You get two related articles/sources in one Posting:
Interesting to read that Coat of Arms does not = Surname. I still claim the few Coats of Arms that I know associated with some of my ancestor’s surnames, and “my” Muir family castle in Ireland.
I think in America (U.S.A), that we don’t concern ourselves much with the conventions of heraldry and distinctions of titles of rank. I even saw places on-line where anyone can buy title of rank, so I think that the whole world’s attitude toward the (mostly former) formal distinctions is relaxing.
This is not to insult my BLOG’s British, Scottish, and Irish, etc. viewers. I do realize that titles of rank are still very important and current in your cultures.
I am adding all of these links to my BLOG “Genealogy Links and Electronic Helps” page.
Wow – look at the rare gem of a website that I found today.
Read more about the Titles of Rank in this really extensive website. After reading through these lists, I may have to reconsider my statement about “mostly former distinctions” above. My anthropological and history background reminds me that humans have set up hierarchies and named distinctions as an on-going aspect of being part of human cultures.
“Ranks of All Nations Possible” historic & modern – i.e.
Royal and Noble Ranks, Modern and Historic Military Ranks, Modern and Historic Political Ranks, Modern and Historic Religious Hierarchy, Monastic ranks, Knights/Militant Ranks, Historical Titles and Classes, Scots, Welsh, Irish, British, Byzantine, Estonian, French, Germanic, German, Saxon, Gothic, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Languedoc (Southern French), Norse, Roman Empire, Russian, Slovenian, Spanish, Egyptian (Ancient), Hausa & Mali, Hindustani, Islamic/Religious, Japanese, Mongol, Moorish, Persian, Semitic & Hebrew, Swahili, Turkic, Turkish, Chileno, United States, and Miscellaneous Ranks
The first part of that website states:
Titles of Rank
Ranks and their Definitions:
The following social ranks are given from highest to lowest instead of alphabetically. The titles given are first male then female, and the etymology is terrestrial.
AND
“Heraldry Websites for Genealogy”
is an article from FamilyTreeMagazine.com on a topic that we don’t often see. Read the whole article here:
Fact: Coats of arms are not attached to a surname, but rather to an individual. People with the same surname may be entitled to different coats of arms, or not have one at all, unless they can prove that they are directly descended from a legitimate male member of that line – or one is granted to them.
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