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Arms and Achievements Many family researchers begin their journey into the past having their their interests piqued by either seeing or imagining a coat of arms. Every Not every person, and not every family, has a coat of arms. If every family had a coat of arms, it would indicate that every family is descended from aristocracy. I am not being haughty, but I find the disillusion to be tragic. When people attach themselves inappropriately to this tradition, they often miss other critical aspects of their past that could be just as rewarding, if not moreso, and certainly would be more accurate. Even within a surname, some families have a claim to arms, and some do not. There are many Smith families in the world, but not all of those Smith families descend from a line that had a coat of arms conferred upon it. This is why it takes far more than a brief Google search to discover one's coat of arms... if any. On the topic of accuracy, a "coat of arms," or armorial bearing, is only one part of what is properly termed an "achievement." An achievement is the whole of a display of a coat of arms, including the illustrative creatures that "hold" the arms, and the decoration around it. The illustration below shows the parts of an achievement.  When I speak of "my" or "our" coat of arms here, I am referring to those of the Ryves of Dorset, the line from which I am directly descended. This coat of arms was conferred upon Robert Ryves, courtier of King Henry VIII, in the first few years of the 16th century. The design of arms is an art and a science, governed by strict and ancient laws, and the right to bear the arms tightly regulated. Our arms are described thusly, using the language of heraldry: Crest: A greyhound sejant sable, bezantee, collared or. To translate, first we examine the shield of the arms. The term on a bend describes the geometry of the field, in this case, indicating a diagonal line running from an upper corner down to the lower opposite corner. The line generally takes up a third of the shield. This is a fairly common charge, or central feature of the shield. The term argent is the ancient term for the tincture (color) of silver, indicating the shield itself is silver in color. The term cotised means bounded or bordered, and sable means black in color. The result so far is a silver shield with a black diagonal line (with smaller black lines on either side) running across it. A lozenge is a diamond shape, and ermine is a fur. On arms, fur is used much as a tincture, as a color or pattern. The heraldic way of representing the ermine fur is to use small symbols that resemble clubs on a deck of cards. So to our basic black diagonal line, we now add three diamond shapes of the ermine pattern. If you refer to the diagram of achievement parts, you'll notice the helm and wreath. The helm would be tailored to the type of peer the arms were awarded to. A peer is a person of the court. Robert Ryves was one such person, and in his case, he was of the class of peers we would consider a "knight." Many of his sons and grandchildren were also knights. This means that the helm is a knight's helmet. Were he, for example, an Earl or a Duke, the appropriate crown for that rank would appear in place of the knight's helmet, and the wreath would be adjusted to match. The crest is quite specifically described. It is a greyhound sejant, or sitting, which is black in color. (Remember that sable means black.) Additionally, two more terms are included. Firstly, the word bezantee means decorated with gold coins, or bezants. This is a very important aspect. What it indicates, in heraldry, is that the Ryves served in the Crusades. It is a strong piece of tangible, provable evidence that the Ryves are among the most ancient of families, having provided notable service to crown and country. The final aspect is collared or. The tincture or is the color gold, so the greyhound has a gold collar to match the coins it is spotted with. The 17th century Ryves Almshouse in our family's ancestral home of Blandford Forum, County Dorset, England bears the image of the Ryves coat of arms, seen below.  The mantling, or floral scrollwork around the arms, is particular to the artist rendering the arms. No motto is listed for this particular arms. The description of these arms has been documented for centuries in the most notable of heraldic scholarly works. A later heraldic scholar illustrated the arms directly from this outstanding architectural example, and the illustration is seen below.  Finally, using contemporary graphics tools and styling the arms in a modern interpretation, it was my privilege to undertake a current-day rendering of the arms that have passed through the generations to our family today. Each individual artist renders the mantling and styles the arms to his or her taste. Additionally, for these particular arms - the arms of Keith David Reeves of Syracuse and Fredericksburg - I added scrollwork featuring my motto. When I first began my research so many years ago, I fell into the very trap I illustrated in the first paragraph. I had found the first "Reeves coat of arms" I came upon, and began in my youth to try and interpret hundreds of years of heraldic law to incorporate the arms of my grandparents - again, taken from the Internet and without regard for actual genealogy or history - and created what can only be described as a laughable representation. However, I put a tremendous amount of thought into selecting a set of words that represented my beliefs. While it was a number of years before I finally determined precisely what arms were those of my line, I have long embraced the concept of my motto as dear to my being. After a few turns of evolution, I am pleased with the motto, and my rendering of my personal achievement is displayed here. Remember, this is my personal achievement. For example, the label or, or the horizontal symbol with three trapezoidal "teeth," is the heraldic symbol for the first born son. (My brothers would each have a different symbol for their order of birth.) Your Reeves arms would be slightly different even if you were in my immediate family, but the majority of the design is Reeves, through and through.  I selected Latin for its purity and its appropriateness to the study of heraldic history and the ancient science of family lineage. Translated into English, the motto reads "Living well is learning and evolving." I have struggled for many years with the philosophical concept of "living well," or "being good." I believe in the absolute relativity of good, so the notion of living a life that represents what is "good" is very personal, and is different from person to person. This relativity is central to my being, as is trying to do what I think is right, no matter how difficult it may be. In no way do I think I succeed in this endeavor every day, but it is in the effort - by learning from mistakes and adapting to be better next time - that I believe I find the most success. It is also, strangely enough, a tribute to the ancient academic traditions of this great family that once held prominence among scholars of the day, hearkening back to the times when Ryves were chancellors and leaders of Oxford. My partner is a prime example of someone who may not bear her own coat of arms, but has a rich and fascinating heraldic tradition of her own, as she is descended from prominent Scottish family lines. Her two lines - Clemmens and Bryson - are examples of septs within greater clans. The Clemmens family name is likely a particular Wales-related sept of Clan Lamont. The Bryson line is a rather prominent sept of Clan McLeod, specifically the McLeods of Skye. It was this line - the line of the strong Bryson women - that gave us the tartan we used in our handfasting. As each Clan has a Scottish crest, and as each Clan (and sometimes sept) has a tartan, there is a great deal of colorful - and relevant - heraldic history to be seen in her specific lineage.
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