Heraldry

Heraldry is known as lore, art or law of the family crest. In this section, we will be covering the aspects related to one’s family crest. The wide field of heraldry combines further more categories such as church heraldry.

Crests were originally borne by royalty or upper class families; eventually the practice became more and more common as the family crest came to symbolize a sense of togetherness and pride about one’s family and lineage.

There are two avenues that may lead you to the field of heraldry: if you already know your family crest and would like to learn more about its origins & affairs or creating a new family crest of your own.

First we will cover researching a known family crest. It is important to note that finding new information about known crests is rather uncommon with an estimated probability of no more than 9%. Although the chances are improbable, it is not impossible.

Experience has shown that in some cases, family members have signed writings or letter with their crests. Be wary that similarities in name does not equate to lineage, meaning that a “Smith” crest is not necessarily valid for all Smith families. A family crest only applies to those intended by the founder, typically male and married ancestors of a patriarch (e.g. oldest male ancestor in the family line).

If there is no crest associated with your family line then you are free to create one. If this is something you wish to do, it is imperative that you create a complete heraldry, as we will discuss next.

In order to create a unique family crest, there are three primary steps in the process:

1. Draft and design of the crest

With the information we collect from researching your heraldry such as social background, professions, geographical connections and the onomastic origin of your family name we will begin the design.

In cooperation with experienced heraldists (crest artists) two drafts are created which we will present to you shortly thereafter. Your feedback is gathered and incorporated in the final design paying careful consideration to heraldic-based design principles.

2. Presentation and documentation of the crest

After finishing the design of the crest, we will then affix a unique heraldic  inscription. This will allow any future historian to redraw it without ever having seen the original crest, regardless if whether that occurs 50 or 500 years in the future.

There is no limit on the uses for your family crest – it can be presented on stationery, business cards or even in your company logo. Regardless of the intended use for your crest, we will help you at every step of the way.

3. Registration of the crest in your coat of arms

In Germany, newly forged family crests are published & kept in the „Deutsche Wappenrolle“ (German Roll of Arms) of the „Herold“ in Berlin. In the course of drafting and designing your family crest, we will arrange the registration and publication into the Roll of Arms. Rest assured: your crest will be kept for generations.