Anyone Registered with the American College of Heraldry?

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

One may still register arms in Spain.

[Joseph McMillan]

One may still register arms in Spain.

Sure, with a chronicler of arms (cronista) whose certifications aren't worth the paper they're written on, so why bother?

The effect of a Spanish certificate of arms is that no person can lawfully prevent the recipient of the certificate from bearing the arms certified. (Without such a certificate, someone bearing a coat of arms is subject to having his right to them challenged by someone claiming a prior or superior right to the same arms.)

Under decrees of 29 July 1915 and 13 April 1951, such certificates are legally valid only if issued by a cronista appointed by the Minister of Justice and if the certification is attested by an official of the ministry. Under a royal order of 17 Nov 1749, reiterated 16 Jun 1802 and incorporated into the legal code known as the Novísima recopilación de las leyes de España, [Newer Recompilation of the Laws of Spain], book XI, title 27, law 1, no one other than a duly appointed chronicler may issue certificates of arms or engage in any other function belonging to chroniclers-kings of arms. All of these laws are still in force.

No one at present possesses the necessary license from the Spanish Ministry of Justice to issue such certificates. Alfonso de Ceballos-Escalera, the Marquess of La Floresta, pretends to do so under color of a 1991 decree from the administration of the autonomous community (i.e., province) of Castile and Leon appointing him as chronicler of arms of that community and purporting to confer on him the power to certify personal arms, among other things. But the royal decree of 1982, under which the autonomous community of Castile and Leon was established, gives it jurisdiction only over municipal and corporate heraldry, not over personal heraldry.

Now it should be obvious that if the government of Castile and Leon has no authority over personal coats of arms, then it cannot confer authority over such arms on one of its appointees, any more than an American state can give one of its officials the power to mint coins or to negotiate a treaty with a foreign country. The legal expression is that the community acted ultra vires, "beyond its powers." And this is exactly what the Spanish Council of State advised the Ministry of Justice in 1995 when La Floresta sought to compel the ministry to certify him as a chronicler under the 1915 and 1951 decrees.

Now Scott will tell you that the Council's opinion was merely advisory, and it was. But the advice was accepted by the Ministry of Justice, which under existing Spanish law has the sole power to appoint chroniclers authorized to issue legally valid certificates of arms and therefore holds the last word on this matter.

So by all means, pay the Marquess of La Floresta for a certificate of arms, if you like. You'll get a beautifully hand lettered and painted document certifying your right to the arms, and whether it's worth the price is entirely up to the buyer, like any other economic transaction. But it won't have any legal standing, either in Spain or anywhere else.

(On the other hand, I suppose that within the US one of Ceballos-Escalera's certificates would be no less legally efficacious than a certificate from a properly appointed cronista, because it's impossible for such a document to have less than zero effect. The same, of course, also applies to a grant of arms from Lord Lyon, the English kings of arms, or the Chief Herald of Ireland.)

[Harold Cannon]

My question is if he is not allowed to or have the authority to register/grant personal arms then how does he do it or get away with doing it?

[David Thorpe]

My question is if he is not allowed to or have the authority to register/grant personal arms then how does he do it or get away with doing it?

Send me your blazon and $100 and I will be happy to register your arms.

[Downunder Kilt]

Send me your blazon and $100 and I will be happy to register your arms.

That is

[Harold Cannon]

Here is my point though his office is a public office and if he was not allowed to do so how could he get away with doing it especially using his seal of office?

[Joseph McMillan]

Here is my point though his office is a public office and if he was not allowed to do so how could he get away with doing it especially using his seal of office?

Several possible reasons that I can think of. First, the effect of the 1749 order is to establish a monopoly over nobiliary and heraldic matters for the royally-appointed kings/chroniclers of arms. It is this monopoly which (as I see it) Ceballos-Escalera is infringing. So who has standing to bring legal action to make him stop? If there were any properly appointed cronistas whose business he was cutting into, presumably they would have standing, but there aren't, the last one having died several years ago.

I suppose that if someone holding a Ceballos-Escalera certificate were sued in a Spanish court over usurpation of someone else's arms, and the court rejected the validity of the Ceballos-Escalera document, then they could bring an action against him, but the fact is that Ceballos-Escalera is actually an excellent and conscientious herald and heraldic scholar--notwithstanding the credentials issue--who is most unlikely to certify arms to one person that already belong to someone else. So the situation is unlikely to arise.

And the ministry of justice doesn't even care enough about heraldry to offer the examination for appointment of one or more new cronistas under the 1915 and 1951 decrees. Why would they undertake a prosecution on behalf of the state for violation of a 250 year old royal order only to be laughed out of both the court of law and the court of public opinion?

This is all speculation, but I think it is consistent with the facts.

[saharris]

I had my arms recorded with the New England Historic Genealogical Society. It maintains the oldest and most academic armorial in the US. It’s rather like the closest thing that we have to a heraldic authority.

As far as your Chief is concerned, I simply wrote mine a letter (I have a copy if you’d like to see it) and included an image of my arms. He relied in the affirmative. That is as Scottish as I can make my arms.

I saw no reason to register my arms in Spain or South Africa or anywhere else since I have zero connection to those places. It seemed rather pointless and, if I may say, almost dishonest.