Hi John,

There are certain conventions or rules as to how a shield is drawn up, but they are more common sense than anything else. It is, after all, about recognition - either originally on the battlefield or more recently identifying possessions.

There are in general two routes, official and unofficial. The official route (in England, Wales and N. Ireland) is through the College of Arms in London or Lord Lyon in Scotland. The unofficial route is more or less as you have described and is known as self assumption.

The official route will cost under £5,000 from the College or £3,500 from Lord Lyon. The unofficial route costs only what you wish to pay for printing or embroidering.

In England, Wales and N. Ireland there is little or no protection. That is to say that you can pay £5,000 and another man can decide to use your arms as his own. It would be a civil suit through the courts to make him stop.

In Scotland the law is on the side of the armiger and Lord Lyon can sit in his court and make a decision. His word on the matter is law and he has, in theory, unlimited powers. It cost Mohamed Al Fayed (of Harrods fame) almost £1 million, because he ignored Lord Lyon.

So yes, you can hack something up on the back of a fag packet and use it as your own and provided it is suitably different from anything that has gone before and doesn't brake any artistic rules, no one will say anything about it.

Regards

Chas