Coat of Arms

Many people are under the impression that most old families have a coat of arms which may be used by anyone who carries that particular surname. This is definitely not the case. In olden times coats of arms were generally granted to persons of suitable ability or character. These arms could then be inherited by successive descendants. The arms never applied to the family at large, however--only to direct descendants.

In most countries a coat of arms is protected by law and may only be used by someone who has registered a particular coat of arms to his personal name. That coat of arms can, at the death of the arms-bearer, generally be passed on to the eldest child. In South Africa, any person can register a personal coat of arms in terms of the Heraldry Act (Act 18 of 1962). There are strict rules which apply, but broadly-speaking anyone can draw up a suitable coat of arms and submit it for official registration. If the State Herald in Pretoria approves the arms, the submitter will become the legal owner of his own individual coat of arms which may not be used by any other party. When a new coat of arms is considered for registration, care will be taken that the arms would conform to general rules and principles of heraldry and that it will not conflict with any other registered coat of arms. For more detailed information, see the article "Heraldry in South Africa" by Frederick Brownell at http://freepages.family.rootsweb.com/~heraldry/page_optima.html .

The commonly-asked question would be whether there exists "a" Labuschagne coat of arms. The answer is that no Labuschagne coat of arms has yet been officially registered in South Africa. There are two basic coats of arms which are sometimes passed around as being "Labuschagne coats of arms." One involves three trees on a shield. The other involves a quartered shield containing two sets of crossed swords and two sets of fleur-de-lis, with a side-profiled helmet with closed visor at the top. These coats of arms are of unknown origin and most likely have no historical basis at all. 

Coat of arms which has been used by some Labuschagnes. Origin unknown.

Another common question is: "what if there exists some ancient coat of arms which can still be traced in France, for instance? Who would get to use these arms?" No such coat of arms has been found to date. If, however, such a coat of arms should exist, it may be claimed by anyone who can prove that he is the most direct descendant of the last person who legally bore that particular coat of arms. The burden of proof would lie with the claimant to show his direct lineage to the arms-bearer.

A list of currently-registered coats of arms in South Africa may be found at http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~amateurheralds/sa_armorial.html . Anyone who would like to bear a coat of arms would therefore have to register his or her very own. There is no generic "Labuschagne coat of arms" that may be used.

If a particular family would like to have a coat of arms which every member of the family could use, it is possible to register a coat of arms for this collective purpose. Some families form a family union to which everyone bearing the family name may belong, and then register a coat of arms for the familiy union. In so doing, everyone with the same family name would be free to use the coat of arms if they should want to. Normally the cost for registering such a coat of arms would be divided between as many different family members as possible, thus making a normally expensive exercise affordable to everyone.

Coat of arms kindly supplied by Lee Labuschagne

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