What is a family crest and how do you get one?
Friday, July 30th, 2010 at
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Coats of Arms
Except for a few cases, there is really no such thing as a catch-all "coat of arms" for a surname. BUT, you will find literally hundreds of web sites on the Internet that will tell you otherwise. In actuality, "coats of arms" are usually granted only to a single person … and NOT to an entire family or to a particular surname. Coats of arms are inheritable property, and they generally descend to male lineal descendents of the original arms grantee. So, you will know if you inherited a "coat of arms" … because if you did, you’ll already have it! The caveat to this paragraph is that "rules" and traditions regarding Coats of Arms vary from country to country. So, be certain to research the heraldry traditions of your ancestor’s home country.
There are many links to articles about Coats of Arms and heraldry, at Kimberly Powell’s About.com genealogy site.
A newsgroup devoted to heraldry has posted some very good explanations regarding a coat of arms and family crests. It explains what they can mean, and it even discusses software available for heraldic studies.
Legitimate Arms
If you’d like to read more about true coats of arms then these websites are good places to start:
•The Baronage Press
•American College Of Heraldry
•Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies
Arms for Entertainment or Decoration
If, for the sole purpose of fun and entertainment, you still want to see some coats of arms associated (loosely) with your surname, then you can read through the below linked websites. Some of them have free "coats of arms" images. Bear in mind, though, that for most all of us, viewing these coats of arms, or buying mugs, t-shirts or plaques bearing these images is really just for fun or decoration.
•Free Coat of Arms
•Free Coat of Arms Search (Extensive Site!)
•Coats of Arms Designs of Wonder
•Coats of Arms on the Internet
•Fleur-de-Lis Designs
http://www.progenealogists.com/coatofarms.htm
Family Crests
The family crest is typically a figure and generally a beast of some kind. It can be found "atop the helmet placed above the shield." Traditionally the crest has been used primarily by men. However, some queens of England or Britain have been treated with crests. In the early history of the family crest, its issuance was usually confined to people of rank, but later the crest was included in nearly every grant of arms.
Crests are part of the Coat of Arms. These were painted on shields that knights carried into battle to identify themselves to their friends. They may have been passed down from father to eldest legitimate son, but many belonged only to the particular knight who designed it. If you do a search on "Heraldry" you should be able to get information on how to make your own Coat of Arms.
There isn’t any such thing as a family crest. A crest is part of a coat of arms. The only way you could have a coat of arms is to trace your direct male line ancestry and to see if someone was granted a coat of arms, or you can have your own made.
There are numerous peddlers on the web, at shopping malls, in airports, in magazines selling coats of arms like they belong to everyone with the same surname and they don’t. In Britain they were/are specifically granted to individual men and are passed down to individuals. When a man was/is granted one all sons are eligible to obtain one with some differences. Only the oldest son inherits his father’s upon his father’s death. In many countries individuals assume coats of arms.
The surname product business is a big scam. Not too long ago there was an ad running on TV for a company selling framed surname histories which is rather shady as not everyone with the same surname has the same family history. When surnames were assigned or taken in Europe during the last millennium it wasn’t to identify a man as a member of a family but for taxation purposes. Too many Toms and Freds in the same town or village and they had to have a way of telling them apart. When they got through it wasn’t impossible for legitimate sons of the same man to have a different surname and still each could have shared his surname with others with no known relationship.
The man in the ad states "a" coat of arms will be on it, not "your" coat of arms. You see on TV the FCC can crack a company hard for fraudulent advertising. The FCC has no control over the internet or some merchant with a booth in your local shopping mall.
People who buy walnut plaques with a coat of arms on it might think it belongs to them but usually what they have is one that belongs to someone with the same surname and probably doesn’t have any relationship. A coat of arms that has been passed down through the generations will not be mounted on a walnut plaque. At Stuckey’s you can buy tshirts and coffee mugs etc with someone’s coat of arms on them. There are no laws regarding heraldry in the U.S. but for a person to display a coat of arms without documented proof that they are entitled to it is considered usurpation of another’s identity.
Now it is possible for a person to have more than one in their family tree. That doesn’t mean they are entitled to any one of them. What it can mean is if they trace their family history and find various ancestors that were granted or assumed a coat of arms and if they have a book printed or even published on their family history, it is quite valid for them to put pictures of their ancestors’ coats of arms in their book.
If you are an American and you have any English lines that goes back to early colonial days in the American South you have an excellent opportunity of finding several in your family tree. Actually you probably then have distant cousins, perhaps you never met, that has those that the ancestors you share in common with them brought over from England 400 years ago. As a rule they don’t display them. They aren’t any good for buying groceries or gasoline.
Here are some links re various countries’ heraldry
http://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/Faq.htm
http://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/About/12.htm#a
for England, Wales and Northern Ireland
http://www.lyon-court.com/lordlyon/216.181.html
for Scotland
http://www.nli.ie/en/heraldry-introduction.aspx
http://www.heraldry.ws/info/article10.html
re Irish heraldry
http://www.regalis.com/onom.htm
Italian heraldry
http://www.szlachta.org/heraldry.htm
Polish heraldry. Poland is one country where they belong to families, dynastic families.
What is a coat of arms?
A personal coat of arms is a heritable design representing an individual and his offspring, normally depicted on a shield but sometimes on a lozenge (diamond), a cartouche (oval), or on a flag. One original purpose of heraldic designs was to help soldiers identify their leaders (and followers) in battle, since often their faces were hidden in a helm. However, traders and craft persons also adopted arms to identify their family businesses in signage. In many countries farmers use heraldry to mark the entrance to their farm and to decorate their homes.
Today, the use of heraldry is widespread in the Americas and in Europe. In Britain heraldry is regulated, and the heraldic agencies charge a fee to create and re-register one’s arms. In most other countries there is no or little regulation.
In the USA there is an official agency that registers and designs arms for the armed forces and government. In Canada, there is an heraldic granting agency, but its use is not required to bear arms.
Coats of arms are used to identify persons, buildings, and vehicles in schools, churches, and local and national government agencies. Personal arms are used by individuals in stationary, as wall hangings, on door plaques, etc. The clergy, especially Catholics, use heraldry extensively to identify churches and leaders.
How do I get a family crest?
There is no such thing as a surname "family crest." The crest is the object on the helm (like the crest of a red cardinal). Traditional coats of arms were assumed by, or granted to, individuals. Their heirs inherited them. What confuses everyone are the scam websites that associate surnames with someone’s coat of arms. It is a type of identity theft.
http://www.heraldica.org/faqs/mfaq
If you want to find your inherited coat of arms, if you have one, then you need to contact a heraldry society for help. They will want to know your male line lineage, with places and dates, as far back into the past as possible.
If you cannot find an ancestor who used a coat of arms, you can create a new design. The best thing to do is to sign up for free heraldic design assistance at the IAAH. They can design traditional arms for you based on your ideas, instead of quasi-heraldry by a tattoo artist or fake heraldry from a surname coat of arms peddler on the web or at the mall.
http://www.amateurheralds.org/