Quote Originally Posted by thescot View Post
Todd, I agree with you whole heartedly. As always, you bring thoughfulness and facts to the table. What a refreshing insertion.

One can have one's own arms in the US. You can even have one designed especially for you by the American College of Heraldry for a very resonable fee at http://www.americancollegeofheraldry.org/. And that is preferable to usurping another's. Maybe that would be frowned upon as worthless by some because it's not a government agency doing the grantling, but then again, it's a matter of taste when it comes to creating arms.

And the reason for one's own arms is to have a readily indentifiable "logo" of sorts for one's self or orgnaizatio. So why not have one's own arms created and used? If a corporation can have arms granted by the Lord Lyon, well, it's obviously only a matter of commerce there.

But then, I'm not sure that the Nolan arms shown are actually owned by an individual. For one thing, the name is Irish, so it's not subject to the Lord Lyon's purvue anyway. And few if any countries have the stringent laws regarding arms that Scotland has. Not even England is the same, as I understand it. (I am not passing myself off as anything other than a dilletante in this matter. )

If BigMikeLV got it from a "bucket shop" and he likes it and it's not really hurting anyone, then go for it. Personally, I've given thought to assuming my own arms as well, but I haven't done anything about it. I'll be the first to concede that the only thing noble about any famly blood is the character, integrity, and honesty of the bearers of the various names in my own personal family tree.

But then, a man of noble character is a man indeed. And if the ABC Corporation can have arms, why not Joe Blow?

Thanks for pointing out that arms can be had, Todd. I had forgotten that fact.
Irish arms come under the jurisdiction of the Office of the Chief Herald of Ireland, which follows the same customs and traditions as the Lyon Court in Scotland and the College of arms in England. Here is their web site:

http://www.nli.ie/en/intro/heraldry-introduction.aspx

I'll defer to Rathdown for a further discussion of the specifics of Irish heraldry, as that was his "bread-and butter" at one time.

The American Heraldry Society has an interesting article on their web site with a brief discussion of heraldry in America:

http://americanheraldry.org/pages/in...n=Primer.Page1

Regards,

Todd

*And Jim, thanks for raising some good discussion points!