People have often told me not to worry about researching a coat of arms for them, because they already have one. But often no more than a little research will reveal that the arms in question belong to someone else – usually with the same name – and that no genealogical study has been made to prove that there is even a family connection.

Of course there are people who can prove ownership of their arms. They might have a certificate issued by the Bureau of Heraldry in Pretoria, bearing their name. The names of at least three people known to me personally appear on such certificates, and all will in due course be found in Armoria familia. For the moment, the arms of Christo Welgemoed and Roy Snyman will serve as examples. And there are many others besides.

[11] The three English Kings of Arms are the principal officers of the College of Arms, while the Duke of Norfolk, as Earl Marshal of England, represents the Sovereign in these transactions.

There will be individuals who have a roll of parchment signed and sealed by the Duke of Norfolk, Garter King of Arms and another of the English Kings of Arms.[11] The wording on these documents begins: “To all and singular . . .”

Sir David Graaff, Bt, has such a document granting arms to his grandfather, also Sir David Graaff, the first baronet. This grant remains valid for the present baronet, and for his successor.

[12] Seat of the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the principal officer of arms for Scotland.

Yet others have documents from Lyon Court [12] in Edinburgh by which arms are either granted or matriculated.

Major John Graham of Fintry, a descendant of Colonel John Graham, founder of Grahamstown, was the first of his family to matriculate the arms of his branch of Clan Graham, although the Fintry Grahams had borne arms for centuries.

The arms of Clan Graham predate the establishment of Lyon Court.

And others again will have a document issued by the Chief Herald of Ireland (or Phriomh Aralt na hÉirann), either granting arms adopted during the 20th century or confirming ancient arms.

[13]An entirely fictitious example. However, If there is a John Smith in Johannesburg who has such a certificate, it would be well for him to make sure who issued it.

But usually the chap who asks the question at the top of this page will be somebody who has paid a visit to a “heraldry and genealogy consultant” who, after taking down little more than a surname and a handful of other details, will have gone into a back room and (perhaps after a decent delay of a few days) produced a certificate declaring that John Smith of Johannesburg [13] is entitled to a particular coat of arms.

Now there are any number of different Smith families originating in England (and several more from Scotland and Ireland).

In terms of the system that prevails in England, all those Smiths who want to bear arms (and they are likely to be a small proportion of the total number) must have arms that are entirely different from those of any other (unrelated) English Smith family.

English law also permits a family that has borne arms for at least 60 years (provided the device is unique, and does not infringe on another existing coat of arms) to obtain confirmation of those arms. The fees for a confirmation are, however, the same as for an original grant; there is no question of lower fees as in the case of a Scottish matriculation.

In Scottish heraldic practice, the arms of different Smith families are likely to be similar, but each individual grant or matriculation must still be unique.

Afrikaner heraldists have even seized on the arms of families from Europe with the same name as (or a similar one to) a South African family, and asserted that those arms belong to the South Africans. Usually this assertion is accompanied by the claim that all members of that family may bear the same arms. (See this page for more on that question.)

Nine times out of ten, the certificate issued by a consultant or dealer will not bear an original design, but will have been copied out of a book. This means that the arms belong to someone else. (See the cautionary note here.)

It might even come with an entirely spurious blurb waffling on about the illustrious ancestors of this “noble house”. The dealers who sell this sort of thing have standard wording that can quickly be adapted. Often it comes in the form of free software.

If you believe you have a claim on an ancient coat of arms, do the research first (or pay someone reputable to do it for you).

When you have your family tree proving descent from someone who was granted arms (or at any rate bore them) a few centuries ago, there is still the matter of your degree of relationship to the current rightful owner (the head of the family).

Any coat of arms you bear must be appropriately differenced, unless it turns out that you are the head of the family.

And unless you can prove that you are the head of such a family, you will need to obtain a grant, matriculation or registration of your particular version of the family arms.

If your family is Scottish, and your father did not matriculate the arms himself, you will need to matriculate them, even if there is an extant grant or matriculation – and even if you are the head of the family. (Matriculations are valid for only two generations, and then need to be renewed.) [14]

[14] To explain a little more precisely: a Scottish matriculation is valid for the applicant and for his eldest son. His younger sons must matriculate their own arms (should they wish to display arms in Scotland), as must all his grandsons (and later descendants).

Many families of German origin are at a disadvantage because they cannot trace their family trees further back than the Thirty Years War (1618-48), in which the records of many towns and cities were destroyed.

But this does not put a coat of arms out of their reach, even if it does perhaps mean that they cannot prove a link with an ancient family. They can still apply to the State Herald for a fresh coat of arms, perhaps even based on the ancient one they believe is theirs.