Re: Family Crest/Code of Arms
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In reply to:
Re: Family Crest/Code of Arms
James Walczak 5/14/03
Tim, check this out from the Genealogy.com home page:
Coat of Arms for a Surname
Many people have been led to believe that a coat of arms is claimable by anyone who shares a surname. There are no surname coats of arms. Each coat of arms is assigned to a single individual. Through an accepted line of descent, usually a male line of descent, a descendant six or eight generations down the line may be entitled to that same coat of arms. The rest of the family however, is not.
This ruling is especially true for English families, and is reiterated in the College of Arms Web site. Other countries may vary, so it would depend on what country you could trace your ancestry back to as to whether or not this applies to your Robinson research.
With that said there are some sites that will sell you a coat of arms for the Robinson surname. Sometimes people enjoy these coats of arms because they were created for someone named Robinson, even if the current generation is not really entitled to the arms. You can find many of these sites by typing in a search term of heraldry or coat of arms to any of the general search engines. Just remember that while they will display an arms it may be only one of those given to individuals with the surname of Robinson because of the rules mentioned above.
You will find a Coat of Arms for someone with the Robinson surname by visiting Free Coats of Arms online.
Want to Learn More?
There are a number of valuable Web sites and books available on this topic
Web sites
The Points of Heraldry
The Society of Genealogists Leaflet: The Right to Arms
The Heraldry Society
Heraldry on the Internet
Books
Pimbley's Dictionary of Heraldry
Symbolisms of Heraldry - a site offering this book and Pimbley's as a free download.
Heraldry Today - a bookseller of many different books on this subject.
In Conclusion
There are no family crests or family coats of arms. Instead there are arms given to specific individuals, which may be passed down through the family, usually to the oldest son.
I hope this helps!
Karen