only comment that i have is that you should use a different shield form, the modern German one is circle shaped at the bottom , or you could use a shield with an accolade form at the bottom, if you would use such a shield the 3rd quarter would be less distorted.

@Hassan:

Thanks for the comments.  My reading of the Wappenbeschreibung indicates that the "roter Pfhal" is essentially fimbriated Argent.

Both crests are historic….Good call on the mantling.

@Emrys:

You raise a good point re German vs. English heraldic tradition.  Since my paternal line is English, I assumed English shield shape would trump, so to speak.  I am not sure if there are any hard and fast rules in this regard.  Does anyone else know?

Ben, what’s historic about the crests? I love good history to go with armorial displays. So, what is historical about the broken lance and the conjoined wing per pale Or and Azure? Let me in on the history… I love history!

Ben,

I don’t think there are any rules regarding the shape of the shield, in any heraldic tradition.  I believe that each culture tended to use a certain shape more frequently and even that changed in different eras, but I do believe that there were never any restrictions as to the shape of the shield.

Any comments on that from the experts?

And Ben, the reason I asked about the fimbriated pale and the sinister crest is because the arms in the stained glass window picture shows no fimbriation and the crest is a fleur de lis.

Cheers,

Hassan

@Denny and Hassan:

The crest on the original wappen for Familie Deppeler is a fleur de lis as Hassan noted.  The pic I posted is from the protestant church in Tegerfelden, Switzerland, a small town in Canton Aargau.  Some family history indicates that they may have come from Clermont in France, and that the name was originally Dépailler—hence, the fleur de lis.  My particular group of Depplers hails from Schwaben in southern Germany, and uses arms differenced by a "schwan" and a new crest (this may be a play on "Schwaben").  I am not exactly sure when they split, but the stained glass is Tegerfelden is from 1869. My family is catholic, and the Chronik von Tegerfelden indicates that many catholic residents of the town remained loyal to the catholic dukes of Schwaben and moved to the Allgau region in Schwaben.  I suspect that this is when the family split, and the arms were differenced shortly thereafter.

The Fosters/Forsters are an old Northumbrian family.  The original crest was a stags head.  Supposedly, the broken lance and the chevron vert found on the shield of arms, stem from the crusades.  According the legend, during the Third Crusade (1189 - 1193) at the siege of Acre,  a party of Saracens sallied forth and surround King Richard.  He would have been overpowered and made prisoner had not John Forster, who seeing from a distance the danger in which the King was placed, pushed forward with couched lance followed by his retainers shouting,

"To the rescue! A Forester!  A Forester!"  For his bravery and timely assistance, John received from King Richard a grant to bear a chevron cert on his shield.

This is an interesting story, but I think that it is apocrypha.  I am sure these arms, like most dating from this period, were simply assumed.

As to shape or style of shield—as noted, this is essentially an artistic matter, not one of "rules"—especially since the quarters come from different places & whichever style you pick might look "wrong" from the perspective of the other side of the family.  I would think that the style of shield & the style of the helmet(s) should be compatible.

As to cadency—unless one or the other coat was borne with differences in the old country, why bother? The arms (either quarter separately, and certainly the quartered combination) are already sufficiently blessed with a full compliment of charges; adding more risks becoming overbusy.

If you still feel a need for cadency, start with the quartering & add the simple cadency marks, from that generation down, at the intersection of the quarters.  However, if there are multiple kids in each generation, that system will sooner or later break down of its own weight.  A compromise might be to only add cadency marks for major branches of the family, rather than for each individual member.

@ Mike

Thanks for the thoughts on the shield shape…my preference is for the English.

Does anyone know if schreitenden Schwan is essentially rampant?