PATREON: / generalistpapers What's the deal with those colorful shields? Follow me here: Twitter: / harrisonholt2 Instagram: / Music by Alexander Nakarada. #coat of arms #heraldry
So when I deployed we had these people come on board who where from the Coat of Arms College who started a company to look up people's families so I asked for mine to be looked. I gave them my name and they got back to me in about a month after looking. Turns out my Ancestors fought at the battle of Hastings earning honors and a minor Nobility and were Woodsman and Game Wardens before that. My family's Coat was a azure shield divided by the metal with two falcons on the azure. Closed Helmet and a hound atop it, and the words Virtue Semper Virte. So I wanted to do some more digging and turns out my family already knew this and had an old book with the same coat of arms on it.
Fckin shit thats awesome dude my family is actually the royal family of Dhaka bangladesh but here we are in india living normal lives due to the ones who still enjoy royalty lolz no hard feeling dude just telling u my story bcoz u shared yours
In the middle ages, servants would assume the name of their lord or, in some cases, the place they came from or the trade they practiced. My own surname is an example of this: Wal-ton simply means that my ancestors came from a walled-town. The town would need defensive walls to protect it from attack, so, an inhabitant of a walled town would be (relatively) safe from attack.
So, few things: Heralds were originally messengers from the king, but it was useful for them to know who they were talking to, so they got to know the various arms and then over time that became their main job. Or at least in England. Also, the Collage of Arms in the video is for England (and Wales) only: Scotland (Lord Lyon King of Arms) and (Northern) Ireland (Norroy and Ulster King of Arms) have their own.
This is a very helpful video! Something I think should be pointed out, however, is that the rule of tinctures isn't really a rule but rather a design suggestion that is often advised. Historically it was broken very often, and the insistence of it's importance is more modern. Some heraldic traditions still don't hold it as very important.
the rule was followed for simple reasons: you can spot metal on colour easly from a wide distance. see modern traffic signs, they use the same method :)
Indeed, the rule of tincure is there to make people design arms that are easy to spot and recognize over distances since that would've been their main purpose, to be identifed in battles.
I had a heraldry phase a few years ago and this taught me some stuff I wasn’t aware of back then. The tips about spotting fraudulent achievements were especially helpful. There’s a weirdly obsessive yet misinformed fascination with heraldry where I’m from so if it comes up in conversation, I’ll send your video their way. Your channel is underrated, by the way!
Very few talk about heraldry on TH-cam, sow I am always happy when someone do! Thankful that you did, and for the most part I really liked your video. The only thing that should have been clarified more, is that you are talking mostly about english heraldry traditions. Which for the most part is very different from the majority of Continental European heraldry. Even in the UK heraldry traditions varies between Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England. Since English is the lingua franca nowadays, the confusion grows when people only reads English literature on heraldry. But hope you will make more, I for my part will happily check out the rest of your videos!
@@JuanCanuck hahaha youtube algorithm helped him a lot though... When i wrote the comment he had 20 subs and ~100 views or something like that. It might have been late, but it surely helped him
After my father retired, he took a part time job at the College of Arms working as a researcher for Clarenceux King of Arms. He absolutely loved the work.
Hi. I'm from the Netherlands. In my country we distinguish two kinds of heraldry achievements. First that of nobility. With that comes the socalled Blue Book, a formal registry of every noble family and persons of rank within these families. Secondly we have "patriciaat". These are families of merit who gained the right to wear a coat of arms and everything that comes to it. They are registered in the socalled Red Book. My family has gained the right to bear a heraldry achievement by... similarity in name with the family who originally bore this heraldry achievement! Go figure: our family name being the same as their's gave us that right (which came of in the 20th century no less). The coat of arms is a silver shield on the shield a red griffon facing to the right. Between it's upper paws it carries a pole, which is actually a socalled (crossbow)bolt. And that's our family name. There is also the top helmet and the blanket that waves around it. The original Bolts were professional mercenaries who's speciallity it was to set fire within fortified structures by means of firing fiery Bolts. Our family were just simple peasant folk who came up in the world by means of hard work and craftyness. But still, it's kinda cool to be bearer of a heraldry achievement that dates back to at least 1558!
Italy maintained a similar book, il libro d'oro - the Golden Book from 1922-1946. However it was far from complete. My family arms date back to the 1400s when the part of Italy we're from was the Duchy of Savoy, later the Kingdom of Sardinia. Arms & nobility granted from 1922 (ascension of fascism) to 1946 (abolishment of the monarchy) are illegal ex post facto. It took me twenty five years to find our arms, in a series of manuscripts maintained by a branch of the former royal family
Hoi, ik woon ook in Nederland (echter ben ik engels) maar ik was er echt niet van bewust dat er coat of arms in Nederland waren, de meeste mensen die ik ken hebben echt geen flauw idee wat die van hun zijn
One correction: The ‹Adelsboek› - the record of the nobility - is the Red Book - ‹Rode Boekje›, the ‹Patriciaat› - the record of other (historically) influential families - is the Blue Book - ‹Blauwe Boekje›. Also, the ‹patriciaat› has no special right to have a coat of arms (as the legal expression is), in the Netherlands everyone may have a coat of arms, and assume one if their ancestors did not bear one. But they have no legal protections or status, as they have for example in Britain. Only the nobility (and royalty and the units of local government) have a right and at the same time an obligation to register their arms with the ‹Hoge Raad van Adel›, they are not allowed to display arms when they haven’t registered them, but no-one else may use these registered arms; although there are no penalties in law. Various societies and institutions operate (or have operated) voluntary registers of arms, so that people outside the nobility may announce that they have assumed or resurrected specific heraldic bearings, and bona-fide heraldists can seek out which coats of arms already exist.
Since the USA doesn't observe the law of arms, you'll often see people buying plaques and things with "their family crest" on it, when in fact it is the arms of some family of the same name but to which they have no right. There's even a shop in Walt Disney World where you can buy items with coats-of-arms on them that the sellers will tell you are "your" coat-of-arms. Very few Americans realize that coats-of-arms are granted to individuals, and are not always hereditary. And even when they are hereditary, sharing a name doesn't mean you are related, or that your relationship branched off after the arms were granted. Of course, since the USA doesn't observe the law of arms, anyone can display any arms they want here, but it really displays ignorance to do so.
In western europe, the CoA is granted to the individual, but in eastern europe, there are many CoA's that are granted to families. Eastern european heraldry is vastly different, and does not use many of the rules talked about in this video.
@@baronedipiemonte3990 My family came to what is now the USA in 1609, and from what my research found we never had a coat of arms. So I came up with my own and had a British herald from the International Association of Amateur Heralds emblazon it, and an Australian heraldic artist from the same organization provided a nice rendering of that blazon. Since the USA doesn't honor the law of arms, I registered a copyright of it so no one else can legally use it. Because my grandfather was in the Army Air Corps and remained after it became the US Air Force, and because two uncles were also in the Air Force, as were my brother and I, I used themes from the Army Air Corps/Air Force roundel and the new Army beret flash, combined with the traditional element of a lion as the main charge and the crest. Arms: Bleu-Celeste a Lion rampant guardant Argent armed and langued Gules a Bordure Azure charged with Thirteen Mullets pierced Gules. (Normally the number of charges on a border would vary with the size of the rendering, but I specified 13 to represent the 13 original colonies.) Mantling: Bleu-Celeste doubled Argent. Crest: A Demi-Lion rampant Gules holding in its forepaws within a Circlet Argent a Mullet Argent pierced of the field.
@@seikibrian8641 And that sounds great ! "Looks" amazing (from the Blazon). I knew out family had one, and I was determined to find it. And after 26 years of digging here and there, I finally did. But I won't publically list the blazon as it's not in any publically available "data base", and I don't want it used by anyone other than REAL family (and not even some of them to be honest).
@@baronedipiemonte3990 "...I don't want it used by anyone other than REAL family (and not even some of them to be honest)." LOL! Yeah, I hear you. We all have some of "those" types in our families.
to be honest I actually started out as an eye-roller, but you are indeed hitting all the heraldic nails on the head. spread that rule of tincture, brother! subscribed
I do quite a lot with Ancestry and hate to leave a finished profile image blank. So, I look up the family COA / Crests / Symbols, etc. I've built up a descent library of images. I'm so glad I came across this video to explain a lot of the questions I had.
As a writer, I felt like this is important if you write about noble families. My characters are part of a noble family and it is based on a Cornish noble family (possibly the Edgecumbes).
5:50 "The Blazon of my own family coat of arms..." Well, here's the thing. There is no such thing as a "family coat of arms" in the sense that the coat of arms belongs to a family. The arms only refer to ONE specific individual at any one time. When that person dies, the arms can be inherited by the heir - who then becomes the ONE person that coat of arms refers to. If a Badge has been issued with the arms, then followers of the ONE person who owns the arms may display the badge associated with those arms.
In Western Europe that was maybe a thing, but in Poland coats of arms belonged to famillies. They were usually shared by many unrelated famillies. Also Polish coats of arms have their own name, per example "Leliwa", "Wieniawa", "Kot morski", "Sulima", "Topór". Often names of coats of arms were adopted as parts of family names.
This explains the Gould arms very well, thank you. Side note, the motto translates to "Be It Not Unto Us", which I've further "translated" to "Not My Problem". ;)
The specifics often varied a lot by region as well. For example, in Poland, basically every family in a region shared a coat of arms they could all use-very practical when like half the population was considered “technically nobility” regardless of actual wealth or status-and basically all of said arms used the same red & white color scheme, making a Polish army displaying full heraldic arms more uniform than its neighbors. Meanwhile in a lot of German territories, they HAD an equivalent of the rule of tinctures, but sable/black was considered a “semi-metal” and useable on top of either metals or colors (more modern colors like bleu celeste are sometimes treated as semi-metals too), and they used two entirely different styles of helmet instead of the position of the visor to denote the noble/middle-class (burghur) divide. And the Catholic Church basically treated the specific violation of the rule of tinctures of putting or/gold/yellow & argent/silver/white together, a special trademark they could hand out in achievements of arms as a sign of Papal approval, hence the Papal States/Vatican City and Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem flags having yellow on white.
My family has a crest/coat of arms developed in the late 1800s lol. Going back 4 or 5 great grandfathers (J.P. Graves) leads to someone who was the key player in the development of the City if Spokane. He had it made to show his wealth. Kinda funny if you ask me
"The Oswalt family crest should just be a pair of eyes rolling off to the side, a bag of Cheetos, and then the F word. That would be our shield that you'd see retreating from the great battles of history. "F this - bows and arrows? Nobody told me anything about bows and arrows, goodbye."" - Patton Oswalt
Mantling is 'torn' if the bearer has seen battle... not just decorative. Royal helmets face forward, not to the side. The divisions and charges can also be used to denote standing within the family, eg first son, second son etc
I agree. Although, you speak of "Britain" only, but it was an European tradition in every country. At least I know the same for most of Europe, not sure how far around.
Most of them actually have a cool story behind it. Like when the noblemans life was saved when his carriage was rolling down a road unstopably by a deer raming his antlers into the wheels. The actual Coat of arms had a upper half of the deer rampant with the bottom half a wheel both in gold on a green field. It actually exists
I was pleasantly surprised to see when you used your own family's coat of arms to explain blazon that it was the same as my family's. I can't help but wonder if we share common ancestry.
The best reason nobility wore their coats of arms was a desire not to get killed while fighting in a battle. " Don't hurt me......my families rich and will pay a ransome for my return."
I don’t think my family ever created a heraldic achievement but my parents did create a banner a while ago. It was a bit cliché lol. It was a blue background (I don’t know why, but as it’s not any of their favourite colour, I guess it’s because of our French ancestry) with a rampant golden lion on it. Lol
I'm surprised to find your informative videos with minimum views. I like the way you deliver informations. It's more clear than from other channels 🤭. I already subscribe and turn on the notification bell for every video you'll upload. Looking forward to seeing your channel grow. Hihi
@420rgb2 2 you need permission still to create new arms in england by the Earl Marshal aka Duke of Norfolk. ;) permission is of course easier and immediately if his boss decided the matter; Elizabeth the Eternal issuing a lettern patent is superior :D
I recently found out that I have lineage to the Monarchy. I submitted a petition to the College Coat of Arms Q4/2020 - w/ no response. I have LVM’s to f/u in the status of paper work - no response. Does anyone know of a better/different way to submit this paper to get registered w/ the Courts? Thxs.
@@ecaldwell9 Assuming you are in England/Wales ... no. Use of a coat of arms without proper authority is a violation of the law, as well as being tacky. If you feel it has been a long time with no action, give them a call. It's their JOB. Be courteous and patient, and be aware that there are both rules, and feed, involved. As for being "connected to royalty", or anyone else, you will need to be able to prove it. Marriage licenses, birth registrations, etc.
@@RichWoods23 Very likely *not* going to help your case. They will probably argue that she is lying about the paternity of her baby. Unless there is some other actual *proof* -- DNA maybe? Birthmark (a trope, but it might help), correspondence, something like that -- the odds are very, very slim.
@bruh Magic, I’d bet that my ancestor knew your ancestor. My U.S. ancestry goes back to Col. “Captain” Bridges Freeman. There is a B&B in Brewster, Massachusetts called the Captain Freeman Inn. I’d love to visit someday.
My family Coat of Arms, that of Windham & Wyndham, has a Yellow lion atop a helmet with a shield showing 3 yellow lions with an azure field and a yellow chevron separating the 3 lions. Our motto is "au bon droit"
Very well printed and timely for me, as I have discovered that some of my ancestors were the Webbs of Stratford upon Avon, not a noble family, but rather a long line of knights. Thank you for this!
Technically, “noble” does not mean having a hereditary title, but just someone slightly notable, like an Esquire or just a Gentleman, so any University graduate (i.e., B.A. or better) or commissioned officer would count. Thus, any of your knightly ancestors were nobility.
@@davidweihe6052 well as I understand it, nobles have hereditary title… knights do not. Anyway I discovered later that the whole lineage was faulty 😂 none of those men were likely my ancestors and at least one of them probably did not exist! Fun story … and published long ago, but rubbish.
Good video. My only point of complaint is that there is no such thing as a "family coat of arms". Arms were granted to individuals, not families. Through inheritance it was possible for multiple people in the same family to bear the same coat of arms (or a similar one, but that's a different point), but not necessarily. It is not the case that people have the right to a coat of arms just because they are in the same family (or have the same surname), as the person granted it. It requires a male line of descent from the grantee, or the highest female line if there are no heirs male.
A good general overview of the basics of heraldry with few issues! Well done! I am curious though as you mentioned your own “family coat of arms”, may I ask how that achievement came to be as you sound American?(not a criticism but a general curiosity). Keep up the good work and if you ever need resources on heraldry let me know!
Herald originally was a term for a messenger. Heraldry, the word, probably came from the idea that the herald would display his master's flag, upon which was his sigil. Since he had to display the sigil, it became associated with the herald. The herald had to display from whom he came to ensure he made it to the person to whom he spoke. It was the highest form of diplomatic faux pas to kill the herald. Love how you said, "go forth" at the end.
"Mantling" is shown wrong at 7:48 in your video, (but right for instance at 5:55 and 7:35) as it looks as if the fabric comes out of the shield. The mantling fabric (cloth) was draped over the helmet to prevent the helmet getting hot in the sun. As this fabric ended up being damaged and cut during battle (blows over the head), it is represented in strips coming down from the helmet. This mantling is represented in the 2 main colours used on the shield, one colour for the inside and the other for the outside of the fabric. The torse kept the fabric that was draped over the helmet in its place and is again shown in the two main colours of the shield. Therefore, a part of the mantling fabric should pop out from under the torse on the front side of the helmet. Also; a pity that you don't show ladies' coats of arms: in the Netherlands we represent the coat of arms of a non-married lady with a "shield" in the form of a diamond (lozenge), for married ladies it is an oval. But this rule is not the same everywhere. For instance: Princess Anne's coat of arms shows a lozenge though she is married. And you never design your (new) coat of arms: either your family has one, or not. Coat of arms are indeed registered in a country's organisation. Non-registered ones are fake.
Also, the governing body would make sure nobody was getting uppity in their designs. Henry VIII (not that he needed much reason) had one of his cousins executed for putting the Plantagenet symbols into his COA. Even though he undoubtedly had much more Plantagenet blood, it was seen as a threat as he was claiming his royal descent.
I designed my own Coat of Arms, because my surname is a mixture between two actual well-known surnames. It is green and silver, with a dragon and an owl guarding an obelisc
One of the earliest periods of the use of a coat of arms was in the year 1030, when on the 29th of Juli of that same year at the Battle of Stiklestadr in Norway, Konungr Olaf Haraldsson of Norway fought against the army of King Kanutr the Great of England and Danmark.....ordered his army to paint their sheilds all white with a gold cross, inorder to identify each other in the battle.
It is said that Charlemagne was very happy when he was crowned by Pope Leo III. I was also very happy after I was crowned. That is of course until I saw the dentist bill.
Since the colors they could pull out of the clay varies from one locality to another there is no mystery why different Kingdoms used different colors as identifiers since local coloring agents were used to manufacture local clothing . Images would have been added later to show individual leaders/warriors . All pretty logical in its progression but interesting none the less in how it actually came about .
Wonder what acorns on top of the helmet might stand for? My family "heraldry achievement" (terminology according to this video) was used for three consecutive generations(!) of mayors in a German town beginning in the 16th century, and I expect heraldry was very strictly regulated at the time. Also I've always wondered why there is a helmet on top of the shield/coat of arms, since none in the family were military men. The actual coat of arms is kind of cute, because it actually describes my family name, it's a pictogram! It depicts a mideval farmer holding up a sickle - what was used for harvesting things like grass - and my name is Grassman! A really good descriptive farmers name. Wonder how old the name is, since the clothing of the farmer in the preserved seals I think is a much older, mideval style, like 12-14th century, but oldest recording of my family is 1590, when they became mayors. (So preserved in the city archives.)
Very nice video. I use as my Google thumbnail the coat of arms of an ancestor. It's from the Portugal-Brazilian Empire - Duke of Caxias, patron of the Brazilian Army and I'm related to all of these 6 families.
For once in my life, the TH-cam algorithm suggested something to me that I subscribed to. I would like to leave a suggestion of something that you may be interested in doing and that would interest me to know more on the subject: Mythology Greek, Roman, Egypt, Viking (Nordic), and the social organization of the no monotheistic religions. Thanks!!! I appreciated not only the theme but also the drawing presentation of the subject.😉🇵🇹
I once met a Scot who claimed his family was descended from royalty and were in line for the English throne. His proof was that his family's coat of arms had Lions with teeth and claws. According to him, only those family who were in line for the throne had Lions with teeth and claws on their coat of arms. No idea if this was true though.
Isn't the Scots symbol a Unicorn though as it was believed that Unicorns are the Arch enemies of Lions? Scots = Unicorn Welsh = Dragon English = Lion Irish = Clover Fun fact the Unicorn is a double mistranslation originally it ment Orox in Hebrew (Ancient Ox) then people thought it was a Rhino in Greek then people thought it was a horse with a horn
In England COA are owned by individuals, not families. Individuals' COA might be based on another's relative's COA but it will be (or should be) 'differenced.' Such 'differences' are agreed/listed by the College of Arms. In Scotland the rules are even tighter, and the use of unofficial COA is, I believe, illegal. The use of so-called 'family' Arms is simple affectation, nothing more.
I'm sorry to inform you, but the helm position has a meaning too. The nobles have it looking at right (of the shileld, so we see it looking left); the bourgeoisy have it looking at shield left, and only royalties can have it looking in front. Also if it's the most beautiful one of them
On todays union jack flag, is the red X representing ( now) northern ireland in the union, its also known as the saint Patrick's cross ❌, but, its actually the Geraldine/ FitzGerald/Desmond family crest, a dynasty traceable back to 1066. The family motto was , " Crom Abu!" ( Onward to Crom castle). However, after the Desmond rebellions in Ireland, they were stripped of the title, though they were cousins of the Tudors ( Queen Elizabeth 1 reigned at the time). The entire dynasty history is fascinating.
"Sinople" was originally a synonym for "gules" that fell out of use fairly early on. Later, when French pronunciation had changed enough that "vert" and "vair" started sounding similar enough to cause confusion, "sinople" was pulled from retirement and repurposed as the blazon for "green".
Thank you for breaking down the meaning and history of The coat of arms.. Even today in the 21st century Professional association football club badges are a evolved version of that City or towns coat of arms.. A prime example being The city of Newcastle Upon- Tyne .. And the famous football club Newcastle United F.C. FORTITER. TRIUMHANS, DEFENDIT..The most northernly English city that never surrendered or was overrun by the Scots.. Triumph by defence !!
'My own coat of arms'- unlikely. Unless you are a first line descendant of someone granted arms, they are not yours in any way. A 'family' coat of arms does not exist- it belongs to one person. (Direct descendants of a living armigerous person may use it with specified labels)
not everywere. arms are usually granted to armiger "and descendants" and in german speaking countries the family members rightfully descended share the same arms; wifes and daughters arms show helms too.
@@rivenoak That is not very different to what I said. Not all of the same 'name' or 'family' are descendants of the armigerous. In my own case, I am descended from the brother of a Baronet- i.e. not direct. So I have no right to the arms. Note that, if ALL descendants had such a right, and given that we are all a mix of the past, everyone would have the 'right' to a vast number of arms. Anarchy.
@@Tensquaremetreworkshop "same name" is usually different from "same family", but this distinction is fairly obvious. :) the baronet arms of that uncle branch are not for you of course. your ancestor should have designed his own :)
@@Tensquaremetreworkshop no need to be a herald, just important enough to petition the college of arms (or lord lyon court afaik) :D for family definition: direct and legal descendant of the armiger. your "brother to baronet" example is pretty good for explanation, as the baronet line is not your own.
A reminder that simply sharing the surname of a family with a coat of arms or heraldic achievement does not entitle you to the use of these heraldic displays.
Well mines shows military service which goes back to four generations ( that I know) including my dad, grandfather, great grandfather etc.. all were military officers graduated from the same military academy and you bet I’m going to show my coat of arms because my family has actually achieved these things .
Interesting. Some slight differences between what the UK does and how things were done in Austria (my family used to be the von Puchs until the Revolution).
The main reason I got into SOIAF was because of the details of their Heraldry haha. It’s something from history that I love to research and wish their was more info on medieval heraldry.
The symbol at the beginning I would call a sigil. The whole coat-of-arms, the Achievement. One other thing: at least in the USArmy, all regiments will have such Heraldry. My regiment, the 12th Infantry, had the field Divided by crenallations(mssp?)to signify the taking of a fort, I believe, in the Spanish-American War. Also, the 12th manned Ft. McHenry during the bombardment that gave us The Star-Spangled Banner. I believe it was the taking of the fort in Cuba which is being Heralded, but my memory may be incorrect. The Crest of the Sigil isn't a crest at all, but a Knighted Arm (don't know a better way to describe a limb in armor) seizing an Enemy Banner. I believe all US military units have such Heraldic Sigils, Achievements. Probably every western military as well.
You seem to have forgotten than the term "family Coat of arms" does not exist (esp England). Arms are awarded to individuals, not family's. Arms are considered inheritable property (think of a copyright) The arms are passed down to the eldest son (undifferentiated, that is, the same as the father) other members of the family may use similar arms, but not the same. There are very complex laws regarding the use of arms, and having the same last name of the person to whom the arms were awarded to does NOT give one the right to use those arms. The rightful owner of those arms may actually sue and recover damages. In the U.S. those laws do not hold so if you design a coat of arms, copywrite it if you like. Think of arms as a company logo, your name may be Ford but you can't use the logo of the Ford Motor Company as you own.
Have to say that even tho the family crest is indeed something that might represent you and everything (even tho it's not really like that), the Coat of Arms is something personal, that you have to either inherit or ask for. Ik a bunch of ppl that look up "their" family's "coat of arms" not even "their" family crest, it doesn't really work like that.
Agreed, you may find a coat of arms that belonged to an ancestor, but it remains the arms of an individual not the family... it is still something to celebrate. I'm surprised the presenter skipped this.
It's not disrespectful to assume arms, you can do it, it's fine, it's just they won't be official unless you can register them, the heraldry association loves people making their own arms
There is modern evidence that the ancient coat of arms were used to differentiate armies. There was a complaint among Confederates that their initial flag was to similar to the flag of the republic and caused confusion in battle. And that is how we got the X shaped battle flag we all know and love. This instance illustrates that properly identifying the enemy is actually quote a big concern for a soldier and a general alike.
Since a lord commanded his own men in battle, his coat of arms effectively becomes a unit insignia. Soldiers know to rally to the right banner, the overall commander can identify his forces.
Yes, that is full achievement, the base, motto, supporters, shield, wreath/torse/tabard (often mistaken as a leaf,but represents a tabard torn in battle) the helm, the crest atop the helm. English heraldry is one of the most complicated... with the types and position of say, a lion's tail having different meaning. The basic Charges and Tinctures generally have the same meaning or significance among the different countries. On my family CoA, the tree depicted is the tree of life and knowledge. And sometimes, as was the case in Italy, Arms were often matriculated (modified). You gave a good basic description of what Coats of Arms are. My family arms go back to the Kingdom of Sardinia, 1625. Our motto "Noli me tangere" came from the Crown, and often more than one family could have the same motto. Our supporter, an Owl guardant displayed, is directly beneath the shield. The formal description, almost universal, of arms is called the Blazon. Often in Latin.
@@jesusthroughmary Thanks. I already knew what it meant in latin. Whether the motto has a religious or secular connotation in my family's case is a coin toss. A division of the United States Army had the same motto. I doubt it has anything to do with the resurrection.
Others do have pavilions on them like the coat of arms of the House of Bourbon in Wikipedia. The Philippine national hero, José Rizal, used "Noli Me Tangere" as the title of the book he wrote that inspired our freedom from Spain. Our teachers translated it thus, "Touch me not." We also pronounce it erroniously as tanhere with Spanish jota sound instead of Latin G sound, which is why I had thought it was a Spanish sentence instead of Latin.
"Family crests" it's literally explained in the video what those are. And as another commenter pointed it out, family arms do no exist, arms are granted to an individual and only direct descendents can use them.
I wish I could post a picture of mine. We had to change our last name from O'rian to Ryan to sound more American. Super interesting story how we got to the US. My ancestors were slaves. Packed onto a ship to be sold, my great great (etc) grandpa stole a revolver and killed the crew. The new crew sailed the ship to America. We still have that Pepperbox revolver. 😊
I encountered other words for argent and azure, I think? A book published in 1555 describes my peoples' coat of arms as, "Arma Gothorum: Leonem scilicet coronatum super tres aquas *candidas* in campo *cœelestini* coloris... " does candidas mean silver-white, and caelestini mean sky-blue? In another text they also called the blue cæruleo. But it's all just the same as normal argent and azure I assume?
Very well explained and summarized in a few minutes. Yes it maddening hearing the term "family crest"or "crest" for a coat of arms or heraldic achievement. My families arms break the tincture rules as on the Vatican shield.
i love heraldry, some of the coolest ones have a severed turks head or moors head impaled on a sword or spear, or held by a knight or with birds pecking the eyes out. i think most of the turks head ones are hungarian.
Really weird how standardize the whole COA proccess is on europe Here in Peru some places be going wild with their coat of arms (Like the Lambayeque or Puno regions)
At 3:14 ...You forgot to mention Murrey, Sanguine, and Tenné...along with other tinctures such as Carnation, Celeste, Bluff, Orange, Rose, and Copper...Or when the tincture is "proper” (when an object appears in its natural color)
Many of these principles do not apply to eastern-central Europe. In Polish, LIthuanian, Belarusan, and Ukrainian heraldry, metals may rest upon each other, keys have no association with clergy, a shield may rest upon a shield etc., etc.
Very informative and well done presentation. Thank you! Just one comment… You seem to have contradicted yourself when you presented your family’s Heraldic Achievement, but referred to it as your family’s “Coat of Arms.” This was a bit confusing.
So when I deployed we had these people come on board who where from the Coat of Arms College who started a company to look up people's families so I asked for mine to be looked. I gave them my name and they got back to me in about a month after looking. Turns out my Ancestors fought at the battle of Hastings earning honors and a minor Nobility and were Woodsman and Game Wardens before that. My family's Coat was a azure shield divided by the metal with two falcons on the azure. Closed Helmet and a hound atop it, and the words Virtue Semper Virte. So I wanted to do some more digging and turns out my family already knew this and had an old book with the same coat of arms on it.
Nice! ✊
Fckin shit thats awesome dude my family is actually the royal family of Dhaka bangladesh but here we are in india living normal lives due to the ones who still enjoy royalty lolz no hard feeling dude just telling u my story bcoz u shared yours
@@thebruhtruth8973 dang. Maybe its for the best.
@@knowhere9121 probably😁😁😁😁i love being optimistic
In the middle ages, servants would assume the name of their lord or, in some cases, the place they came from or the trade they practiced.
My own surname is an example of this: Wal-ton simply means that my ancestors came from a walled-town. The town would need defensive walls to protect it from attack, so, an inhabitant of a walled town would be (relatively) safe from attack.
So, few things:
Heralds were originally messengers from the king, but it was useful for them to know who they were talking to, so they got to know the various arms and then over time that became their main job. Or at least in England.
Also, the Collage of Arms in the video is for England (and Wales) only: Scotland (Lord Lyon King of Arms) and (Northern) Ireland (Norroy and Ulster King of Arms) have their own.
This is a very helpful video! Something I think should be pointed out, however, is that the rule of tinctures isn't really a rule but rather a design suggestion that is often advised. Historically it was broken very often, and the insistence of it's importance is more modern. Some heraldic traditions still don't hold it as very important.
Thanks so much for the info!
the rule was followed for simple reasons: you can spot metal on colour easly from a wide distance. see modern traffic signs, they use the same method :)
Indeed, the rule of tincure is there to make people design arms that are easy to spot and recognize over distances since that would've been their main purpose, to be identifed in battles.
The rule has always been pretty much respected in England and Scotland - much less so elsewhere on the continent.
Going to use this as a guide for my next Crusader Kings 3 campaign
I had a heraldry phase a few years ago and this taught me some stuff I wasn’t aware of back then. The tips about spotting fraudulent achievements were especially helpful. There’s a weirdly obsessive yet misinformed fascination with heraldry where I’m from so if it comes up in conversation, I’ll send your video their way. Your channel is underrated, by the way!
Very few talk about heraldry on TH-cam, sow I am always happy when someone do! Thankful that you did, and for the most part I really liked your video. The only thing that should have been clarified more, is that you are talking mostly about english heraldry traditions. Which for the most part is very different from the majority of Continental European heraldry. Even in the UK heraldry traditions varies between Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England. Since English is the lingua franca nowadays, the confusion grows when people only reads English literature on heraldry. But hope you will make more, I for my part will happily check out the rest of your videos!
@@kj-my7se Heraldry is those whom are ready to defend their land as the defender's.
Fortification and Barracks ready to battle 💪.
This video is of very good quality how do you have so few subs you deserve a lot more
Ha ur paid to do so
@@justhe1boss582 what?
Its youtubes crap algorithm. Your comment helps though
@@JuanCanuck hahaha youtube algorithm helped him a lot though... When i wrote the comment he had 20 subs and ~100 views or something like that. It might have been late, but it surely helped him
Jufuufid ir uogsihyd
After my father retired, he took a part time job at the College of Arms working as a researcher for Clarenceux King of Arms. He absolutely loved the work.
Hi. I'm from the Netherlands. In my country we distinguish two kinds of heraldry achievements. First that of nobility. With that comes the socalled Blue Book, a formal registry of every noble family and persons of rank within these families. Secondly we have "patriciaat". These are families of merit who gained the right to wear a coat of arms and everything that comes to it. They are registered in the socalled Red Book.
My family has gained the right to bear a heraldry achievement by... similarity in name with the family who originally bore this heraldry achievement! Go figure: our family name being the same as their's gave us that right (which came of in the 20th century no less). The coat of arms is a silver shield on the shield a red griffon facing to the right. Between it's upper paws it carries a pole, which is actually a socalled (crossbow)bolt. And that's our family name. There is also the top helmet and the blanket that waves around it. The original Bolts were professional mercenaries who's speciallity it was to set fire within fortified structures by means of firing fiery Bolts. Our family were just simple peasant folk who came up in the world by means of hard work and craftyness. But still, it's kinda cool to be bearer of a heraldry achievement that dates back to at least 1558!
Italy maintained a similar book, il libro d'oro - the Golden Book from 1922-1946. However it was far from complete. My family arms date back to the 1400s when the part of Italy we're from was the Duchy of Savoy, later the Kingdom of Sardinia. Arms & nobility granted from 1922 (ascension of fascism) to 1946 (abolishment of the monarchy) are illegal ex post facto. It took me twenty five years to find our arms, in a series of manuscripts maintained by a branch of the former royal family
"Identity theft is not a joke, Jim! Millions of families suffer every year!"
Hoi, ik woon ook in Nederland (echter ben ik engels) maar ik was er echt niet van bewust dat er coat of arms in Nederland waren, de meeste mensen die ik ken hebben echt geen flauw idee wat die van hun zijn
@@sonic1957 what the fuck are you going on about
One correction: The ‹Adelsboek› - the record of the nobility - is the Red Book - ‹Rode Boekje›, the ‹Patriciaat› - the record of other (historically) influential families - is the Blue Book - ‹Blauwe Boekje›.
Also, the ‹patriciaat› has no special right to have a coat of arms (as the legal expression is), in the Netherlands everyone may have a coat of arms, and assume one if their ancestors did not bear one. But they have no legal protections or status, as they have for example in Britain. Only the nobility (and royalty and the units of local government) have a right and at the same time an obligation to register their arms with the ‹Hoge Raad van Adel›, they are not allowed to display arms when they haven’t registered them, but no-one else may use these registered arms; although there are no penalties in law. Various societies and institutions operate (or have operated) voluntary registers of arms, so that people outside the nobility may announce that they have assumed or resurrected specific heraldic bearings, and bona-fide heraldists can seek out which coats of arms already exist.
Since the USA doesn't observe the law of arms, you'll often see people buying plaques and things with "their family crest" on it, when in fact it is the arms of some family of the same name but to which they have no right. There's even a shop in Walt Disney World where you can buy items with coats-of-arms on them that the sellers will tell you are "your" coat-of-arms. Very few Americans realize that coats-of-arms are granted to individuals, and are not always hereditary. And even when they are hereditary, sharing a name doesn't mean you are related, or that your relationship branched off after the arms were granted. Of course, since the USA doesn't observe the law of arms, anyone can display any arms they want here, but it really displays ignorance to do so.
In western europe, the CoA is granted to the individual, but in eastern europe, there are many CoA's that are granted to families. Eastern european heraldry is vastly different, and does not use many of the rules talked about in this video.
And that's why I spent 20+ years looking for the TRUE family arms. Which was pretty much the last thing I found. And confirmed.
@@baronedipiemonte3990 My family came to what is now the USA in 1609, and from what my research found we never had a coat of arms. So I came up with my own and had a British herald from the International Association of Amateur Heralds emblazon it, and an Australian heraldic artist from the same organization provided a nice rendering of that blazon. Since the USA doesn't honor the law of arms, I registered a copyright of it so no one else can legally use it. Because my grandfather was in the Army Air Corps and remained after it became the US Air Force, and because two uncles were also in the Air Force, as were my brother and I, I used themes from the Army Air Corps/Air Force roundel and the new Army beret flash, combined with the traditional element of a lion as the main charge and the crest.
Arms: Bleu-Celeste a Lion rampant guardant Argent armed and langued Gules a Bordure Azure charged with Thirteen Mullets pierced Gules.
(Normally the number of charges on a border would vary with the size of the rendering, but I specified 13 to represent the 13 original colonies.)
Mantling: Bleu-Celeste doubled Argent.
Crest: A Demi-Lion rampant Gules holding in its forepaws within a Circlet Argent a Mullet Argent pierced of the field.
@@seikibrian8641 And that sounds great ! "Looks" amazing (from the Blazon). I knew out family had one, and I was determined to find it. And after 26 years of digging here and there, I finally did. But I won't publically list the blazon as it's not in any publically available "data base", and I don't want it used by anyone other than REAL family (and not even some of them to be honest).
@@baronedipiemonte3990 "...I don't want it used by anyone other than REAL family (and not even some of them to be honest)."
LOL! Yeah, I hear you. We all have some of "those" types in our families.
to be honest I actually started out as an eye-roller, but you are indeed hitting all the heraldic nails on the head. spread that rule of tincture, brother! subscribed
I've been an amateur herald (and student of the art) for 27 years.. I could pick a few nits, but you are generally very accurate. Well done!
Excellent. As a graphic designer - I have always been fascinated by these designs. Thanks for the education.
I do quite a lot with Ancestry and hate to leave a finished profile image blank. So, I look up the family COA / Crests / Symbols, etc. I've built up a descent library of images. I'm so glad I came across this video to explain a lot of the questions I had.
As a writer, I felt like this is important if you write about noble families. My characters are part of a noble family and it is based on a Cornish noble family (possibly the Edgecumbes).
5:50 "The Blazon of my own family coat of arms..." Well, here's the thing. There is no such thing as a "family coat of arms" in the sense that the coat of arms belongs to a family. The arms only refer to ONE specific individual at any one time. When that person dies, the arms can be inherited by the heir - who then becomes the ONE person that coat of arms refers to. If a Badge has been issued with the arms, then followers of the ONE person who owns the arms may display the badge associated with those arms.
In Western Europe that was maybe a thing, but in Poland coats of arms belonged to famillies. They were usually shared by many unrelated famillies. Also Polish coats of arms have their own name, per example "Leliwa", "Wieniawa", "Kot morski", "Sulima", "Topór". Often names of coats of arms were adopted as parts of family names.
This explains the Gould arms very well, thank you. Side note, the motto translates to "Be It Not Unto Us", which I've further "translated" to "Not My Problem". ;)
The specifics often varied a lot by region as well. For example, in Poland, basically every family in a region shared a coat of arms they could all use-very practical when like half the population was considered “technically nobility” regardless of actual wealth or status-and basically all of said arms used the same red & white color scheme, making a Polish army displaying full heraldic arms more uniform than its neighbors. Meanwhile in a lot of German territories, they HAD an equivalent of the rule of tinctures, but sable/black was considered a “semi-metal” and useable on top of either metals or colors (more modern colors like bleu celeste are sometimes treated as semi-metals too), and they used two entirely different styles of helmet instead of the position of the visor to denote the noble/middle-class (burghur) divide. And the Catholic Church basically treated the specific violation of the rule of tinctures of putting or/gold/yellow & argent/silver/white together, a special trademark they could hand out in achievements of arms as a sign of Papal approval, hence the Papal States/Vatican City and Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem flags having yellow on white.
Thanks for the interesting lecture. I always was interested to know how these things were arranged and why.
Just bought Heraldry Studio on Steam and just loved spending hours creating shields 😁👌
My family has a crest/coat of arms developed in the late 1800s lol. Going back 4 or 5 great grandfathers (J.P. Graves) leads to someone who was the key player in the development of the City if Spokane. He had it made to show his wealth. Kinda funny if you ask me
"The Oswalt family crest should just be a pair of eyes rolling off to the side, a bag of Cheetos, and then the F word. That would be our shield that you'd see retreating from the great battles of history. "F this - bows and arrows? Nobody told me anything about bows and arrows, goodbye."" - Patton Oswalt
Mantling is 'torn' if the bearer has seen battle... not just decorative.
Royal helmets face forward, not to the side.
The divisions and charges can also be used to denote standing within the family, eg first son, second son etc
I agree. Although, you speak of "Britain" only, but it was an European tradition in every country. At least I know the same for most of Europe, not sure how far around.
And England and Scotland have separate and distinct Kings of arms. The Lord Lyon King of Arms
Most of them actually have a cool story behind it.
Like when the noblemans life was saved when his carriage was rolling down a road unstopably by a deer raming his antlers into the wheels.
The actual Coat of arms had a upper half of the deer rampant with the bottom half a wheel both in gold on a green field. It actually exists
I was pleasantly surprised to see when you used your own family's coat of arms to explain blazon that it was the same as my family's. I can't help but wonder if we share common ancestry.
I was surprised to see it too! All three of us may share a common ancestry! Lol!
The best reason nobility wore their coats of arms was a desire not to get killed while fighting in a battle. " Don't hurt me......my families rich and will pay a ransome for my return."
I don’t think my family ever created a heraldic achievement but my parents did create a banner a while ago. It was a bit cliché lol. It was a blue background (I don’t know why, but as it’s not any of their favourite colour, I guess it’s because of our French ancestry) with a rampant golden lion on it. Lol
that's the same as Sheldon Cooper's arms for the famous appartment.
I'm surprised to find your informative videos with minimum views. I like the way you deliver informations. It's more clear than from other channels 🤭.
I already subscribe and turn on the notification bell for every video you'll upload. Looking forward to seeing your channel grow. Hihi
In Scotland, the use of unauthourised arms is illegal and liable to be punished.
I can see why there was a college built to keep track of this mountain of do's and don'ts.
@420rgb2 2 you need permission still to create new arms in england by the Earl Marshal aka Duke of Norfolk. ;)
permission is of course easier and immediately if his boss decided the matter; Elizabeth the Eternal issuing a lettern patent is superior :D
I recently found out that I have lineage to the Monarchy. I submitted a petition to the College Coat of Arms Q4/2020 - w/ no response. I have LVM’s to f/u in the status of paper work - no response. Does anyone know of a better/different way to submit this paper to get registered w/ the Courts? Thxs.
@@ecaldwell9 Assuming you are in England/Wales ... no. Use of a coat of arms without proper authority is a violation of the law, as well as being tacky.
If you feel it has been a long time with no action, give them a call. It's their JOB. Be courteous and patient, and be aware that there are both rules, and feed, involved.
As for being "connected to royalty", or anyone else, you will need to be able to prove it. Marriage licenses, birth registrations, etc.
@@bradmiller2329 ...dismissal notice of a pregnant scullery maid...
@@RichWoods23 Very likely *not* going to help your case. They will probably argue that she is lying about the paternity of her baby. Unless there is some other actual *proof* -- DNA maybe? Birthmark (a trope, but it might help), correspondence, something like that -- the odds are very, very slim.
I’m related to one of the original pilgrims, William Brewster, so upon looking him up I found our coat of arms!
wait you are black?
@@cinnamonstar808 Nope, just a white dude.
@bruh Magic, I’d bet that my ancestor knew your ancestor. My U.S. ancestry goes back to Col. “Captain” Bridges Freeman. There is a B&B in Brewster, Massachusetts called the Captain Freeman Inn. I’d love to visit someday.
No, you found HIS coat of arms. It is only “your” CoA if it is from the Holy Roman Empire or Kingdom of Poland, who had family coats of arms.
My family Coat of Arms, that of Windham & Wyndham, has a Yellow lion atop a helmet with a shield showing 3 yellow lions with an azure field and a yellow chevron separating the 3 lions. Our motto is "au bon droit"
Very well printed and timely for me, as I have discovered that some of my ancestors were the Webbs of Stratford upon Avon, not a noble family, but rather a long line of knights. Thank you for this!
Technically, “noble” does not mean having a hereditary title, but just someone slightly notable, like an Esquire or just a Gentleman, so any University graduate (i.e., B.A. or better) or commissioned officer would count.
Thus, any of your knightly ancestors were nobility.
@@davidweihe6052 well as I understand it, nobles have hereditary title… knights do not. Anyway I discovered later that the whole lineage was faulty 😂 none of those men were likely my ancestors and at least one of them probably did not exist! Fun story … and published long ago, but rubbish.
Very educational! Thank you for making the time to post this.
Good video. My only point of complaint is that there is no such thing as a "family coat of arms". Arms were granted to individuals, not families. Through inheritance it was possible for multiple people in the same family to bear the same coat of arms (or a similar one, but that's a different point), but not necessarily. It is not the case that people have the right to a coat of arms just because they are in the same family (or have the same surname), as the person granted it. It requires a male line of descent from the grantee, or the highest female line if there are no heirs male.
There were family Grants of Arms in the Holy Roman Empire.
@@davidweihe6052True, my reply was very Anglocentric but there’s nothing about the video specifically relating to England. Good point!
A good general overview of the basics of heraldry with few issues! Well done! I am curious though as you mentioned your own “family coat of arms”, may I ask how that achievement came to be as you sound American?(not a criticism but a general curiosity). Keep up the good work and if you ever need resources on heraldry let me know!
I guess you never got your answer
For some reason this guy reminds me of Linus from Charlie Brown when he’s giving the speech about the meaning of Christmas and I love it 🙏🏻😂
Herald originally was a term for a messenger. Heraldry, the word, probably came from the idea that the herald would display his master's flag, upon which was his sigil. Since he had to display the sigil, it became associated with the herald. The herald had to display from whom he came to ensure he made it to the person to whom he spoke. It was the highest form of diplomatic faux pas to kill the herald.
Love how you said, "go forth" at the end.
Thank you! Really concise and informative!
Thank you so much. Another Heraldic Achievement for my Family. I recognize my shield.
"Mantling" is shown wrong at 7:48 in your video, (but right for instance at 5:55 and 7:35) as it looks as if the fabric comes out of the shield. The mantling fabric (cloth) was draped over the helmet to prevent the helmet getting hot in the sun. As this fabric ended up being damaged and cut during battle (blows over the head), it is represented in strips coming down from the helmet. This mantling is represented in the 2 main colours used on the shield, one colour for the inside and the other for the outside of the fabric. The torse kept the fabric that was draped over the helmet in its place and is again shown in the two main colours of the shield. Therefore, a part of the mantling fabric should pop out from under the torse on the front side of the helmet.
Also; a pity that you don't show ladies' coats of arms: in the Netherlands we represent the coat of arms of a non-married lady with a "shield" in the form of a diamond (lozenge), for married ladies it is an oval. But this rule is not the same everywhere. For instance: Princess Anne's coat of arms shows a lozenge though she is married.
And you never design your (new) coat of arms: either your family has one, or not. Coat of arms are indeed registered in a country's organisation. Non-registered ones are fake.
Thanks this was helpful!
Also, the governing body would make sure nobody was getting uppity in their designs. Henry VIII (not that he needed much reason) had one of his cousins executed for putting the Plantagenet symbols into his COA. Even though he undoubtedly had much more Plantagenet blood, it was seen as a threat as he was claiming his royal descent.
I designed my own Coat of Arms, because my surname is a mixture between two actual well-known surnames. It is green and silver, with a dragon and an owl guarding an obelisc
One of the earliest periods of the use of a coat of arms was in the year 1030, when on the 29th of Juli of that same year at the Battle of Stiklestadr in Norway, Konungr Olaf Haraldsson of Norway fought against the army of King Kanutr the Great of England and Danmark.....ordered his army to paint their sheilds all white with a gold cross, inorder to identify each other in the battle.
Actually i have left only a pair of coat complete with customised stich cut for both arm to perfectly fit into ⭐
At min 1:08, this is castle Eltz in Germany
It is said that Charlemagne was very happy when he was crowned by Pope Leo III. I was also very happy after I was crowned.
That is of course until I saw the dentist bill.
Since the colors they could pull out of the clay varies from one locality to another there is no mystery why different Kingdoms used different colors as identifiers since local coloring agents were used to manufacture local clothing . Images would have been added later to show individual leaders/warriors . All pretty logical in its progression but interesting none the less in how it actually came about .
Wonder what acorns on top of the helmet might stand for? My family "heraldry achievement" (terminology according to this video) was used for three consecutive generations(!) of mayors in a German town beginning in the 16th century, and I expect heraldry was very strictly regulated at the time. Also I've always wondered why there is a helmet on top of the shield/coat of arms, since none in the family were military men.
The actual coat of arms is kind of cute, because it actually describes my family name, it's a pictogram! It depicts a mideval farmer holding up a sickle - what was used for harvesting things like grass - and my name is Grassman! A really good descriptive farmers name. Wonder how old the name is, since the clothing of the farmer in the preserved seals I think is a much older, mideval style, like 12-14th century, but oldest recording of my family is 1590, when they became mayors. (So preserved in the city archives.)
Very nice video. I use as my Google thumbnail the coat of arms of an ancestor. It's from the Portugal-Brazilian Empire - Duke of Caxias, patron of the Brazilian Army and I'm related to all of these 6 families.
For once in my life, the TH-cam algorithm suggested something to me that I subscribed to.
I would like to leave a suggestion of something that you may be interested in doing and that would interest me to know more on the subject: Mythology Greek, Roman, Egypt, Viking (Nordic), and the social organization of the no monotheistic religions.
Thanks!!! I appreciated not only the theme but also the drawing presentation of the subject.😉🇵🇹
I once met a Scot who claimed his family was descended from royalty and were in line for the English throne. His proof was that his family's coat of arms had Lions with teeth and claws. According to him, only those family who were in line for the throne had Lions with teeth and claws on their coat of arms. No idea if this was true though.
Isn't the Scots symbol a Unicorn though as it was believed that Unicorns are the Arch enemies of Lions?
Scots = Unicorn
Welsh = Dragon
English = Lion
Irish = Clover
Fun fact the Unicorn is a double mistranslation originally it ment Orox in Hebrew (Ancient Ox) then people thought it was a Rhino in Greek then people thought it was a horse with a horn
It definitely isn't true within British heraldry.
At 3:20 ..It is not of a weasel, but of a Stoat...
I need more of this in my algorithm
I was surprised to see that you can actually reverse search families if you know the blazon.
@4:40 far right upside down Lego men 😂
This was hella informative and very cool. Love how you used so many individual illustrations to better illustrate your points (haha)
Patriciaat could perhaps be described as gentry? Don't know for sure.
In England COA are owned by individuals, not families. Individuals' COA might be based on another's relative's COA but it will be (or should be) 'differenced.' Such 'differences' are agreed/listed by the College of Arms. In Scotland the rules are even tighter, and the use of unofficial COA is, I believe, illegal.
The use of so-called 'family' Arms is simple affectation, nothing more.
I'm sorry to inform you, but the helm position has a meaning too. The nobles have it looking at right (of the shileld, so we see it looking left); the bourgeoisy have it looking at shield left, and only royalties can have it looking in front. Also if it's the most beautiful one of them
i just found out my last name is "chubby cheeks" in old norman french
On todays union jack flag, is the red X representing ( now) northern ireland in the union, its also known as the saint Patrick's cross ❌, but, its actually the Geraldine/ FitzGerald/Desmond family crest, a dynasty traceable back to 1066. The family motto was , " Crom Abu!" ( Onward to Crom castle). However, after the Desmond rebellions in Ireland, they were stripped of the title, though they were cousins of the Tudors ( Queen Elizabeth 1 reigned at the time). The entire dynasty history is fascinating.
Fun how in french we don't even use the words "tincture/teinture" and "vert" for the coat of arm but "émaux" and "sinople"
@B Sell oh I see, thanks!
"Sinople" was originally a synonym for "gules" that fell out of use fairly early on. Later, when French pronunciation had changed enough that "vert" and "vair" started sounding similar enough to cause confusion, "sinople" was pulled from retirement and repurposed as the blazon for "green".
@@iagoabadam977 thank you very much for the explanation, it makes a lot of sense!
On my family heraldry, it's from Messina, Sicily. The field is azure with three argent torches.
di Giacomo is my family name.
Thank you for breaking down the meaning and history of The coat of arms.. Even today in the 21st century Professional association football club badges are a evolved version of that City or towns coat of arms..
A prime example being The city of Newcastle Upon- Tyne .. And the famous football club Newcastle United F.C.
FORTITER. TRIUMHANS, DEFENDIT..The most northernly English city that never surrendered or was overrun by the Scots.. Triumph by defence !!
'My own coat of arms'- unlikely. Unless you are a first line descendant of someone granted arms, they are not yours in any way. A 'family' coat of arms does not exist- it belongs to one person. (Direct descendants of a living armigerous person may use it with specified labels)
not everywere. arms are usually granted to armiger "and descendants" and in german speaking countries the family members rightfully descended share the same arms; wifes and daughters arms show helms too.
@@rivenoak That is not very different to what I said. Not all of the same 'name' or 'family' are descendants of the armigerous. In my own case, I am descended from the brother of a Baronet- i.e. not direct. So I have no right to the arms.
Note that, if ALL descendants had such a right, and given that we are all a mix of the past, everyone would have the 'right' to a vast number of arms. Anarchy.
@@Tensquaremetreworkshop "same name" is usually different from "same family", but this distinction is fairly obvious. :)
the baronet arms of that uncle branch are not for you of course. your ancestor should have designed his own :)
@@rivenoak As he was not even a herald of the College of Arms, that would not be possible.
Obvious? Define family.
@@Tensquaremetreworkshop no need to be a herald, just important enough to petition the college of arms (or lord lyon court afaik) :D
for family definition: direct and legal descendant of the armiger. your "brother to baronet" example is pretty good for explanation, as the baronet line is not your own.
A reminder that simply sharing the surname of a family with a coat of arms or heraldic achievement does not entitle you to the use of these heraldic displays.
And no one cares or can enforce it unless you are in certain locations.
Well mines shows military service which goes back to four generations ( that I know) including my dad, grandfather, great grandfather etc.. all were military officers graduated from the same military academy and you bet I’m going to show my coat of arms because my family has actually achieved these things .
That coat of arms looks very familiar (5:55).... very informational video!
Thank you for not saying nude. And calling it what it is more closer too. Most appreciated
Interesting. Some slight differences between what the UK does and how things were done in Austria (my family used to be the von Puchs until the Revolution).
The main reason I got into SOIAF was because of the details of their Heraldry haha. It’s something from history that I love to research and wish their was more info on medieval heraldry.
Oh I know how to blazen, I'm blazen one up right now 😂 no but seriously, loved this video
The symbol at the beginning I would call a sigil. The whole coat-of-arms, the Achievement.
One other thing: at least in the USArmy, all regiments will have such Heraldry. My regiment, the 12th Infantry, had the field Divided by crenallations(mssp?)to signify the taking of a fort, I believe, in the Spanish-American War. Also, the 12th manned Ft. McHenry during the bombardment that gave us The Star-Spangled Banner. I believe it was the taking of the fort in Cuba which is being Heralded, but my memory may be incorrect.
The Crest of the Sigil isn't a crest at all, but a Knighted Arm (don't know a better way to describe a limb in armor) seizing an Enemy Banner.
I believe all US military units have such Heraldic Sigils, Achievements. Probably every western military as well.
Would be so cool if we see this type of depth incorporated in Crusader Kings 3.
You seem to have forgotten than the term "family Coat of arms" does not exist (esp England). Arms are awarded to individuals, not family's. Arms are considered inheritable property (think of a copyright) The arms are passed down to the eldest son (undifferentiated, that is, the same as the father) other members of the family may use similar arms, but not the same. There are very complex laws regarding the use of arms, and having the same last name of the person to whom the arms were awarded to does NOT give one the right to use those arms. The rightful owner of those arms may actually sue and recover damages. In the U.S. those laws do not hold so if you design a coat of arms, copywrite it if you like.
Think of arms as a company logo, your name may be Ford but you can't use the logo of the Ford Motor Company as you own.
Being a Fleury, having Fleu-de-lis as a charge would be expected.
Yes, that would make them "canting" arms, which means that they include a visual pun (usually one which makes sense only to a herald).
Have to say that even tho the family crest is indeed something that might represent you and everything (even tho it's not really like that), the Coat of Arms is something personal, that you have to either inherit or ask for. Ik a bunch of ppl that look up "their" family's "coat of arms" not even "their" family crest, it doesn't really work like that.
Agreed, you may find a coat of arms that belonged to an ancestor, but it remains the arms of an individual not the family... it is still something to celebrate. I'm surprised the presenter skipped this.
It's not disrespectful to assume arms, you can do it, it's fine, it's just they won't be official unless you can register them, the heraldry association loves people making their own arms
We have a lam (sheep) with the papel keys on out arms and the two headed Eagle but you only see 1 head because of the vertical division on the coat
There is modern evidence that the ancient coat of arms were used to differentiate armies. There was a complaint among Confederates that their initial flag was to similar to the flag of the republic and caused confusion in battle. And that is how we got the X shaped battle flag we all know and love. This instance illustrates that properly identifying the enemy is actually quote a big concern for a soldier and a general alike.
Since a lord commanded his own men in battle, his coat of arms effectively becomes a unit insignia. Soldiers know to rally to the right banner, the overall commander can identify his forces.
Yes, that is full achievement, the base, motto, supporters, shield, wreath/torse/tabard (often mistaken as a leaf,but represents a tabard torn in battle) the helm, the crest atop the helm. English heraldry is one of the most complicated... with the types and position of say, a lion's tail having different meaning. The basic Charges and Tinctures generally have the same meaning or significance among the different countries. On my family CoA, the tree depicted is the tree of life and knowledge. And sometimes, as was the case in Italy, Arms were often matriculated (modified).
You gave a good basic description of what Coats of Arms are. My family arms go back to the Kingdom of Sardinia, 1625. Our motto "Noli me tangere" came from the Crown, and often more than one family could have the same motto. Our supporter, an Owl guardant displayed, is directly beneath the shield. The formal description, almost universal, of arms is called the Blazon. Often in Latin.
"Noli me tangere" is Our Lord's words to Mary Magdalene in John 20:17: "Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to my Father."
@@jesusthroughmary Thanks. I already knew what it meant in latin. Whether the motto has a religious or secular connotation in my family's case is a coin toss. A division of the United States Army had the same motto. I doubt it has anything to do with the resurrection.
@@baronedipiemonte3990 Yes, The Old Guard. I think in that case it's more akin to the old "Don't Tread On Me" slogan.
Others do have pavilions on them like the coat of arms of the House of Bourbon in Wikipedia. The Philippine national hero, José Rizal, used "Noli Me Tangere" as the title of the book he wrote that inspired our freedom from Spain. Our teachers translated it thus, "Touch me not." We also pronounce it erroniously as tanhere with Spanish jota sound instead of Latin G sound, which is why I had thought it was a Spanish sentence instead of Latin.
You've mentioned the English and French. Yet other folks had and still have Family Crests.
@420rgb2 2 all parts of the HRE had arms and some maintain them. for a famous collection of family arms google _Siebmacher_
"Family crests" it's literally explained in the video what those are. And as another commenter pointed it out, family arms do no exist, arms are granted to an individual and only direct descendents can use them.
So funny thing. I'm from Tennessee, and Tennessee orange is remarkably close to tenne. I wonder if that's how we got the orange color.
I wish I could post a picture of mine. We had to change our last name from O'rian to Ryan to sound more American. Super interesting story how we got to the US. My ancestors were slaves. Packed onto a ship to be sold, my great great (etc) grandpa stole a revolver and killed the crew. The new crew sailed the ship to America. We still have that Pepperbox revolver. 😊
I encountered other words for argent and azure, I think? A book published in 1555 describes my peoples' coat of arms as, "Arma Gothorum: Leonem scilicet coronatum super tres aquas *candidas* in campo
*cœelestini* coloris... " does candidas mean silver-white, and caelestini mean sky-blue? In another text they also called the blue cæruleo. But it's all just the same as normal argent and azure I assume?
Very well explained and summarized in a few minutes. Yes it maddening hearing the term "family crest"or "crest" for a coat of arms or heraldic achievement. My families arms break the tincture rules as on the Vatican shield.
i love heraldry, some of the coolest ones have a severed turks head or moors head impaled on a sword or spear, or held by a knight or with birds pecking the eyes out. i think most of the turks head ones are hungarian.
Hahaha
Sherlock in Waterford
Had ducks sitting on the helmet of a Warrior
Really weird how standardize the whole COA proccess is on europe
Here in Peru some places be going wild with their coat of arms (Like the Lambayeque or Puno regions)
At 3:14 ...You forgot to mention Murrey, Sanguine, and Tenné...along with other tinctures such as Carnation, Celeste, Bluff, Orange, Rose, and Copper...Or when the tincture is "proper” (when an object appears in its natural color)
Superb
Thank you so much for this video. It was extremely informative and greatly done. 10/10
Great video! Succinct & interesting. Thank you!
yea yea yea coat of arms, heraldric symbols and all that.
The real question i want you to explain: The Goat of Arms, Herald Rick
Many of these principles do not apply to eastern-central Europe. In Polish, LIthuanian, Belarusan, and Ukrainian heraldry, metals may rest upon each other, keys have no association with clergy, a shield may rest upon a shield etc., etc.
Yeah, because in Russian Empire heraldry was first introduced in XVIII century when nobody cared about the old rules.
Very interesting! Thanks for posting. 👍
Great video Sir, simple and true.
Heraldry quiz! My heraldic device is as follows: Per bend Or and azure, a bear rampant vert. What does that mean?
gotta love the Game of Thrones RPG just assuming we all know what a fur is.
Very informative and well done presentation. Thank you! Just one comment… You seem to have contradicted yourself when you presented your family’s Heraldic Achievement, but referred to it as your family’s “Coat of Arms.” This was a bit confusing.