Armiger

In, an is a person entitled to use a heraldic achievement (e.g., bear arms, an “armour-bearer”) either by hereditary right, grant, matriculation, or assumption of arms. Such a person is said to be armigerous. A family or a clan likewise.

Etymology
The word armiger literally means “arms-bearer”. In high and late medieval, the word referred to an esquire attendant upon a , but bearing his own unique armorial device.

Armiger was also used as a Latin, and is now found as a rare surname in English-speaking countries.

Modern period
Today, the term armiger is well-defined only within jurisdictions, such as, the , and the , where  is regulated by the state or a heraldic body, such as the , the , the  or the. A person can be so entitled either by proven (and typically agnatic) descent from a person with a right to bear a, or by virtue of a grant of arms to himself. Merely sharing the same family name of an armiger is insufficient.

Most of the time, the usage of a heraldic achievement is governed by legal restrictions; these restrictions are independent of the copyright status and independent of a coat of arms depiction. A coat of arms represents its owner. Though it can be freely represented, it cannot be appropriated, or used in such a way as to create a confusion with or a prejudice to its owner.

In the, titles of nobility are regulated by law but heraldry is not. In and  the nobility has had, since 1762, the prerogative to use an open helmet, while others use a closed helmet.

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