The surname product business is a scam. House of Names, AllFamilyCrest,4crest.com, sells coats of arms like they belong to everyone with the same surname and they don’t:. Now if you order one and have it mailed to you and find out if has nothing to do with you you can file charges of mail fraud against them.
House of Names protects themselves with the following disclaimer.
"We encourage you to study the ______ family history to find out if you descend from someone who bore a particular family crest . . . . . . . . No families, not even royal houses, can make sound claim to the right to bear arms unless a proven connection is established through attested genealogy records."
Most of these companies are all owned by the same people.
Actually a crest is only part of a coat of arms. In most countries they were/are granted to or they were/are assumed by individuals not families and are inherited by individuals. In British countries they are granted by a specific heraldry authority. In continental countries they are usually assumed by individuals. In a coat of arms you have the body armour and shield and the helmet. On top of the helmet is a 3 dimension beast or bird and that is the crest. Probably the term "family crest" came into being when a man was granted or he assumed or inherited a coat of arms he frequently had the crest portion put on his family’s silver, napkins etc.
In Ireland there are arms that have been granted to individual men and there are clan arms. Only the chief is allowed to display a full coat of arms. Other clan member may wear the crest portion as a belt buckle. However, you just can’t go by a surname to determine your clan arms if you have one. For instance O’Connor means son or descendant of Conchobhar but there was more than one Conchobhar that had descendants.
The surname product business is a scam. The only way you would know if you are entitled to clan arms is to send your family tree to the Chief Herald of Ireland.
http://www.nli.ie/en/heraldry-introduction.aspx
Don’t trust peddlers selling coat of arms on the internet, at a shopping mall, in airports, in magazines etc.
Here is another link regarding Irish arms.
http://www.heraldry.ws/info/article10.html
June 27th, 2011 at 1:49 pm
I don’t understand your question…are you asking if EVERY Irish family crest is the same? If so, no.
References :
June 27th, 2011 at 2:27 pm
398 hits in 0.17 seconds http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&um=1&sa=1&q=Irish+Family+Crest&btnG=Search&aq=0&oq=Irish+&aqi=g10&start=0
short answer no.
References :
June 27th, 2011 at 3:12 pm
The surname product business is a scam. House of Names, AllFamilyCrest,4crest.com, sells coats of arms like they belong to everyone with the same surname and they don’t:. Now if you order one and have it mailed to you and find out if has nothing to do with you you can file charges of mail fraud against them.
House of Names protects themselves with the following disclaimer.
"We encourage you to study the ______ family history to find out if you descend from someone who bore a particular family crest . . . . . . . . No families, not even royal houses, can make sound claim to the right to bear arms unless a proven connection is established through attested genealogy records."
Most of these companies are all owned by the same people.
Actually a crest is only part of a coat of arms. In most countries they were/are granted to or they were/are assumed by individuals not families and are inherited by individuals. In British countries they are granted by a specific heraldry authority. In continental countries they are usually assumed by individuals. In a coat of arms you have the body armour and shield and the helmet. On top of the helmet is a 3 dimension beast or bird and that is the crest. Probably the term "family crest" came into being when a man was granted or he assumed or inherited a coat of arms he frequently had the crest portion put on his family’s silver, napkins etc.
In Ireland there are arms that have been granted to individual men and there are clan arms. Only the chief is allowed to display a full coat of arms. Other clan member may wear the crest portion as a belt buckle. However, you just can’t go by a surname to determine your clan arms if you have one. For instance O’Connor means son or descendant of Conchobhar but there was more than one Conchobhar that had descendants.
The surname product business is a scam. The only way you would know if you are entitled to clan arms is to send your family tree to the Chief Herald of Ireland.
http://www.nli.ie/en/heraldry-introduction.aspx
Don’t trust peddlers selling coat of arms on the internet, at a shopping mall, in airports, in magazines etc.
Here is another link regarding Irish arms.
http://www.heraldry.ws/info/article10.html
References :