Introduction

The mission of the Societas Heraldica Slovenica (SHS) is the education, promotion and encouragement the practice and art and science of Slovenian heraldry. To that end, the SHS is able to accept petitions for arms from individuals, institutions and corporations, a procedure which includes the design and rendering of coats of arms. The SHS may refer the "petitioner" to one or more acknowledged heraldic artists or services, or, the SHS may refer to other heraldic artists to render arms who are Society members or who have created arms for other heraldic societies.

The design of a coat of arms, regardless of purpose (individual, institutional, corporate, government, etc.) is materialized through the language of heraldry, known as blazon. In some cases, the heraldic artist is also skilled in blazonry, but in most cases, the services of a herald would be required to create the intitial design via blazon.

Requirements

Obtaining a coat of arms requires a number of requirements and steps, the first requirement is a membership with the SHS. In order to obtain membership with the SHS, click membership application.

If the petitioner is considering assuming an existing coat of arms for personal use, it is recommended that the client conduct genealogy studies on their family history to prove that he/she is a direct descendent of the family in possession of the coat of arms. If the family is not extinct, and still lives today, a letter from the head of the family is required which permits the petitioner to assume existing family/historical arms. This can be accomplished by contacting one of the SHS directors for guidance and instructions on pursuing this study, or check with the many resources available with our affiliate, the Slovenian Genealogy Society.

If the petitioner desires an entirely new coat of arms, the SHS will assist in the petitioning procedure. There will normally be a fee for such a service, and it will vary depending upon the individual assigned to the task. The Herald Chancellor administrates the petition projects, and will assign a heraldic artist who in some cases, may not be Slovenian and therefore, language may become an issue when attempting to describe the attributes of a coat of arms. However, with patience, and internal assistance with members who are bi-lingual, we should be able to address your heraldic needs. A heraldic artist may be locally Slovenian, and therefore, pricing will be negotiated between the client and the artist. The SHS will only recommend credible heraldic artists who have been reviewed and assessed previously by the SHS. This will ensure that clients get what they wish, and the resulting coat of arms is heraldically correct and well designed.

Fees

The base fee for this service starts at 425€ which include the following items:

  1. the design of the arms by a herald (the blazon);
  2. the electronic graphical rendering of a basic coat of arms composed of a shield, crest, mantling and motto (the motto is optional) by a heraldic artist (the artwork);
  3. an electronic version of the Letters Patent emailed to the client (Letters Patent on CD and shipping not covered in the above fee);
  4. one year membership with the Societas Heraldica Slovenica (SHS);
  5. the administration cost with respect to the insertion of the arms into the Society's roll of arms (registration of arms in the SHS roll).
The base fee will increase if the request is more complicated due to the inclusion of a standard, flag, badge, and cadency arms (coats of arms differenced for their children). These additions will require more time and skill by both the herald (the design) and the heraldic artist (the rendering). The fee does not include printing of the coat of arms certificate nor does it include the shipping of the coat of arms certificate. Shipping costs of the certificate will vary depending upon destination.

Next Steps

As a member of the SHS, you are entitled to petition for arms which may invoke the activities of the design and development of a coat of arms. In order to begin this process, some details must be collected from you, which is fully explained in the member's only petition for arms page. This procedure is applicable to individuals (personal), corporate or institutional arms. The details to be collected can be entered into the coat of arms online petitioning for arms form accessible only to SHS members. In order to begin this process, obtain membership with the SHS, click membership application.
 

Footnote

Blazon: is the formal defining description of a coat of arms in Heraldry. The primary definition of a coat of arms is the blazon, not an image.