What is Family Coat of Arms?

Question

What is family coat of arms........im curious considering im a Malay and dont have surname............so...what is it?

Answer 1

A family coat of arms comprise the official symbols of that family, commonly represented on a shield, or in the shape of a shield.

These must be registered, approved and created by the Royal College of Arms for them to be a "proper" coat of arms.

Most English surnames will have a registered coat of arms, but it is possible to make up your own based on any aspects of your family name.

For instance, if your name was Rose, you could have this as the main part of the arms. I believe the Malay flag has a gold crescent moon and sun, so you could incorporate these to show your nationality.........and so on.

Answer 2

Selamat mata hari! Your English is much better than my Malay. I lived in Sarawak for two years.

Knights and rich people in Europe used to get coats of arms to identify themselves or, in the case of rich people, for show. They were issued to one individual and inherited by the oldest son.

In the 20th century, merchants have created the myth of a "family" coat of arms. There isn't any such thing. If your surname was Smith, you could buy one of 20 or 30 coats of arms. Each one would have been given to a man named Smith at one time or another. If one had belonged to your 10th great grandfather and you were the oldest son of the oldest son . . ., you would know about it. If you lived in the USA and your family name had been "Schmidt" (a German form of "Smith") and your great grandfather changed it to "Smith", you could buy the "Smith" coat of arms on a tee-shirt, coffee mug or plaque. It would be an interesting decoration and have nothing to do with your family.

Even if you were English, the coat of arms for "Smith" you bought would probably have nothing to do with your family. Each village had a smith, and many, many people took "Smith" as a surname.

If you ever see a magazine advertisement for Land Rover, look at the coats of arms for Prince Phillip, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles, down at the bottom where it says "By royal warrant . . ." They each have a different one. They don't use the Windsor "Family" coat of arms.

Answer 3

Knights in armor were impossible to recognize, so they would paint some decoration on their shield. Each family had its own design. Families that never had anything to do with any of that also designed their own coats of arms that never adorned a real shield. You can make up your own.

Can I call you Sir Grimoire?

Answer 4

It is a James Bond style garment with holsters inside so that when you lift your arms, the munitions fire at the desired target.

Seriously though, I'm not even into them and even I know they're fake for the most part.