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Yes, heraldry is still alive and well. Many people
may be dubious about the use of heraldry today but at the same time
many people are curious about their “Family coat of Arms”
and what it might look like. On my Heraldry page I hope to be posting
a series of articles about modern heraldic practices and design.
But for now there are two points I would like to make.
- Just because there is a coat of arms registered
in your name does not necessarily mean you have the right to use
it. In some countries coats of arms are indeed born by entire
families (but you must be a member of that family!). But
in many other countries arms are strictly individual though they
can be inherited or born by members of the same family with suitable
differencing.
 Just
because there is no coat of arms registered in your name this
does not mean that you cannot acquire or register a new coat of
arms for yourself or your family (after all I have a coat of arms
today because my grandfather did just that!)
If you want to get a good introduction to heraldry
I highly recommend Basic Heraldry by Stephen Friar and John Ferguson.
This beautifully illustrated book gives historic background as well
as some of the basics of the subject!
Enjoy the site!
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