How to design your very own, personal coat of arms!

[PockyNightmare]

i was bored yesterday and remembered a documentation with Terry Jones i saw some days ago and he got his own coat of arms designed so i thought about making my own one! it isn´t finished yet but i´d like to tell you how it goes!

take a piece of paper and draw a typical crest form.. now think about things you like.. for example reading. now you draw a book on the empty crest. think of other things symbolizing stuff you like...  you can also take you favorite animal or pet as heraldic animal!

i´m going to make an update when mine is finished and i´d like you to try making your own crest!! 

[malgrimace]

There used to be an amazing website called fleur de lys which was an invaluable tool when it came to creating heraldry. Unfortunately it seems to have disapeared when I took a (very very quick) look for it.

It might be worth looking at your own family crest and incorporating things you like into that

[lilibat]

I'm having SCA flashbacks. 

[PockyNightmare]

It might be worth looking at your own family crest and incorporating things you like into that

i unfortunetly have no family crest.. that´s why i did one on my own

[PockyNightmare]

I'm having SCA flashbacks. 

SCA? ôo

(sorry i´m dumb)

[lilibat]

SCA

[Sorontar]

The Society for Creative Anachronism or SCA is a worldwide recreation society that officially covers any time before 1600 CE, but in reality covers Europe from around 400 CE to 1604 CE. It has sets of combat rules for "sword fighting", "fencing" etc. but it also has its own College of Arms which helps SCA members register their own unique coat of arms within the society. Since members have a period persona, it is the persona that "owns" the arms, not the person. Therefore, they are hypothetical arms for hypothetical people, which gets no-one in trouble for clashes with real arms for real people (and organisations/cities/countries).

The SCA heraldic rules try to "match" real rules but the Society has the problem of Europe being large and varied, the period covering a long time and some old Society rules not being as .... accurate. But one of the primary aspects of the SCA is fun, hence the "creative" aspect of its name. So most members put up with it.

Sorontar, a semi-active SCA member

[PockyNightmare]

wow O.O

okay i learned something ^^'

thanks

[darkshines]

My university coat of arms RULES:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The University of Glamorgan crest has been developed to closely reflect the University’s past and its future.
The design is called the Achievement of Arms, the most important part of which is the shield. In heraldry, the surface of a shield is known as the field, which is green in the Glamorgan crest to represent both the location of the University and the environmental disciplines studied at Glamorgan.

A symbolic depiction of Pontypridd’s historic bridge appears in the centre of the shield, while the three books bear the words “Cofia Ddysgu Byw.” The word are those of Rhondda miner and poet Ben Bowen (1878 – 1902) and mean “remember to learn to live” which was the motto of the Glamorgan College of Education at Barry incorporated into the institution in 1975.

Above the shield is the helm, which is associated with corporate bodies. On top of the helm within the torse of twisted silk silver and green is the crest. The crest features the Welsh dragon with outstretched wings holding a gold computer ferrite memory store matrix, representing the technological aspects of the University and the marriage of old with new.

Each of the dragon’s wings is charged with a gold chevron which refers to Iestyn ap Gwrgan, the last King of Glamorgan and to the mediaeval family of De Clare, Lords of Glamorgan. From the helm hangs the mantle in red and silver, the livery colours attributed to Iestyn ap Gwrgan.

Supporting the shield are two dragons, which represent Wales and the Orient, reflecting the international nature of the University. The pickaxe and cogwheel symbolise not only the heavy industries which fuelled the development of the Welsh economy, but also the vocational nature of the courses offered at Glamorgan.

[Zwack]

Another common method in the UK was to base the coat of arms on a word play of the name.  

For example the coat of arms of Coningsby consists of three Rabbits (or Coneys).

Z.

[PockyNightmare]

My university coat of arms RULES:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The University of Glamorgan crest has been developed to closely reflect the University’s past and its future.
The design is called the Achievement of Arms, the most important part of which is the shield. In heraldry, the surface of a shield is known as the field, which is green in the Glamorgan crest to represent both the location of the University and the environmental disciplines studied at Glamorgan.

A symbolic depiction of Pontypridd’s historic bridge appears in the centre of the shield, while the three books bear the words “Cofia Ddysgu Byw.” The word are those of Rhondda miner and poet Ben Bowen (1878 – 1902) and mean “remember to learn to live” which was the motto of the Glamorgan College of Education at Barry incorporated into the institution in 1975.

Above the shield is the helm, which is associated with corporate bodies. On top of the helm within the torse of twisted silk silver and green is the crest. The crest features the Welsh dragon with outstretched wings holding a gold computer ferrite memory store matrix, representing the technological aspects of the University and the marriage of old with new.

Each of the dragon’s wings is charged with a gold chevron which refers to Iestyn ap Gwrgan, the last King of Glamorgan and to the mediaeval family of De Clare, Lords of Glamorgan. From the helm hangs the mantle in red and silver, the livery colours attributed to Iestyn ap Gwrgan.

Supporting the shield are two dragons, which represent Wales and the Orient, reflecting the international nature of the University. The pickaxe and cogwheel symbolise not only the heavy industries which fuelled the development of the Welsh economy, but also the vocational nature of the courses offered at Glamorgan.

wow.... too sad german universities or schools don´t have crests...

[clockwork creation]

I love the crest at paddington station 

[malgrimace]

I'm having SCA flashbacks. 

Ah Lord Leonatus de guilles, former chatelaine of Pont Alarch, Insular Draconis at your service! Au chante *bow*

[Professor Ambrose Maycock]

There used to be an amazing website called fleur de lys which was an invaluable tool when it came to creating heraldry. Unfortunately it seems to have disapeared when I took a (very very quick) look for it.

It might be worth looking at your own family crest and incorporating things you like into that

Would this be the site you were referring to ?

http://www.fleurdelis.com/

[helios]

Here are a few links regarding heraldry.

"Symbolism of Heraldry", by Melissa Snell. There's 5 pages worth, make sure you look through them all.

"Heraldry in History, Poetry and Romance", by Ellen J. Millington. A full book on symbolism, if you have time.

Excerpts from W. Cecil Wade's "The Symbolisms of Heraldry or A Treatise on the Meanings and Derivations of Armorial Bearings"

And the various heraldry articles from Wikipedia are, to the best of my amatuer knowledge, reasonably accurate, and may be worth a perusal.

[Gazongola]

If anybody in the UK is interested, you could contact to College of Arms. Of course, you will have to pay £4,225 for the privelige of being granted the arms if your application is accepted, but I for one will one day probably go mad and pay that much to get one! 

[T.Taylor the Third]

I designed a Coat of arms / family Emblem. Its more on the lines of the Girl genius Emblems than a true coat of arms, but if anyone is interested i can post a picture of it

[malgrimace]

I've got two family crests.

The first one from my Irish side; the Scholey family originated from Scandinavia when William the Conqueror's nephew, the Earl of Tonsig moved to Scandinavia. The family name came over to Ireland with the first of the Viking settlers.



The second is from my mothers side of the family, which is the Mckinnon family crest. I've not researched that side as much. I know there's a crest and a clan badge as well, which is a boars head surrounded by a belt.



I did a little digging Pocky, and I found yours as well:



It seems there are hints that the family names has some association with the German feudal system and may possibly be Jewish in origin. You can read more about that here: http://www.4crests.com/lohmann-coat-of-arms.html

[Sorontar]

Um, for England at least, there are no such things as "family crests or arms". Heraldry is granted to an individual. A dad's arms is different to his son's. The son can inherit his dad's arms, but whilst they are both alive, only one can use them.

Sorontar

[PockyNightmare]

woooo thanks honey!!!!
but it´s some kinda boring xDDD

i love the coa of your mother o.o

[Lady Corsair]

This for my mother's family (from the 4crest website):



My dad's name has evolved too much over the years to show up on any searches (trust me, I have looked ). 

[delCano]

I have found there are at least 6 distinct origins of my family name, and none is mine. However, I have also found 9 coats of arms related to the name here. However, since there is a plausible theory that we are descendants of the brother of Juan Sebastian de Elcano, who had no sons, I suppose I could adopt his coat of arms: an earth surrounded by the sentence: Primus Circundedisti Me. A bit arrogant, maybe?

[akumabito]

Here's mine:



If you need assistance in designing your own, contact the fine people at the International Association of Amateur Heralds: http://www.amateurheralds.org/ ask them nicely and they'll design a very nice COA for you - they did mine about 6 years ago. As they are hobbyists, there is no charge for it either, though that was back then, things may have changed since then..

[Lady Deborah Butcher]

I'm looking for help with two, separate coats of arms. I'm looking to 'properly' reconstruct the coat of arms that I have in my signet ring (my actual, "coat of arms" which is legitimate etc) and I'm also looking to design a coat of arms from scratch, for aesthetic purposes. I'd like to add a modern spin to it, and I'd probably end up ignoring a few rules of heraldry, hehe.
My question is, would the IAAH be able to help me with my 'reconstruction' of my legitimate arms, and is there anywhere I can find resources for the design- say on a program such as Photoshop- of the whimsical arms?
--
Thanks for reading my confusing wall of text, have a nice day. 

[akumabito]

Most definatwely try contacting them about your COA, I'm sure they could help you out. Probably also on the "fun" coa, just ask