Registration

If after extensive genealogical research you came to the conclusion that there is coat of arms present in your family, then you are free to design one yourself. There are however a couple of items to keep in mind when you start designing your new arms.

In the old day's, long before we had internet, it wasn't that easy to assume arms. You had to register your arms, and you had to be noble of course, meaning the king had to authorise you to let you use your arms. The heraldic rules in medieval Serbia were strict. If you were not of noble descent you did not carry any arms. The same with land, even nobles were forbidden to hold land in the mountains. This right was only granted to the king and church with permission.

Today you do not have to be of noble descent to create your own arms. It is however forbidden to use arms of an existing family as your own. Even if this family is extinct. The same applies to orders, even if these orders are not active. E.g., you cannot display the symbol of the “Order of the dragon" on your arms.

Heraldic registration

In Serbia & Montenegro there is 1 organization officially endorsed with the registration of arms. The White Eagle (Beli Orao in Serbian) holds a large registry of arms, blazons and related documentation. Registration with the White Eagle is necessary to get your arms recognized in Serbia. The White Eagle structures the use of arms in Serbia. Registration helps because heralds at the White Eagle will see if your design is valid. In other words, they will see if the design follows heraldic protocol and they will verify to see if the symbols used are allowed to be used. Registration gives you protection. It is not uncommon that people use arms from other families or copy symbols from other arms in such a manner that it implicates to be part of that family.

If you hold older arms, let’s say 400 years old and you wish to proof that these are yours then you need to provide sufficient documents that proof that you are a direct descendant of the armiger. Genealogy and heraldry go hand in hand.

Heraldic fraud

What to do if someone uses your arms? In this case you can undertake legal action in basically every country in a court of law. If you ordered an arms to be created or you inherited it then you hold the copyright on these arms. Even if someone re-draws your arms then it still remains a breach of copyright. In this case it no longer involves the right of arms, but copyright!

Legally things will become heavier when people use arms as merchandise. Heraldry with all of its useful aspects also attracts the wrong people. The concept of bearing or holding coat of arms attracts many people for various reasons. That’s why large amounts of people go start research to their own family arms and if they do not have one create one. In this case by the White Eagle in Serbia. There is no problem with the above.

There is a problem however with what we call today " bucket shops" that sell all kinds of arms. In many cases it involves existing arms to people dead or alive and even with complete false genealogies. A common practise is to connect the coat of arms to a surname that is identical. People too many times assume they are related because they share the same surname. This is however a big misconception.

It is also possible to purchase new arms. It happens too many times that people purchase arms without first doing proper genealogical research.

Use the proper channels

For people who are interested in heraldry in Serbia & Montenegro it is wise to consult the White Eagle and the archives of Serbia. When it involves the registration or identification of arms we advice all to do this through the White Eagle. You can use the SGS website to contact the White Eagle. You can also post a topic on the heraldic forum and we will answer your question as soon as possible with all necessary information.

The SGS will soon publish more detailed information provided under direction of the White Eagle concerning heraldry. All genealogical related issues will be handled by the SGS.