Commissioning a coat of arms

Commissioning a coat of arms

Once a new coat of arms is designed, we undergo a so-called coat of arms endowment process. These procedures are set forth when no historical reference of a coat of arms is found for a respective family or an existing coat’s authorization is inoperable. The list of requirements for an existing family’s coat of arms to be accepted can be found here.

Would you like to know if your family is permitted to either take on an existing coat of arms or is allowed to develop a new one? Then please feel free to contact us Here.

If you do choose to develop a new coat of arms, there are three main phases of the coat of arms endowment process:

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The Three Steps to a New Family Coat of Arms

Layout of Design

Once you have decided to pursue the development of your family coat of arms, will we begin by formulating a heraldry layout design. With such a layout there are two sides to take into account: one is the acknowledgment of the preferences and perceptions of the regarded family, and the other is the correct implementation of the rules of heraldry. The beauty of it all is to have developed a coat of arms that highlights both sides‘ best. Our well-informed heraldic experts have developed a knowledgeable understanding of these heraldic rules and use them to create every new family coat of arms. This acknowledgment is crucial in guaranteeing the ability to register your family coat of arms. At the beginning of this process, however, we search for substances that provide a suitable association with your family.

The following points can be considered in the design:

The family name:

It is an old tradition to design a canting coat of arms. These are the coat of arms that have their family names reflected in their design. This can be done using specific geometric shapes and divisions that integrate one’s initials within the coat’s framework. While many events may occur within a Family’s history, the name and its associated definition remain constant. In this sense, it is useful to perform an etymological interpretation of the name.

Professional Traditions:

Here you can display professions that have been practiced for generations, current professions, or practically any entrepreneurial Situation.

Regional Context:

In Heraldry, we have the opportunity to assimilate elements of the urban and national coat of arms to uphold the origin of the family. The same concept can also be applied to the coat’s use of color.

Mentality and attitude to life:
This can be religious or philosophic elements.

Features of the commissioning family:
In Heraldry, many animals or combinations of animals with mythical creatures are used in expressing uniques features of the family’s background.

Characteristics of the family:
These range from special events or stories or affiliation to certain clubs, associations, lodges, or alliances that could be mentioned within the coat’s design.

Beyond this, it is important to contemplate the creative aspects of commissioning a coat of arms. This includes the choice of colors, the positioning (oblique or straight), and the choice of shield and mantling.

We have included a checklist to make the commissioning of your coat of arms as easy as possible. Click here to get started on your checklist.

2. Documentation

After you have successfully commissioned the coat of arms, it is necessary to keep records of the accredited task for generations to follow. Within these records, we provide a so-called blazon of the coat of arms. This gives a professional description of the choice of elements and figures used within the coat’s design. Also, a photographed copy should be made to start the publication and registration process of the coat of arms. This will all be prepared and assessed by our helpful staff.

3. Registration

For a coat of arms to sustain through the following generations and have legal validity, it is necessary to publish and register its commission by an approved Heraldic Register. Every coat of arms created by Pro Heraldica is published every two years in the german Heraldic register and is shown in all large libraries and archives throughout Germany. For more information on the registration process, please Click Here.

Examples of Commissioned Coat of Arms

No coat of arms is like another, each of it is unique. Sometimes the familys that make a commission write a blogposting in our blog.

1) Coat of Arms Reisinger

A nice example of a pleased comissioner of a coat of arms is the Blogpost – Christian Reisinger´s coat of Arms.

2) Coat of Arms Noah’s Ark

Something very special for us is the coat of arms of a zoo owner, in which Noah’s Ark has been used in the coat of arms to symbolize the profession of the comissioner of the coat of arms.

3) Coat of Arms – Flores Family

Blazon:

The blazon which describes the Flores coats of arms clearly and completely is as follows:

Arms: Azure with wavy base argent in three rows five fleur de lis argent (2,1,2) and four roundels or (1,2,1)

Crest: A wyvern or blazing fire gules

Mantling: azure-argent-azure-or.

Shield

The field of the shield of the Flores family is blue (azure) and displays nine charges in three rows over a silver (argent) wavy base; at the top is a roundle between two lilies, in the center a lily (fleur-de-lis) between two roundels and the bottom is the same as the top; all of the lilies are colored silver, all roundels are golden (or).

The silver-colored wavy base symbolizes the San Antonio River. The city of San Antonio is the ancestral home of the Flores family and place of birth of the founder, Gregory Flores. The San Antonio River is a 384km long river in the US Federal State of Texas. Its source is in Brackenridge Park in San Antonio. From here the diked watercourse flows through the center of town along the famous river Walk. From San Antonio it flows on south-east to the Gulf of Mexico and feeds into the Guadalupe River in San Antonio Bay.

“Wavy” lines in heraldry indicate rivers, lakes, seas and other bodies of water with the ups and downs of the contoured lines represent the natural wave movements of water. Many coats of arms – particularly those of cities and communities situated near water or have the term for a body of water in their name make use of these elements of design.

The lilies in the Flores coat of arms were inspired by a coat of arms for another Flores family, a Spanish family from the old kingdom of León. Recourse to this coat of arms is not only justified by the same family name but because the founder’s family probably originated from Spain and it is possible that an earlier genealogical connection exists. In addition, the lilies in both coats of arms have a so-called “talking” function i.e. they illustrated the name of Flores (in Spanish – flowers) into an heraldic image – the lilies. To design a “talking” coat of arms has been a popular creative principle of armorial symbolism since the 13th century – the French terminology which gave medieval heraldry its forms and standards refers to “armoiries parlantes” – “talking” coats of arms.

The golden roundels in the Flores coat of arms – interpreted as coins – symbolize the commercial activities of the founder. In heraldry, roundels classically represent coins which in turn function as a symbol for a merchant. However, they are symbols of money, monetary transactions and the handling of money and as such embody the meaning and purpose of commercial activities. The professional image of the merchant is strongly characterized by, and more or less connected with, money depending on the type and focus.

Crest

The helm on the Flores coat of arms is crested with a golden dragon (or wyvern) which is one of the founder’s favorite mythical creatures. The depiction of the dragon is one of the most interesting design elements in his family.

The dragon as such is an old heraldic, even pre-heraldic, symbol (originating in Chinese cultural circles) which still displays the archaic function of causing fright. Even before heraldry such images served to set fear and threat into the heart of the enemy (like the dragon bows of the Viking ships). As an heraldic image, the dragon e.g. quickly loses its psychological function and becomes simply a sign of recognition. In the stories of the Creation in the Far East the dragon is deemed to bring luck and stories of dragons were/are told especially in China, Mesopotamia, Greece, North-West Europe and today’s Iran.

Possible real originals for these “monsters” in Ancient China might have been large monitor lizards or small gliding flying dragons with wing-like webs. In our ancient history, large snakes, lions, antelope and birds assumedly formed the basis of the stories. There are even adoptions which say that man came into contact with the remaining dinosaurs which had survived and that the images they had were passed on from one stage of evolution to the other.

The dragon plays an important role in Greek and Germanic heroic epics. In the Song of the Niebelungs to eat a dragon’s heart allowed you to understand the language of the animals and bathing in dragon’s blood was to have made Siegfried invulnerable. Other sagas depict the snake-like composite being as living in caves and guarding treasures. In stories of the sun god, the hero always gains eternal youth after killing the dragon. Fairy stories describe the monstrous mythical creatures as having several or seven heads, being able to move through all four elements, crawling, swimming, flying and spewing fire.

The dragon is depicted in many ways in art e.g. in frescoes, statues, reliefs, tapestries, church windows, portals etc. For example, both Albert Dürer in the 15th century in his woodcarvings the “Apocalypse” and Raffael (Revelations John 12)
in the 16th century depicted the battle between the Archangel Michael and the dragon in a masterly fashion.

As an armorial figure, the dragon was brought from the Orient to the Occident in the middle of the 14th century. The purpose of the scary sight of the dragon was to recall the long travels undertaken by the progenitor, or his martial skills, the taking of a banner or a standard on the battle field.

Mantling

The fabric mantling is the head and neck protection on the knight’s armor. It reflects a custom dating from the heyday of heraldry in the Middle Ages to display the colors of the shield and crest. The outside of the mantling is usually in a more delicate color whereas the inside (the lining) is in a costly metal color.

The mantling on the Flores coat of arms is blue and silver on the right side and blue and gold on the left side, to match the main colors of the shield.

This post is also available in: German