My Finished Arms Newly Registered with South Africa

[Dram]

My newly registered arms and crest.

[Holcombe Thomas]

Nice! And the blazon, for those of us with an interest?

I would enjoy anything you would care to share of the meaning behind the arms.

Holcombe

[Dram]

Of course Holcombe,

The blazon:

Arms: Ermine, on a chevron between three fleur-de-lis Gules, a heart Or, between two trefoils slipped Argent.

Crest: Statant upon two closed books, the upper bound Sable, the lower bound Gules, a lion guardant ermine holding in its dexter claw a thistle slipped of two leaves Or.

Wreath and Mantling: Gules and Argent

Motto: Sola Virtus Nobilitat

The meaning in the arms:

Fluer-de-lis: Onward and upward (overcoming adversity and striving for better)

Ermine: My connection with Clan Henderson

Heart: Passion, compassion and empathy. All things taught to me by my late mother. It also speaks to my interest in public service and my desire to be a counselor.

Trefoils: My interest in DNA genealogy. Not only is it a nod to my Irish ancestors it also represents a DNA research project I belong to.

My Crest:

Lion: Taken from the upper quadrant of the Welsh house of Aberffraw's coat of arms, and symbolizes my direct familial connection with the Isle of Anglesey where my male line immigrated to Chicago from.

Books: Symbolize both an interest in history and genealogy.

Thistle: A nod to my own Scottish ancestry and my love for traditional Scottish music (I play the bagpipes).

Sola Virtus Nobilitat: Virtue Alone Enobles...also the motto of Clan Henderson

[Holcombe Thomas]

Thank you, Dram. For me, at least, the story behind the arms always adds to the enjoyment.

Very nicely done, indeed!

[Dram]

Thank you very much Holcombe!

[Father Bill]

Nicely and to me at least, traditionally done.

[saharris]

Arms: Ermine, on a chevron between three fleur-de-lis Gules, a heart Or, between two trefoils slipped Argent.

The blazon of the shield does not seem to mention the two thin gold chevrons on the red chevron.

[Dram]

The blazon of the shield does not seem to mention the two thin gold chevrons on the red chevron.

You're correct that was accidentally omitted. Two chevrons cottised Or?

Regards,

[Mike_Oettle]

Nice coat of arms, Dram. I will have to look it up on the Bureau’s website so that I can see who you are ;-)
I generally shy away from mantling gules turned argent, but since it repeats the livery colours (white in the mantling for ermine on the shield) it is actually appropriate.
I would disagree, though, that the gold chevronels are cottises, since they are within the red chevron, rather than above and below. I think a better wording would be:

Ermine, on a chevron between three fleurs de lis Gules, two chevronels gules above and below a heart Or, between two trefoils slipped Argent.

Actually “above and below” is not the best heraldic wording, but it was all I could think of for the moment. However the proper wording ought to be part of the official blazon – would you post that?
My arms were registered by the Bureau in 2012.
Regards,
Mike

[Joseph McMillan]

You're correct that was accidentally omitted. Two chevrons cottised Or?

Regards,

No, whatever it is, it isn't that. Isn't the blazon on the certificate? (It doesn't seem to have been uploaded to the online SABH database yet. http://www.national.archsrch.gov.za/...63%26DB%3DHERE )