Heraldry

I have been fascinated by heraldic achievements as long as I can remember. One of my earliest memories of heraldry was a set of stamps each displaying the official coat of arms of one of the 16 states making up Germany.

In 2018, I worked with heraldic artist Ralf Burkert from Munich, Germany to design and assume a coat of arms myself. The blazon, or heraldic description, of my coat of arms is the following:

In German:

“In blau ein silberner Adlerflügel, Saxen aufwärts gekehrt, rechts mit Hand, das Handgelenk von einer eisenfarbenen, gesprengten Kette umschlossen, drei goldene, balkenweise nach links gewendete Weizenähren haltend, darüber drei goldene, fünfstrahlige Sterne. Auf dem blau-silbern bewulsteten Helm mit rechts blau-silbernen und links blau-goldenen Helmdecken, ein rot bewehrter, stehender, silberner Storch mit schwarzen Schwungfedern, in der erhobenen Rechten drei goldene Weizenähren haltend.”

In English:

“Shield: Azure, an eagle’s wing terminating in a hand Argent holding three wheat stalks fesswise reversed Or, bound at the wrist by a shackle with a broken chain proper, in chief three mullets Or.

Mantling: Azure doubled per pale Or and Argent.

Crest: A stork close Argent armed and membered Gules, flight feathers Sable, holding in its dexter talon three wheat stalks Or.”

Since I have assumed my coat of arms in 2018, many artists have rendered it in various artistic styles. Any emblazon, or artistic visual rendering, that follows the blazon is a valid depiction of the coat of arms.

The below depiction is heraldic artist Vadym Burla’s emblazon of my coat of arms.

In Germany, where I am from, heraldry is not regulated. Instead, everyone is free to assume coats of arms. A number of geneological and heraldic associations publish rolls of arms, such as Die Deutsche Wappenrolle published by HEROLD. I am in touch with HEROLD to register and publish my coat of arms along with instructions on who will be entitled to use the coat of arms.