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Your
Family Crest On A Choice Of Gifts
Family crests, also known as coats of arms, first appeared
in the UK during the thirteenth century and quickly
spread throughout Europe. Displaying your coat of arms
was not vanity but a solution to a need. In those days
the landowners and knights went to battle or jousting
competitions dressed in suits of armour and, once covered
in all that metal, unless you displayed your family
crest, it was impossible to tell who was who.
Each nobleman had his own small private army and the
troops needed to know the whereabouts of the leader
in order to rally round and fight as a unit. The answer
was to decorate both the shield and a linen garment
worn over the suit of armour known as a ‘surcoat’,
with heraldic symbols of the family. The surcoat lead
to the term ‘coat of arms’.
These days one of the most popular hobbies is tracing
one’s family history (genealogy) and this has
resulted in a re-awakening of the interest in family
crests, with many people using the crest of their ancestors
as a logo for their company, or on their personal letterheads.
Our coat
of arms shop offers a wide range of gifts available
with your family crest. Our database holds images for
around one million names.
A
Shield With Your Family Coat Of Arms
In mediaeval times the noblemen’s castles, particularly
the banqueting rooms, were adorned with shields and
banners displaying the family’s coat of arms.
Today you can have your own shield with your hand-painted
family coat of arms. Of course the shields are a lot
smaller than those in mediaeval times, but so are the
homes!
The shields, hand-painted with a family crest, take
up to three months to make, although the end result
is worth the wait. However, if you have an earlier deadline
(maybe it is a present for an occasion in a couple of
weeks), we also offer a printed version that can be
shipped within two days.
How
Do I Know Your Family Crests Are Genuine?
An understandable question. After all, it takes a long
time to research the one million coats of arms we currently
have in our database. More than 35 years actually, as
we started the research on family crests in 1971. Our
researchers have access to many old documents, the oldest
being the Doomsday Book which was in effect a census
of the people and land drawn up on the instructions
of William the Conqueror in 1086 – the king wanted
to find out who he could tax. There is a list of these
old books and documents on our site.
Related terms:
English Genealogy
Family History
Great Britain
British Royalty
Medieval symbols
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