Help translating symbols of coat of arms

[Leanne82]

Hi There,

Is anyone able to help translate the symbols on this coat of arms?

It has what looks like a lobster
Two gold 3 leaf flowers
A gold with black spot upside down 'v' across the crest
Chemet is the name
Blue background


Any help on how to track down the history of this name or where I can find records of coats of arms would be really helpful!

Thank you in advance!

[PeterTimber]

The explanation of the coat of arms or armorial bearings 101 is a giood way to starrt learning about the parts and meanings of Coats of Arms canbe found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coat_of_arms

if you can furnish us with the fsamilyname it will be easier to trace the coat of arms you described. =Peter=

[Leanne82]

Thank you! I'll check out the site. The family name is Chemet, some references say it originated in amsterdam and others in france.

[sylogician]

I checked Reitstap and your description is consistent with the Chemet arms from Flanders/Amsterdam. The field is azure (blue) with a chevron d'or (gold), with a trefoils, slipped d'or (gold) in each of the top two quarters, and a lobster argent (Silver) below.

Though it may not necessarily be the case, the general use of the chevron was to designate armored mounted combatants (knights).

The trefoils, slipped (three leaves with a dangling stem) is a stylized version of the crossed cross, a Christian symbol. Many times, there is a third trefoil below, but in this case it has been replaced by a silver lobster.

No guess on the derivation of the lobster.

Two families you might want to look into though are the Chanet of Lyonnais (the Lyon region of France) and the Lynch family of Ireland (but originally French Normans).

The Chanet arms are identical, except the field is red and instead of a lobster there is a scallop shell.

The Lynch arms are identical except instead of a lobster there is a third trefoil.

Without finding the actual act that led to the placement of the lobster in the arms, there's no way to be certain what the grantor was thinking as it is not a very common animal in heraldry.

Good hunting.

[Leanne82]

That's fantastic! Thank you, very helpful indeed!

[PeterTimber]

The Chmet surname dating back to the 1600's france and other countries as well by specific named persons are listed inthe www.familysearch.org website under ancestor search all sources in the event this website escaped your researches. There are about 40 listings breathing life into the heraldic plumes as it were. =Peter=