The Crawford Coat of Arms Project Arms and the Law It cannot be said too often or stressed too strongly that there is no international law that controls the use of heraldry, as there is, for example, for copyright or trademarks. Each sovereign state has its own rules, customs and laws which extend only as far as the boundaries of its jurisdiction. Even in a country like Scotland, with a strong heraldic tradition, backed by legal sanctions, and governed by a judge, Lord Lyon, in Edinburgh, he has no powers outside the borders of Scotland. When he grants arms to a person or a body, such as the Clan Crawford Association, which lives or operates largely outside Scotland, he can only control the use of those arms within Scotland itself. For example. the arms of the Chief of the Hays, the Earl of Erroll in Scotland were exactly the same as the arms of the Hays who were formerly Earls of Carlisle in England. Hay, Earl of Erroll Hay, Earl of Carlisle Recently, the English heralds granted arms to an Englishman which were identical to the arms formerly borne by the Scottish Earls of Loudoun and closely related to the arms of the Crawfords
Arms of Sir Duncan Campbell of Reidcastle, husband of Susannah Crawford of Loudoun and ancestor of the Earls of Loudoun This brought some snarls from a few angry Scots, but was a perfectly legitimate action as the arms were granted under a different jurisdiction. So where does that leave those who would like a coat of arms but have no connection with a grant-making authority, or see no reason to pay a fee to the authority in another country which can give them no legal protection? The answer in almost every case is that arms can be assumed. At the start of heraldry in 12th century Europe, that is what everybody did. They adopted a design for themselves, and as time went by and heraldry caught on, so the rules, laws and customs grew up to regulate this new development. But for most countries the basic system remains the same: each man designs and uses his own coat of arms as long as it doesn't infringe somebody else's rights. He assumes his coat of arms Heraldry outside the UK For many Crawfords, part of the pleasure of being part of the clan is the connection with a history that goes back hundreds of years, and so it is very understandable that those with an interest in having their own coat of arms want to have a coat of arms that ties into that history. So for many there may well be a feeling that a coat of arms designed by themselves, even if it is closely modelled on the ancient arms of the Crawfords, doesn't carry the same weight as a grant from Lord Lyon. For Crawfords worldwide an important question is this: does the Lord Lyon in Edinburgh have the right to grant or matriculate arms for people of Scottish descent but who live outside Scotland. The view expressed on the Lord Lyon's website (www.lyon-court.com) has more detail but is summarised as "Commonwealth citizens, in particular those of Scottish descent, - save for those in Canada and South Africa who have their own heraldic authorities - can apply to the Lord Lyon King of Arms". That seems clear enough. However, a
lengthy paper by Noel Cox, which has appeared in various organs, and is entitled "The Law of Arms in New Zealand", published in New Zealand Law Reviews 1998 and available on line argues that only Garter King of Arms in London has the right to grant arms to New Zealand citizens, and that Lord Lyon does not share that right. His arguments would apply to countries other than New Zealand, so where does that leave us? If current practice is anything to go by, Lord Lyon doesn't share Noel Cox's view and continues to grant arms to people of Scottish descent. So for any Crawfords who like the idea of a coat of arms from Lord Lyon rather than their own design, apply to him and see what happens. Otherwise read on and see what alternatives there are. Heraldry in particular countries What goes on in countries with a strong and popular heraldic tradition, but no statutory legislation? United States There is a large active and enthusiastic part of Clan Crawford that lives in the States. Although the country has been a republic for nearly 250 years, there is a strong heraldic tradition going back to the first days of Independence, so much so that the military has its own Institute of Heraldry that regulates all badges, flags, insignia etc. within the US armed forces. For civilians there is no regulatory authority but several organisations that exist to promote heraldry. Specifically the US Heraldic Registry contains hundreds of arms that have been registered by that organisation and for the most part have been designed and assumed by individuals across the US. The registry will give you lots of examples of arms that are symbols of the person who now bears them. So this is a country where you can assume your own arms as long as you don't infringe somebody else's rights. Canada In Canada the Canadian Heraldic Authority was set up in 1988, and took over the rights and functions of the UK heralds. The Canadian Heralds have set an enviable standard for the quality of Canadian heraldry, using native emblems, shield shapes and supporters. Their Public register of all arms granted, registered approved or confirmed by the CHA is available on line, and is an excellent model for what we hope the Register of Crawford arms might look like.. The CHA grants arms to Canadian citizens but it is clear that arms are regarded as an honour, so a contribution to the life of the community, as
well as Canadian citizenship is expected before arms will be granted. The design of the arms is a joint process between a herald and the petitioner. Christ Church Cathedral Robert Emerson David Hiroshi Tsubouchi Some examples of Canadian heraldry. Australia Australia has taken a quite different approach. Despite strong pleas from the Australian Heraldry Society to the Australian Government to set up a Heraldic Authority similar to that of Canada, it has decided against, leaving Australians either to assume their own arms or to apply to the authority of their country of origin. New Zealand New Zealand has yet a different approach. Heraldry in the country is still under the control of the College of Arms in London, where there is an additional herald called New Zealand Herald Extraordinary. New Zealand Herald does not have authority of himself to grant arms, but is the channel through which New Zealanders would normally apply for a grant of arms. As the law stands, however, despite loud Scottish protests to the contrary, there is no legal basis for Lord Lyon to grant arms to New Zealanders of Scottish origin. As New Zealand law only protects certain State and other official arms, flags and badges, and as there is no court in which a New Zealander could protect his right to arms, it is available to any New Zealander to assume arms of his own design South Africa
Heraldry in South Africa is governed by the Bureau of Heraldry established in 1963 following the country's decision to leave the Commonwealth in 1961. The right of any citizen to assume his own coat of arms is established as long as it doesn't infringe somebody else's design. Those who wish to have their designs registered can apply to the National Herald to do so, but there is no granting of arms by the State or its officials. To date thousands of arms have been registered in South Africa, but there is no online register. However, it is clear that South Africa, like Canada, has embraced a style of heraldry which uses its national emblems, traditions, flora and fauna and a photo of the tabard worn by the two South African State Heralds at the Congress in St. Andrews's, Scotland in 2006, shows how much they have followed a totally individual idiom.
What makes a good coat of arms? If the choice is going to be up to you, the individual Crawford, wanting to design a coat of arms you will be really proud of, what are the things you should be thinking about? First you want your arms to be unique to you. The purpose of a coat of arms, like a logo or a trademark, is that nobody else will be using it - at least not in your own country. That is where the Crawford Register will come into its own, but until it does, Crawfords have almost unlimited freedom to choose any arms they like. Next, you will want to give your arms a distinctively Crawford look. You may already know which branch of the Crawfords you come from, but if not, you will probably want to base it on the arms of either of the two main branches of the clan:
If you look through the section in our website on Arms of branches of the Crawford family, you will see how many ways over the years people have made changes to these basic designs, and come up with new and original arms, and yet as you look through you will see how instantly you can say of any of them "Oh, he's a Crawford." Then you want to think about what is special to you. Let's say, fishing for example or climbing mountains like Sir Edmund Hillary. Perhaps you are a doctor who likes sailing and who keeps bees - well here's the one for you:
and so on. The only limit is your ingenuity. Then you must think about design. The most important rule is "Keep it simple". Don't forget that a coat of arms has to look good whether it is close to or far away. That's where Allen Crawford can help you to put your ideas into a design you really like. Look at the arms that were designed for the Duchess of Cambridge's father. Three acorns for the three children, and for the oak trees that grow near her home. Gold for her mother's name of Goldsmith, and the white lines - because they love skiing! What next? If you have read this far and you are still toying with the idea of designing and having your own coat of arms, and you don't fit into any of the categories for a grant from the UK Heralds- or perhaps you do but don't want to use them, then our suggestion is that the CCA should help you to come up with a really good design for yourself. The key person in this is Allen Crawford, a professional artist and illustrator with a good knowledge of heraldry in general and Crawford heraldry in particular. These are the arms that he designed for himself, incorporating American dogwood and the Cardinal bird as distinctive American symbols
The CCA has fixed a flat rate of $150 as the cost of Allen's assistance in creating the design, the artwork and entering the arms on the Register. For comparison, the fees of the Lyon Court are 2,386 for the grant of shield and crest with or without motto, and the fees of the College of Arms in London are 5,750. The Canadian Heraldic Authority charges an initial fee of $435, but there are several important extra fees to cover artist's work etc. As has been explained above, what we are proposing is not a grant of arms, in the way that these three heraldic authorities would grant arms, but we hope we have explained enough to give you a clear account of what our project is. If you want to follow this up further, do get in touch with one of us, and the most useful first port of call would be either: Allen Crawford allen@allencrawford.net Raymond Crawfurd raymond@crawfud.plus.com or