Do you have ideas on married, or alliance, arms?

I have seen them where they are two distinct achievements but right next to each other looking to the dexter, like this one from Mr. Dudley Bateman

http://www.sol.co.uk/b/batemanheraldry/paintings/b3.jpg

I have also seen them as two individual renditions like these also from Mr. Bateman

http://www.sol.co.uk/b/batemanheraldry/paintings/5.jpg

I have seen them where they are two shields with one crest like these - the first from Mr. Foppoli & second from Susie Galloway

http://www.marcofoppoli.com/popup.php?img=images/lavori/11

and

http://www.heraldry.susigalloway.com/coa/images/coatree/giger.html

I have seen them as two different achievements respecting each other like this one also from Mr. Foppoli

http://www.marcofoppoli.com/popup.php?img=images/lavori/91

I have even seen them on one shield with two crests either respecting or both looking to dexter (one of my heraldic art books show this I think)…I can not find the hyper links to them, but here is my own version of that style

So, what is better in your opinion anyway? I ask as I am not sure and I am going to begin work on an allied/married achievement here very soon and I’m not sure what I want to do. I have used the two achievements respecting each other and the one I just did above, but I am not sure what I want to do with this one now.

I’ve also read that you could turn the charges in the husbands arms to "respect" those of his wife, including his crest. In this case I believe the two sheilds are leaned toward one another as well.

Personally, I like the first rendition by Mr. Foppoli the best, i.e. a shield and a cartouche under the man’s crest.

If my wife’s family were armigerous, this is how I would like to have the two displayed.

Yes, I agree with John, this is in my opinion also the most elegant and attractive design.

Jonathan R. Baker;46264 wrote:

Personally, I like the first rendition by Mr. Foppoli the best, i.e. a shield and a cartouche under the man’s crest.

Actually both escutcheons are ensigned by a comital coronet.

I really do not care for a crest and helm being used by a woman. It looks very odd to me.

The beauty of the system is the great variety of approaches, all clearly conveying the same message but offering the artist a wide range of approaches.  Of course everyone will have their most & least favorites, but that’s the case in all of heraldic art…and all of life.

At the risk of Denny throwing rocks (I do so love to make work for others!) this seems like another occasion for the oft-cited refrigerator test.  You’ll never really know how a given pair of arms will look in various arrangements by the same artist, until you see them.  And I suspect that the same couple, viewing the same marital arrangement of their arms, will make different choices depending on who does the artwork—e.g. they might like one version better from Foppoli and a different arrangement better by Jameson etc.  Or they might disagree among themselves and leave poor Denny in the middle—when the clients play hockey, the artist gets to be the puck…

Another consideration is the context—the setting.  The more elaborate the surroundings, the more flowery the armorial art can afford to be.  In a simpler Bauhaus setting, just the two shields side-by-side might be as much as you’d want.

But by now I have every confidence that Denny can produce a really good result whatever the particular style of arranging the two shields.

Thanx Drew. I made one like that where they were respecting each other…lol…when I first did it I made the crests respecting each other but forgot to do the charges in the field as well…d’oh! So, after I finished it I had to redo it again to be respecting all the way around.

Denny there isn’t a style above i particularly dislike, but my favoorite ais the very first one, where the two shileds and crests are sepeart, but close to each other.

Thanx Colin. I kind of like that style myself even though I’m more of a trad kind of guy. - that’s 1 for that style.

Here’s another style that our very own Ton de Witte made and sent me a while ago and just resent it to me…I’m posting it here with his permission. It is the alliance arms of he and his wife and this was painted up and placed on the invite cards no less - rather classy I think. I like how they are connected with the belt and how the ribbon at the chief is formed into a heart myself.

Ton’s marital arms are very attractive. I find the shape of the ribbon to be most interesting and in my eye the ribbon takes the form of a large medieval crossbow with a foot pull at the top.

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Very attractive design!  Ton’s wifes arms are very attractive, what’s the history behind them?

David you are right it does look like a crossbow but that is a coincedence.

the idea behind the arms of my wife is simple she is of Serbian descent and was born in the Netherlands so I took elements of both and and made a double eagle with lionsheads and quartered it.

Extremely nice! By the way, what is the meaning of the estucheon argent in your arms?

Cheers,

If I recall correctly, it’s a pun on his last name.  Witte meaning White.

Andrew J Vidal;46311 wrote:

If I recall correctly, it’s a pun on his last name.  Witte meaning White.

you recall correctly

David Pritchard;46294 wrote:

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http://www.knightsedge.com/crossbows/medieval-crossbows-4606t.jpg

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David, that’s not what is meant by the term "marital arms"!