One of the most asked question is “What is my Coat of Arms?”. My glib answer would be “If you have to ask you probably have not got one”. It must be remembered that in the heraldic traditions of Western Europe there is no such thing as a generic Coat of Arms for a given surname. Basically a Coat of Arms is specific to an individual and their legitimate descendants. The actual flexibility/rigidity of usage will vary from nation to nation.
One of my particular interests is the “One Name Armorial”. There I try to identify all the “valid” Coats of Arms recorded for a particular British surname (
www.heraldry-online.org.uk). Working on the assumption that you would know about any grant of Arms in the 20th century, my suggested route to look for “Your” Arms on the Internet is as follows:
1) Burke’s General Armory (BGA)-
http://www.archive.org/details/generalarmoryofe00burkThis will give an indication if Arms have been recorded/noted for the surname in question. HOWEVER, BGA is not reliable. The quality of the information ranges from the cast iron to the flight of fancy. Generally, the more personal details given, dates, names and locations, the more reliable the entry. Unfortunately that in itself cannot be guaranteed. From personal experience I have found one detailed entry to be for invalid Arms.
2) The Harleian Society’s Grantees of Arms:
Grantees of Arms to the end of the 17th century -
http://www.archive.org/details/granteesofarmsna00fostGrantees of Arms 1687 to 1898 Volume I -
http://www.archive.org/details/granteesofarmsna66fostGrantees of Arms 1687 to 1898 Volume II -
http://www.archive.org/details/granteesofarmsna68fostThe Grantees of Arms will not give you a description of the Arms granted but it will give the name and some personal details of the grantee. With luck the entries may tie in with entries in BGA or Armorial Families (see below).
3) The Scottish Ordinary Vol 1 -
http://www.archive.org/details/ordinaryofarmsco00paulScottish Arms granted/matriculated from 1672 to 1893 are recorded in the online version of the Scottish Ordinary. This will provide details of the Arms recorded but in “components”. Where Arms are quartered each quarter is listed according to the charges displayed upon the shield. In some of the most complex Arms you can be looking in a dozen different places to get the whole picture. The personal details are quite minimal.
4) Fox-Davies’ Armorial Families:
Armorial Families 5th Edition 1905 -
http://www.archive.org/details/armorialfamilies00foxdArmorial Families 7th Edition 1929 Vol I -
http://www.archive.org/details/armorialfamilies01foxdArmorial Families 7th Edition 1929 Vol II -
http://www.archive.org/details/armorialfamilies02foxdFox-Davies “guarantees” that those listed in his Armorial Families are genuinely armigerous. The entries are very detailed but the 1929 edition can be a bit confusing when it lists the family details. You may have to refer to an earlier edition to clarify who is who.