org. There you will find this group’s excellent “Guidelines for Heraldic Practice in the United States Recommended by the American Heraldry Society.” Point your browser to http://americanheraldry.org/pages/index.php?n=Guide.Guidelines. Within this document is a scholarly discussion of the legal status of arms in America.

[Scott Norton]

NortonFamily.net is taking each instance of a Norton coat-of-arms that is traceable to a location and putting a pedigree to it. Think linking the pedigree with DNA.

In this way we are connecting colonial America Nortons with England.

[What of the Scottish Clan Badges and Tartans?]

It is my understanding that these may be properly worn by anyone bearing a surname of any recognized sept of the clan. Thus my friend John McCaslin proudly wears his Buchanan tartan, and has the right to bear the Buchanan Clan badge or display it on his wall. (McCaslin is a form of MacAusland, for the sake of any purists among the readers.)

But John may not claim the last chief's coat of arms.

[Bill Buchanan]

What of the Scottish Clan Badges and Tartans?

It is my understanding that these may be properly worn by anyone bearing a surname of any recognized sept of the clan. Thus my friend John McCaslin proudly wears his Buchanan tartan, and has the right to bear the Buchanan Clan badge or display it on his wall. (McCaslin is a form of MacAusland, for the sake of any purists among the readers.)

But John may not claim the last chief's coat of arms.

[Bob Blevens]

Back in 1983, I looked into obtaining English arms as my surname is Welch. Unfortunately, I was able to trace my direct paternal lineage only back to 1790, seven years short of the qualifying prior-1783 date for most British-descended Americans. Then I discovered the Spanish Cronista de Armas. Spain still claims heraldic jurisdiction over its former colonies, a claim undisputed by the United States, at least insofar as individuals are concerned. The definition of "former colonies" is unknown as Spain once claimed the entire Western Hemisphere, but it most certainly does apply to New Spain (which included the U.S. southwest and Louisiana Territory). At any rate, I had the pleasure of studying heraldry and designing my own arms, then having them drawn up and granted by Spain at considerably less expense than England (at the time). I have since registered them with various organizations.

The best way to protect your arms in the U.S. is through copyright. The blazon is probably the most important item to protect if you wish to use a copyright.

The U.S. government does have a heraldic authority, but not for individuals. It's the U.S. Army Institute of Heraldry which designs and issues arms and insignia for military and civilian agencies of the Federal government. It's located at Ft. Belvoir, VA.

[Ceil Wendt Jensen]

A few current links for Polish "Szlachta"

(Use Google toolbar to translate)
http://www.herby.com.pl/

Mailing list in English (rootsweb)
Topic: the discussion of Polish and Lithuanian heraldry, the history of the armorial clans, and the genealogy of noble families.
HERBARZ-L
http://lists.rootsweb.ancestry.com/index/intl/POL/HERBARZ.html

Dr Marek Jerzy Minakowski - graduate of Jagiellonian Unversity. Philosopher, historian, genealogist. Author of electronic version: "Herbarz Polski" - Adam Boniecki.
http://www.przodkowie.com/

Ceil

My ancestors worked for "Szlachta" and I've found my ancestors listed in the "Szlachta" records and memoirs.

[Cary W. Tucker]

Thanks for the article.

Another resource for heraldry in America is the United States Heraldic Registry:

http://usheraldicregistry.com/

I have found the U.S. Heraldic Registry to be very helpful is designing personal arms. In addition, registering a personal coat of arms with the Heraldic Registry is absolutely free, unlike other American societies which require an annual membership fee or charge hundreds of dollars just to register arms.

[Anne Lehmkuhl]

I get this question a lot in South Africa. It doesn't help that one of our late esteemed genealogists published a book containing so-called South African family coats-of-arms, and that our junior school curriculum contains a family history lesson where children are encouraged to find their family coat-of-arms! In response to such queries, I wrote the following article.

FAMILY COAT-OF-ARMS MYTH
Few people who use a coat-of-arms and/or so-called family crest today have any actual right to do so. Armorial bearings do not belong to all persons of a given surname but belong to and identify members of one particular family who has the legal right to the coat-of-arms.

Coats-of-arms are a form of property and may rightfully be used only by the male-line descendants of the individual to whom they were first granted or allowed. Such grants were and are made by the appropriate heraldic authority.

Coats-of-arms were used by knights and the nobility. In some countries coats-of-arms were used by bishops, cities and merchants. These were granted to an individual or to the city.

Unfortunately, over the centuries, many families have simply assumed arms and/or crests belonging to other families of the same name, usually without authority and without demonstrating any relationship between the families. This is especially true in South Africa. Mere usage of a coat-of-arms, even over a long period, does not necessarily indicate a descent from the family for whom it was first granted. More often than not, there is no such connection. Even in the days when a tax was levied on the use of armorial bearings, those paying the tax by no means always had an established right to arms.

The erroneous and widespread practice of adopting the arms of a family of the same surname is to be deplored. It detracts from the basic purpose of coats-of-arms and/or crests, which is to provide hereditary symbols by which particular families may be identified.

Grants of new arms have been made to worthy applicants, on payment of fees, since the 15th century. The practice continues to this day.

Many people like to purchase gifts that are supposedly their family coat-of-arms. There is only one problem: almost all of them are bogus! In many shopping malls, you will see vendors selling reproductions of coats-of-arms. Similar "businesses" exist on the Web.

The study of coats-of-arms is called heraldry. Those who control the issuance of arms are heralds. Typically, each country in Western Europe as well as in England, Scotland, Ireland, and South Africa, has an office of the Heralds. The Heralds are empowered to decide who is authorized to display a certain coat-of-arms. If you do not have authorization from the Heralds, you are not authorized to display any coat-of-arms. The rules are a bit different in the Netherlands and in some eastern European countries. The United States of America does not have an office of heralds, although the American College of Heraldry will register a coat-of-arms for individuals or businesses.

There is no such thing as a "family coat-of-arms." A coat-of-arms is issued to one person, not to a family. After that person is deceased, his primary heir (normally the oldest son) may apply for the same coat-of-arms. Again, when he dies, his heir may apply. The rules for determining who is eligible to display a coat-of-arms are very similar to the rules for becoming King or Queen of England. However, even the proper heir cannot display the coat-of-arms until he or she has received authorization (been confirmed) by the Heralds. At any one time, only one person may rightfully display a coat-of-arms. The next time someone offers a copy of your "family's coat-of-arms," ask them for the official documentation.

[Pierre]

Here is an interesting site of authentic XVIIth century German Coats of Arms:

http://www.wappenbuch.com