Logo, Badges and Coats of Arms

I have read the postings from Roy Stockdill. et al, on the subject of Coats
of Arms, and still remain unclear as to exactly what constitutes a Coat of
Arms (other than design criteria and approval by the appropriate college of
Heralds).
At the risk of being provocative, I would suggest that the Coat of Arms is
merely a special case of a Logo, that is a device that is associated with a
particular person or organisation. In the past, it was a complex means of
allowing the identification of Knights on the battlefield, etc., but
nowadays seems to be more of a matter of prestige. My professional
institution has a coat of arms (so they are not always personal), but I
assume that it's use is restricted to the officers on Institution business.
These days a Logo seems to be fashionable, and of course if you are in
business, it can be legally registered as a trademark.
But what is a badge?. I understand that the Scottish clans had badges rather
than coats of arms, although they seem to be of similar complexity in
design. Were these approved by the Scottish Heralds? My old school had a
badge; it was shield shaped, and was (incorrectly, I believe) often referred
to as a coat of arms. The military, of course also have a wide selection of
badges, but what are the technical differences between these and a logo?
Nevertheless, the purpose of them all appears to be broadly the same, a
pictorial device that is associated with a person or organisation which
enables rapid identification.
I have raised the subject as I would like to design some sort of device to
adorn my web pages, and whilst I like the general design of traditional
coats of arms rather than the modern logo, I have no wish to cause
unnecessary controversy and pretend to have a genuine coat of arms.

Hugh Watkins...

if you are retired you have time to go to a public library and borrow
some books on heraldry

for such basic definitions of words go to a dictionary

see also

Coat - Coat of arms, Coat-Armor, Cote-Armure, etc. - Originally armorial
bearings were embroidered on the surcoat of the wearer. The term is now
used for the escutcheon, or shield, when arms are displayed. [For
further information on coats of arms see ARMS.]

Badge - A distinctive mark; a cognizance. It is somewhat similar to a
crest, but was not placed on a wreath, nor was it worn on the helmet.
The badge was a possession of princes, noblemen and other gentlemen of
rank, and to this day is retained by some of those houses. The badge of
the Plantagenets was the broom plant (Planta genista); the line of
Lancaster had a red rose, while the badge of the house of York was a
white rose.

a "hat badge" or a "school badge" are something else

enjoy

Hugh W

Martin Briscoe (2)...

*MANY* years ago I went around our local town hall in Bolton and we were
shown the town coat of arms. I seem to remember we were also shown the
"badge" which was a sort of pun on Bolton with a bolt (arrow type)
through a crown which represented a "tun". I think we were told that it
was available for anybody to use whereas the coat of arms was owned by
the council and could not be used by anyone else without permission.

But that is a long time ago!

Coat of Arms