Coats of Arms - Jacomb.com

Coats of Arms arose in the 13th century from the need to identify one another when in battle dressed in all-covering armour. A colourful design on the shield helped the recognition process and became a personal emblem for an individual. Their use became widespread away from the battlefield. Henry V introduced regulations in the 15th century on the use of coats of arms due to an increasing number of court battles over them. This meant that a person could only acquire arms by having them passed down within the family or by gift from the crown.

Despite products such as keyrings and mugs displaying arms of individual surnames, there is no one coat of arms for a surname. Arms were, and still are, granted to individuals upon application to the College of Arms in London. In order to bear existing arms, a person must first prove they have a direct male descendency from the individual who was first granted the arms.

A complete coat of arms is made up from a number of different components. The central element is the shield which carries the individual's personal emblem. The second element is the crest which rests upon the shield (often atop a helmet which may be included) and the third element is the motto (if one exists for an individual). Extra accessories which may be included are the mantling (on the helmet), the wreath (around the helmet), supporters holding the shield (like the lion and unicorn on the Queen's arms) and a mount upon which the shield and supporters are stood.

Arms
The following are arms taken from a 1969 reprint of the 1884 book The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales by Sir Bernard Burke C.B., LL.D., Ulster King of arms. They are listed on page 535 of the book. Some of the heraldic terms in the descriptions were abbreviated in the text but are written unabbreviated here to make more sense, e.g., az. is now azure. They describe the shield and the crest of the coat of arms (no mottoes are present suggesting none were ever established for the arms).

The illustrations on the right do not appear in Burke's book, but have been created for this website based upon the blazons described in the book.

Jacomb (Burton Lazers, co. Leicester; granted 20 April 1672). Per chevron azure and ermine in chief two lions' heads erased argent Crest-A hand holding two branches of palm in orle proper.

Jacomb. Per chevron azure and ermine in chief two lions' heads erased of the second. Crest-A lion's head erased barry of six argent and azure.

(Please note: these images are interpretations by Jacomb.com of the arms in The General Armory. No graphics are present in the book. The wreath, supporters and mount pictured here are included for decorative effect only and do not form part of the actual recorded arms)

Crests
The crests are also included in the 1986 book Fairbairn's Crests of the Families of Great Britain and Ireland. They are listed on page 256 of the book. Again the abbreviated heraldic terms have been expanded here.

JACOMB, a lion's head, erased, barry of six, argent and azure. Pl. 52, cr. 7.

JACOMB. Eng., in hand two branches of palm, in orle proper. Pl. 16, cr. 7.

The first crest is shared with the names Bradfield, Corfield, Gairden, Maude and Ockley.
The second crest is shared with the names Bowell, Cater and Hood.

Mottoes
A number of seemingly connected Jacomb families or decendants quote the Latin motto "INCERTUS RERUM EVENTUS" (roughly translated as "Uncertain things happen") in connection with the above arms.

As mentioned before no mottoes for Jacomb arms are listed in Burke's General Armory. Jacomb.com is therefore on the lookout for any publication that links this particular motto to Jacomb arms to see if the arms, crest and motto were created at the same time for the same individual.

Further details of how to claim the use of a specific coat of arms may be obtained by contacting the Officer in Waiting at:

The College of Arms, Queen Victoria Street, London. 17th February 2006.

College of Arms
The Officer in Waiting
Queen Victoria Street
London
EC4V 4BT

Tel: 020 7248 2762