Dutch Heraldry Sources

Question

My brother and I are the last males of our line, and as such are looking to update our coat of arms for our family, either in a halved or quartered style.

I do not trust regular pay-for-crest sites, as I believe they think their audience is ignorant, and for the most part, they are... But for me, I am getting the coat tattooed on my arm when I discover what it is, so complete accuracy is crucial. I also do not believe in paying for anything before I see it, especially if there is no guarantee of accuracy to begin with

I have seen my crest once I think, and read (as much as I could read in Dutch) a description, and it seemed similar, but my question is still this:

Is there a site that devotes itself to Dutch heraldry and coats of arms? My family is from Friesland, so even a site from there devoted to that would be extremely helpful.

Answer 1

I'm glad you don't trust the pay-for-crest sites.  But don't get that tattoo just yet, either!

Here's a site telling about official Dutch coats of arms (I guess a tattoo of one of these would be ok):  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coat_of_arm...

Coats of Arms were not given to everyone with the same surname back then, as is commonly believed today.  Rather, they were given to a specific individual or a specific group of individuals.  Here's more on that subject:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coat_of_arm...

By the way, I did some family history research for my sis-in-law, and found a wonderful site for her Dutch ancestors, it goes back to 1811 and has a lot of info:  http://www.genlias.nl/  (click on "English" in the upper right corner).

Good luck in your search!