Family Section of Lonnie Colson.com

3E - Colson Family

Lonnie Colson.com - Way more than you ever wanted to know about me

Summer 2008 Edition

Colson Armorials

Family Coats of Arms:
American moneymaker

Debunking some of the myths about Armorials

     For millions of people today, a Coat of Arms is synonymous with genealogy. Anyone who has ever typed their name into a search engine has no doubt discovered that there are hundreds of companies purporting to have their 'Family Coat of Arms' and the complete history of their surname. I almost wish that it were that simple, but to do that we would have to ignore the very reason those powerful symbols had meaning. Hopefully without over simplifying the subject I can offer a brief explanation as to why there is no such thing as a 'Family Coat of Arms.'
     Heraldry is as old as warfare itself. Rival armies found it imperative to distinguish themselves one from another on the battlefield to prevent fratricide. Over the centuries, it grew from simple flags to elaborate tabards and crests and other vestiges; it evolved in pace with the machinations of war and civilization that spawned it. During the Middle Ages, a system of government called 'feudalism' was born. A hierarchy of nobles managed the realm from the king down to the serf in the field. A sort of caste system emerged that separated the noble from the common. Apart from the trappings of wealth and prestige, a symbol of rank was necessary to secure their station and set them apart from the rest of the populace. Thus the modern notion of heraldry was born, and it became inseparable from the caste that it represented. The Coat of Arms could eventually be seen in every aspect of a noble's life. It was displayed on his shields, banners, tabards, and even on his horse's trappings. On the battlefield, it helped prevent his comrades from mistaking him as the enemy, it also let his opponents know that he was a person of relative importance and worth a ransom if spared. Off the field, it represented his authority over his tenants and feed men.
     A Coat of Arms was a title granted in the name of a sovereign power to an individual much in the same way a handgun license today is only valid for the person to which it was issued. In most cases, the Arms could be passed from the father to his eldest son. However, it was by no means a unique 'family' symbol. Any subsequent children who inherited lands or title from its bearer would have use an Armorial that had been visibly altered. It also evolved over the years. If a man were granted a new estate, he might modify his Coat of Arms to reflect it.
     To this day, with the exception of a suit of full plate armor there is no other symbol more representative of knighthood than the Coat of Arms. The rank of knight was not bestowed on every person with the same surname, and the Coats of Arms were the exclusive right of their bearers. Many of those same concepts exist today and can be seen in various aspects of our everyday lives. Company logos and registered trademarks are inseparable from the products they represent. Practically every country in the world has some form of law to protect these symbols from duplicitous use. Other countries, chief among them is the United Kingdom, look upon the American enterprise of slapping a surname on a shield and selling it off as a 'family Coat of Arms' in the same way that we rankle at the Chinese making bootleg copies of Mickey Mouse merchandise.

For more information on the issuance Coats of Arms and the legal requirements for the display or use of them outside of the United States, please contact the College of Arms in London, England. As stated on their site, there is no such thing as a 'coat of arms for a surname'. Many people of the same surname will often be entitled to completely different coats of arms, and many of that surname will be entitled to no coat of arms. Coats of arms belong to individuals. For any person to have a right to a coat of arms they must either have had it granted to them or be descended in the legitimate male line from a person to whom arms were granted or confirmed in the past.

Colson family Coat of Arms

Colson Coat of Arms in Burke's General Armoury

As explained in the previous column, there are many who attempt to perpetrate the myth that a Coat of Arms belongs or is attributed to a particular surname or an entire family group rather than an individual. The practice is illegal in many countries, but it is big business here in the United States. The above illustration is of a Coat of Arms that I have personally seen listed as 'the Colson family Coat of Arms'. It's source is listed as Burke's General Armoury. The actual description of the Arms was listed as follows:

"SABLE, ON A PALE BETWEEN TWO PALETS ARGENT THREE ESCUTCHEONS GULES."

And the crest was described as:

"TWO ARMS, SEVERED AT THE ELBOW, SLEEVED, HOLDING IN NATURALLY COLORED HAND A GOLD SHIELD."

A basic knowledge of the terminology used in Heraldry is needed to understand the Armorial's description. It is much easier to visualize if the description is rewritten into a more modern translation. SABLE (black, the background color), On a large column between two narrow columns ARGENT (silver-colored) (are placed) three small shields GULES (red-colored).
Neither the original source for this Armorial nor the actual time-frame of the entry are known, at least not by any of my sources. It must also be acknowledged that the veracity of the Coat of Arms itself is questionable. It has been often said that Burke was known to list Armorials that were not officially granted by the College of Arms in England. As I explained before, a Coat of Arms is actually a symbolic representation of a title bestowed on a single person by an authorized source. Consequentially, to create your own Arms or plagiarize another's would be the equivalent of making your own patent number without having actually registered your invention with the U.S. Patent Office. Burke is believed to have placed in his Roll many Armorials that belonged to individulas never granted the rights. I have not been able to confirm its veracity through the College of Arms, so there is at the very least a possibility that the Coat of Arms depicted above may have a dubious origin.

Additional Armorials

Renaissance festival's version of English heraldry

Regrettably, I have found somewhat limited documentation on the Colson family during the Middle Ages. I purchased a surname history for the Colson family at a the Scarborough Faire outside of Dallas, Texas. It contained a Coat of Arms recorded in Sir Bernard Burkes General Armoury, Ulster King of Arms 1884. The Arms were described as follows:

"SABLE, THREE FLEUR DE LIS BETWEEN TWO BENDLETS ARGENT."

The crest followed as:

"A BUNDLE OF ARROWS ARGENT WITH A BELT BUCKLED OR."

The Motto was noted as:

"DEUM COLE REGEM SERVA"

As you can see, the translation would be: SABLE, three fleur(s)-de-Lis between two bendlets (up turned chevrons) ARGENT (silver). The crest, though not shown below would be drawn as it clearly states: A bundle of arrows ARGENT (silver) with a belt buckled OR (gold). The motto translates as "Worship God, revere the King."

Coulson Coat of Arms. (Source: Peter Coulson)

Example of Coulson Arms

One final Coat of Arms that I have recently come across is from the web site of Peter Coulson's Coulson Family History Page. There I found the following Armorial also credited to Burke's General Armory. Its description is as follows:

"ARGENT, TWO DOLPHINS HAURIENT RESPECTING EACH OTHER SABLE COLLARED AND CHAINED TOGETHER BY THEIR NECKS, THE CHAIN PENDANT BETWEEN THEM."

No Crest shown, but Motto was stated as:

"GO AND DO THOU LIKEWISE"

The dolphins represent affection and charity, while the chain is a symbol of hope.

Robert Colson family crest from Suffolk, England

To the left is another example of a Coat of Arms granted to a Colson. It was posted on a personal web site belonging to the Robert Colson family of Suffolk, England. As you can see, it is basically a silver shield with a red bend or diagonal slash across it. Inside the red slash are three silver fleurs-de-lis. The crest is not shown or described.

(Source: Robert Colson)