Last year I assumed a Coat of Arms after spending a few months with a herald to have one made. I've since used this Coat of Arms as my profile picture and even as a letterhead on correspondences. But why?
Coats of Arms, and heraldry, can most likely be traced back to seals and emblems from well before medieval times. Military units used emblems to distinguish one another on the battlefield, and ministers of Kingdoms and Empires would use seals of their office in correspondences so the recipients would know where the letters came from. Kings and Emperors did the same.
At some point in time - most likely during the Crusades - we start to see individual coats of arms; these were heraldic designs that were put on the surcoats - or overcoats - of knights. These heraldic designs helped to let combatants know who was friend or foe.
During the Crusades there weren't really armies like we see them today, usually a lord or other land owner had their own armies who would then go support their king in battle, so having a way to recognize who was an ally on the battlefield was very important.
Eventually, the heraldic designs moved from the surcoats to their more recognizable form of the escutcheon (the shield). This isn't to say that these heraldic designs couldn't be found on shields and coats at the same time, just that eventually the shield design became synonymous with the Coats of Arms nomenclature as the wearing of surcoats fell away. These shields became stylized with the crest on top of a helmet and torse - or coronets if granted - or crowns for the monarchy, mantles, and a motto of some sort.
All of the extra added cool looking stuff is known as a full achievement.
Above, you can see my Coat of Arms and my Full Achievement.
In some countries you have to be awarded a Coat of Arms. For the weddings of Princes William and Harry to their non-noble wives, their wives fathers were granted a Coat of Arms by the Queen.This often makes it seem like only the nobility can bear arms, or that those with arms are very well to do. I will admit that going through a country's governing authority to work with a herald and register your arms can be quite expensive, but this is not always the case.
In many European countries one does not have to be a noble, or have a grant from the monarch/head of state to assume arms - this is not to say that arms were not historically granted by the monarchs, just that now any one who wants one can have a Coat of Arms.
Also, there are many, many companies that have their own Coat of Arms. Coats of Arms were essentially the logos of the Middle Ages. And for many companies today, their Coats of Arms are their logos. If you're the current President of the United States then your logo for your resort is actually someone else's Coat of Arms.
Just as an FYI, stealing and using someone else's Coat of Arms is generally seen as a bad move.
In the US there is no governing authority (outside of the military) to oversee the making, granting, and assuming of arms. This can cause a slight problem when people want to use a Coat of Arms that belongs to someone else. The Lord Lyon in Scotland, and the College of Arms in England not only grant arms to people, but they also help to protect arms making sure that nobody else usurps them.
There are a few heraldic registries in the US that allow armigers to register their arms, much like one would register a copyright. It basically boils down to being able to prove that you started using your arms at a certain time in case someone else tries to use them. It also helps heralds when they are helping others design their arms so they know if a design is similar to one already in use.
This also brings up another topic. That of a "Family" Coat of Arms, or a "Family" Crest.
First of all, there is no such thing as a Family Crest; the Crest is the portion that sits above the shield. Look up at my full achievement, see the crown with a double-headed eagle on top of a torse? That is my crest. If I were to ever have sons then they would be free to change the crest on their Coat of Arms to however they see fit.
Second, at least as far as English and Scottish heraldry go, there is no Family Coat of Arms. In Scotland no two people are allowed to bear the same arms. In England there is a bit more leeway. There is a system of differencing known as Cadency that is followed. You can actually see an original grant of Arms and then figure out who descended from whom. Usually, the Arms are differenced between sons with the father bearing the original Arms and then the sons bearing a cadency mark on their arms in a certain fashion - and so on as long as the male line continues. Also, usually for females, they will bear their father's Arms undifferenced on a lozenge or an oval until they are married, at which time their father's Arms would be marshalled together with the arms of her husband.
In England, after the father passes away the oldest son would inherit the undifferenced Arms, removing his cadency mark, and then the cadency starts all over again with his sons. This means that an uncle and his nephew could share the same arms. In Scotland, no two people can have the same arms, so there is an even more insane and confusing method of cadency. This means that when the original bearer of Arms passes away that nobody is allowed to use his arms. So for all of my friends who are proudly displaying the Arms of Clan McWhatever, congratulations, you are displaying someone else's Coat of Arms - seriously, those arms do not belong to the Clan; they may have belonged to a Chief of the Clan, or they could honestly just have belonged to any other person who bears the same last name as the Clan.
In European heraldry - and by here I mean the rest of Europe not being the British Isles - it wasn't as stringent and you could have septs of families using the same arms for generations. The problem then arises to figure out which sept of the family that you come from, and that goes into genealogy and away from heraldry (though often the two go hand in hand).
There are many "Family Coat of Arms" websites out there that supposedly have your family's Coat of Arms, many call them "bucket shops". Go search your surname on one of them. Did you find your Family Coat of Arms? Chances are slim, chances are nil if your surname comes from England or Scotland. The reason your chances are slim are for the reasons I talked about above, those Arms belong to someone else. Or, those arms might belong to a completely different branch of the family - or even a family that just has the same last name.
That being said, I did have a cousin in Italy that had some research done to see if we had a Coat of Arms. Italy is one of those countries where Arms followed the patrilineal descent and though they no longer have a heraldic authority or grant Arms, if you can find your ancestors Arms you can bear them (I think in Italy you can bear Arms no matter as long as you don't try to pass yourself off as nobility or try to use them for your own gain). And through my cousin's research there was a particular Coat of Arms that was determined to have been my family's. This Coat of Arms can be found on a number of bucket shop websites.
So, if I already had a Coat of Arms why did I then design and use my own Coat of Arms?
Nothing against my Italian side of my family, but I wanted my own particular Arms that still honored my heritage. The largest problem I faced with that was that I really couldn't find if anyone on my mother's side of the family had ever had any arms. I can kind of trace the family back to England; I say kind of, since after a certain point in history it gets difficult to know if a certain person in a certain area really is from my line, or someone else's line - especially for such a common last name. Truth be told, I don't even know if Clan Armstrong is the Clan that my family hails from as I can't find anything definitive or concrete to tie the family back to England or Scotland.
Anyway, genealogy woes aside, I wanted a Coat of Arms that spoke of the rich history of my family. As a logo tells you what company made a thing (or owns a thing) a Coat of Arms tells you who made a thing (or owns a thing). I wanted something that told the story of me, and my family, and would be recognized for generations to come as belonging to my family.
Another common misconception is that certain colors and certain symbols mean certain things across the whole gamut of heraldry. This is actually pretty false. Basically what you see on a Coat of Arms has a particular meaning to the bearer of those Arms, sometimes easy to guess, sometimes not so much.
For my own, I used elements of my family's Coat of Arms and meshed some other symbolism in there as well.
The gold and silver (Or and Argent) are the colors of the keys on the Vatican's Coat of Arms; I used those colors on mine to show that my family used to be Catholic. The red (Gules) is to show military service, not just mine, but my father's and grandfather's as well. The Eagles represent the Roman Empire - which my family dates back to (we can trace the family name to at least 501BC) - the red also helps to denote the Roman Empire as well. The colors of the Eagles (Or and Sable/gold and black) denote loyalty to Church (or faith) and Country during times of extreme grief. There are three Eagles to show that I am a third generation Italian-America, as well as the third generation in my family to have served in the military.
The Crest has an Eastern Crown (on a torse, so it does not denote nobility) because a part of my family comes from Southern Italy which historically had close ties to the Byzantine Empire. The double-headed Eagle is a symbol often seen in the Orthodox Church, and it's use here is to show a blending of East and West - my family which was Catholic (before my grandfather became a Protestant) is now Orthodox.
The motto is Lucem Amat Virtus - which means Virtue loves light.
Behind and below the Arms are two of my Medals from my time in the military. It isn't unusual for those who have earned medals to display them with their Arms.
This Coat of Arms represents not just me (even though my medals are displayed my daughters wouldn't display them), but my family. I had some Coats of Arms made for my daughters as well, following the Canadian form of Cadency since they have a system that includes daughters. I know that traditionally the females use their father's Arms with no differences until they are married and then combine those Arms with those of their husband's, but honestly, given that heraldry and those that bear Arms are not very common in the US there is no guarantee that whoever my daughters marry will have a Coat of Arms.
Another reason for going with the Cadency marks is that as the Eagles represent that I am a third generation Italian-American, my daughters are fourth generation. And as it doesn't look like I'll be having any sons any time soon, this is a good way to ensure that these arms stay in circulation.
My Arms also are a beacon for any future Comminis. They can look back and see that I am the originator of these arms, and hopefully they will not run into the same pitfalls that I have when trying to research my family. For my father's side of the family I can only reliably trace them back to Italy to around the mid 1800s. For my mother's side I can only trace them back reliably to the 1700s in the US. I want to have my descendants be able to look back and see from whence they came, and I want them to understand that their family has a rich history that they can be very proud of.
And that is why I have a Coat of Arms.
Coats of Arms, and heraldry, can most likely be traced back to seals and emblems from well before medieval times. Military units used emblems to distinguish one another on the battlefield, and ministers of Kingdoms and Empires would use seals of their office in correspondences so the recipients would know where the letters came from. Kings and Emperors did the same.
At some point in time - most likely during the Crusades - we start to see individual coats of arms; these were heraldic designs that were put on the surcoats - or overcoats - of knights. These heraldic designs helped to let combatants know who was friend or foe.
During the Crusades there weren't really armies like we see them today, usually a lord or other land owner had their own armies who would then go support their king in battle, so having a way to recognize who was an ally on the battlefield was very important.
Eventually, the heraldic designs moved from the surcoats to their more recognizable form of the escutcheon (the shield). This isn't to say that these heraldic designs couldn't be found on shields and coats at the same time, just that eventually the shield design became synonymous with the Coats of Arms nomenclature as the wearing of surcoats fell away. These shields became stylized with the crest on top of a helmet and torse - or coronets if granted - or crowns for the monarchy, mantles, and a motto of some sort.
All of the extra added cool looking stuff is known as a full achievement.
Above, you can see my Coat of Arms and my Full Achievement.
In some countries you have to be awarded a Coat of Arms. For the weddings of Princes William and Harry to their non-noble wives, their wives fathers were granted a Coat of Arms by the Queen.This often makes it seem like only the nobility can bear arms, or that those with arms are very well to do. I will admit that going through a country's governing authority to work with a herald and register your arms can be quite expensive, but this is not always the case.
In many European countries one does not have to be a noble, or have a grant from the monarch/head of state to assume arms - this is not to say that arms were not historically granted by the monarchs, just that now any one who wants one can have a Coat of Arms.
Also, there are many, many companies that have their own Coat of Arms. Coats of Arms were essentially the logos of the Middle Ages. And for many companies today, their Coats of Arms are their logos. If you're the current President of the United States then your logo for your resort is actually someone else's Coat of Arms.
Just as an FYI, stealing and using someone else's Coat of Arms is generally seen as a bad move.
In the US there is no governing authority (outside of the military) to oversee the making, granting, and assuming of arms. This can cause a slight problem when people want to use a Coat of Arms that belongs to someone else. The Lord Lyon in Scotland, and the College of Arms in England not only grant arms to people, but they also help to protect arms making sure that nobody else usurps them.
There are a few heraldic registries in the US that allow armigers to register their arms, much like one would register a copyright. It basically boils down to being able to prove that you started using your arms at a certain time in case someone else tries to use them. It also helps heralds when they are helping others design their arms so they know if a design is similar to one already in use.
This also brings up another topic. That of a "Family" Coat of Arms, or a "Family" Crest.
First of all, there is no such thing as a Family Crest; the Crest is the portion that sits above the shield. Look up at my full achievement, see the crown with a double-headed eagle on top of a torse? That is my crest. If I were to ever have sons then they would be free to change the crest on their Coat of Arms to however they see fit.
Second, at least as far as English and Scottish heraldry go, there is no Family Coat of Arms. In Scotland no two people are allowed to bear the same arms. In England there is a bit more leeway. There is a system of differencing known as Cadency that is followed. You can actually see an original grant of Arms and then figure out who descended from whom. Usually, the Arms are differenced between sons with the father bearing the original Arms and then the sons bearing a cadency mark on their arms in a certain fashion - and so on as long as the male line continues. Also, usually for females, they will bear their father's Arms undifferenced on a lozenge or an oval until they are married, at which time their father's Arms would be marshalled together with the arms of her husband.
In England, after the father passes away the oldest son would inherit the undifferenced Arms, removing his cadency mark, and then the cadency starts all over again with his sons. This means that an uncle and his nephew could share the same arms. In Scotland, no two people can have the same arms, so there is an even more insane and confusing method of cadency. This means that when the original bearer of Arms passes away that nobody is allowed to use his arms. So for all of my friends who are proudly displaying the Arms of Clan McWhatever, congratulations, you are displaying someone else's Coat of Arms - seriously, those arms do not belong to the Clan; they may have belonged to a Chief of the Clan, or they could honestly just have belonged to any other person who bears the same last name as the Clan.
In European heraldry - and by here I mean the rest of Europe not being the British Isles - it wasn't as stringent and you could have septs of families using the same arms for generations. The problem then arises to figure out which sept of the family that you come from, and that goes into genealogy and away from heraldry (though often the two go hand in hand).
There are many "Family Coat of Arms" websites out there that supposedly have your family's Coat of Arms, many call them "bucket shops". Go search your surname on one of them. Did you find your Family Coat of Arms? Chances are slim, chances are nil if your surname comes from England or Scotland. The reason your chances are slim are for the reasons I talked about above, those Arms belong to someone else. Or, those arms might belong to a completely different branch of the family - or even a family that just has the same last name.
That being said, I did have a cousin in Italy that had some research done to see if we had a Coat of Arms. Italy is one of those countries where Arms followed the patrilineal descent and though they no longer have a heraldic authority or grant Arms, if you can find your ancestors Arms you can bear them (I think in Italy you can bear Arms no matter as long as you don't try to pass yourself off as nobility or try to use them for your own gain). And through my cousin's research there was a particular Coat of Arms that was determined to have been my family's. This Coat of Arms can be found on a number of bucket shop websites.
Nothing against my Italian side of my family, but I wanted my own particular Arms that still honored my heritage. The largest problem I faced with that was that I really couldn't find if anyone on my mother's side of the family had ever had any arms. I can kind of trace the family back to England; I say kind of, since after a certain point in history it gets difficult to know if a certain person in a certain area really is from my line, or someone else's line - especially for such a common last name. Truth be told, I don't even know if Clan Armstrong is the Clan that my family hails from as I can't find anything definitive or concrete to tie the family back to England or Scotland.
Anyway, genealogy woes aside, I wanted a Coat of Arms that spoke of the rich history of my family. As a logo tells you what company made a thing (or owns a thing) a Coat of Arms tells you who made a thing (or owns a thing). I wanted something that told the story of me, and my family, and would be recognized for generations to come as belonging to my family.
Another common misconception is that certain colors and certain symbols mean certain things across the whole gamut of heraldry. This is actually pretty false. Basically what you see on a Coat of Arms has a particular meaning to the bearer of those Arms, sometimes easy to guess, sometimes not so much.
For my own, I used elements of my family's Coat of Arms and meshed some other symbolism in there as well.
The gold and silver (Or and Argent) are the colors of the keys on the Vatican's Coat of Arms; I used those colors on mine to show that my family used to be Catholic. The red (Gules) is to show military service, not just mine, but my father's and grandfather's as well. The Eagles represent the Roman Empire - which my family dates back to (we can trace the family name to at least 501BC) - the red also helps to denote the Roman Empire as well. The colors of the Eagles (Or and Sable/gold and black) denote loyalty to Church (or faith) and Country during times of extreme grief. There are three Eagles to show that I am a third generation Italian-America, as well as the third generation in my family to have served in the military.
The Crest has an Eastern Crown (on a torse, so it does not denote nobility) because a part of my family comes from Southern Italy which historically had close ties to the Byzantine Empire. The double-headed Eagle is a symbol often seen in the Orthodox Church, and it's use here is to show a blending of East and West - my family which was Catholic (before my grandfather became a Protestant) is now Orthodox.
The motto is Lucem Amat Virtus - which means Virtue loves light.
Behind and below the Arms are two of my Medals from my time in the military. It isn't unusual for those who have earned medals to display them with their Arms.
This Coat of Arms represents not just me (even though my medals are displayed my daughters wouldn't display them), but my family. I had some Coats of Arms made for my daughters as well, following the Canadian form of Cadency since they have a system that includes daughters. I know that traditionally the females use their father's Arms with no differences until they are married and then combine those Arms with those of their husband's, but honestly, given that heraldry and those that bear Arms are not very common in the US there is no guarantee that whoever my daughters marry will have a Coat of Arms.
My Arms also are a beacon for any future Comminis. They can look back and see that I am the originator of these arms, and hopefully they will not run into the same pitfalls that I have when trying to research my family. For my father's side of the family I can only reliably trace them back to Italy to around the mid 1800s. For my mother's side I can only trace them back reliably to the 1700s in the US. I want to have my descendants be able to look back and see from whence they came, and I want them to understand that their family has a rich history that they can be very proud of.
And that is why I have a Coat of Arms.
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