Coat of Arms

The Right to Arms

Few people who use a coat of arms today have any actual right to do so. Armorial bearings do not appertain to all persons of a given surname, but belongs to and identify members of a particular family. Coats of arms and crests are a form of property and may only be used by the male-line of the individual to whom it was first granted.

Over the centuries, many families have simply assumed arms and crests belonging to other families of the same name, usually without authority. The erroneous use of adopting the arms of a family of the same surname detracts from the basic purpose of coats of arms and crests, which is to provide hereditary symbols by which particular families may be identified.

Grants of new arms have been made to worthy applicants, on payment of fees, since the fifteenth century. The practise continues to this day, and in addition to grants of honorary arms are occasionally made to foreign citizens of British male-line descent.

Mottoes are often associated with heraldic devices and may provide a useful clue in the identification of arms. However, there is no monopoly on the use of a particular motto, and the same motto may therefore be used by many different families.[1]

Sayce Coat of Arms

A coat of arms technically refers to the cloth covering worn by knights over their armour to display their arms. Arms is the correct term used to describe what we call today a Coat of Arms or Family Crest, with a Crest being the charge (symbol) over the helmet, so both terms coat of arms and family crest are the same thing. As with most family Coat of Arms, there are many variations provided by online sources.

The examples below are a Sable chevron between three spearheads argent their three points. The Sable represents the colour black, which in turn designates allegiance and loyalty. The Crest is a demi lion as in the arms.[2][3]

The family motto is ‘Crescit sub pondere virtus’.

Another example contains Quarterly gold and black. The crest is a bull’s head emerging from the crown.

The family motto is ‘Fare et age’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

1. Society of Genealogical Information Leaflet No. 15.

2. House of Names website.

3. 4crests website.