Heraldry

Member Rick has fully licensed Heraldic software and can provide Family Crests, Family Histories including meaning of symbols and history of name. Also available are Tartan and Clan Histories from Scotland, Ireland, Canada, Australia. A popular idea is an A3 framed double Coat of Arms showing both families, this makes an ideal, unusual, present for family and friends anniversaries. The crest/Coat of Arms, Although not technically belonging to a family they do provide a beautiful pictorial addition to your family tree.

Double Family Name Crests

Click the attached file below (bottom of Page), 'Abbott info' to see a sample of a family history

Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Do coats of arms belong to surnames?

A. No. There is no such thing as a 'coat of arms for a surname'. Many people of the same surname will often be entitled to completely different coats of arms, and many of that surname will be entitled to no coat of arms. Coats of arms belong to individuals. For any person to have a right to a coat of arms they must either have had it granted to them or be descended in the legitimate male line from a person to whom arms were granted or confirmed in the past.

Q. What are the pantone numbers for the colours used in heraldry?

A. There are no fixed shades for heraldic colours. If the official description of a coat of arms gives its tinctures as Gules (red), Azure (blue) and Argent (white or silver) then, as long as the blue is not too light and the red not too orange, purple or pink, it is up to the artist to decide which particular shades they think are appropriate.

Q. What is a crest?

A. It is a popular misconception that the word 'crest' describes a whole coat of arms or any heraldic device. It does not. A crest is a specific part of a full achievement of arms: the three-dimensional object placed on top of the helm.

The "Meaning" of Coats of Arms

Generally speaking it is almost always impossible to accurately decipher the meaning of the symbolism on any personal coat of arms. Many of the arms in use today, or on which today's coats of arms are based, were granted hundreds of years ago and if there was ever a specific meaning to the symbols, then this is probably lost in history. Even in situations where there are records of the granting of arms, rarely, if ever, is the symbolic significance recorded.

Complex rules apply to the physical and artistic form of new creations of arms, such as the Rule of tincture. A thorough understanding of these rules is a key to the art of heraldry. In Europe originally the rules and terminology were broadly similar from kingdom to kingdom, but several national styles had developed by the end of the Middle Ages. Most aspects, however, remain in common.

Though heraldry is nearly 900 years old, it is still very much in use. Many cities and towns in Europe and around the world still make use of arms. Personal heraldry, both legally protected and lawfully assumed, has continued to be used around the world. Heraldic societies exist to promote education and understanding about the subject.