Heritage and Genealogy Lessons for the Herald Apprentice

Heraldry begins with the study of one's heritage. Before one can dive into the finer points of developing a coat of arms, learning about one's own past is the most basic place to begin. Things to think about as you embark on your own discovery of personal heritage:


- What are the primary cultural influences on my ancestry?

For example, is there a primary culture or cultures that influences my daily family? For me personally, my wife is Italian and has a strong cultural Italian influence in her upbringing while I have a strong cultural Irish upbringing in mine. For my children, they are exposed to both.


- Looking beyond cultural influences, what is the historical lineage of my name or bloodline?

This is the study of genealogy, and tracing your name or names along your line back through history can be an exciting way to discover a lot about yourself. As you do this, look for lines of nobility or royalty. These tend to be well documented and can provide a great historical lineage for the budding genealogist. Look into the countries and the time periods associated with your lines. It'll open up a whole new world of exploration for you.


-What is my genetic heritage?

Learning about the history of names and understanding your cultural influences are important places to begin but you may want to go further. While certainly not a requirement here, you may consider checking out one of the many genetic testing kits that give a breakdown of your genetic makeup and general areas of association with it throughout the world. Now it must be stated that this is a relatively new process in genealogy which only provides a basic breakdown of genetic makeup based on how others genetic makeup breaks down. It's not a bad test, but is very basic. As time goes on the testing methods will become better and more refined. Like I said, this is definitely not something required here, but you may want to consider this as another avenue to explore.


- After all is said and done, ask yourself "What do I want to identify with?"

This is just as important as all the other information you dig up as you research. You may discover that you thought you were of one particular heritage, but have a small influence from a completely obscure source and wish to pursue that avenue further. It must be noted that in traditional Heraldry, lineage was determined through a very limited window. As we've come to discover, our heredity can come from many diverse sources. Which sources do you feel most drawn to or a part of? Use those in developing your understanding of your background. For example, I'm culturally Irish, have a German last name, and descend from a bloodline that comes from Ireland through Scotland. Since I learned about this, I wanted to learn more about this Scottish heritage. You may discover new things about yourself too and choose to incorporate these things when you go on to develop your own coat of arms.


Take some time to consider these things about yourself and dig into them more fully. As you go through the process make notes and prepare to share them in the upcoming lessons Feel free to share your thoughts in your journal.

Share your heritage through your Father's Line. Point out any historical significance associated with the line as well as cultural influences that came to you through your Father. Create a journal here in the Heraldry Guild and share what you discovered in an entry.

Share your heritage through your Mother's Line. Point out any historical significance associated with the line as well as cultural influences that came to you through your Mother. Make an entry in your journal sharing what you discovered.

In your journal, share your current cultural heritage. What are some of the similarities between it and what you learned researching your family history. What are some differences? Will you be adding anything to your current practice of your cultural heritage?

Create a family tree based on your discoveries through research and share an image of it after you have completed it. You may approach this from the standard family tree creation going back as many generations as the information is available, or you may chose to focus on a singular line that you find really fascinating and want to share. Did you find a connection to an important historical figure? If so, share it!

Now that you have had some time to research and reflect on what you have discovered, will you include anything from your research in the creation of your coat of arms? Share your thoughts and reflections as well as what it is that you'll include in your coat of arms.

If you decided to do a genetic heritage test, share the results in your journal. Were you surprised by anything you discovered? How has this changed how you look at your past?