Heraldry,how to find a link ?

Question:I'm sure there has to be a link but all i have to go on is the heraldry!? Similar coats of arms, similary duties.where do i look? any ideas??
Help would be welcomed.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: I'm sure there has to be a link but all i have to go on is the heraldry!? Similar coats of arms, similary duties.where do i look? any ideas??
Help would be welcomed.

Here are some interesting links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:He...

http://www.yourchildlearns.com/heraldry....

http://www.britannica.com/bps/topic/2625...

There are lots of websites with so called "family crest" or coats of arms but they are scams. Any company that sells them based on a surname is a scam.

You can put "family crest" or coat of arms in your search engine and come up with them.

A crest is really a small part of a coat of arms and coats of arms do not belong to surnames. Actually, there might have been 15 different individuals with the same surname each granted their own coat of arms. The peddlers that sell them won't have all 15. Believe me, they don't need to in order to sell to gullible people. There are no laws in the U. S. regarding heraldry and they take advantage of Americans. In some countries they would risk prosecution for displaying a coat of arms without documented proof that they are entitled to it.

See the link below, the first one gives instructions on how to make your own coat of arms. Then there is one from the British College of Arms and the last one from the most prestigious genealogical organization in the U.S., The National Genealogical Society.

http://www.vam.ac.uk/vastatic/microsites...

http://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/Faq.ht...

http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/comconsumerp...

A good heraldry link is www.fleurdelis.com. It not only describes what heraldry is, but shows examples of ancient crests, custom-made crests, historical crests, business crests, etc; describes the symbolism in a coat of arms (colors; animals used; shapes like chevrons, scallops, etc; furs used); and samples of helmets, mantlings, mottoes, shields, crowns, etc.
The following is the story of the flower mentioned in the site's name:
The Fleur-de-Lis

In Heraldry and History
Legend
The English translation of "fleur-de-lis" (sometimes spelled "fleur-de-lys") is "flower of the lily." This symbol, depicting a stylized lily or lotus flower, has many meanings. Traditionally, it has been used to represent French royalty, and in that sense it is said to signify perfection, light, and life. Legend has it that an angel presented Clovis, the Merovingian king of the Franks, with a golden lily as a symbol of his purification upon his conversion to Christianity. Others claim that Clovis adopted the symbol when waterlilies showed him how to safely cross a river and thus succeed in battle.

Heraldry
In the twelfth century, either King Louis VI or King Louis VII (sources disagree) became the first French monarch to use the fleur-de-lis on his shield. English kings later used the symbol on their coats of arms to emphasize their claims to the throne of France. In the 14th century, the fleur-de-lis was often incorporated into the family insignia that was sewn on the knight's surcoat, which was worn over their coat of mail, thus the term, "coat of arms." The original purpose of identification in battle developed into a system of social status designations after 1483 when King Edmund IV established the Heralds' College to supervise the granting of armor insignia.

Religion and War
Joan of Arc carried a white banner that showed God blessing the French royal emblem, the fleur-de-lis, when she led French troops to victory over the English in support of the Dauphin, Charles VII, in his quest for the French throne.
The Roman Catholic Church ascribed the lily as the special emblem of the Virgin Mary.
Due to its three "petals," the fleur-de-lis has also been used to represent the Holy Trinity.
Military units, including divisions of the United States Army, have used the symbol's resemblance to a spearhead to identify martial power and strength.

The pages following the above show further history and 35 examples of how the fleur-de-lis is used. It is a VERY good site, and have even found several family crests here.