Family Coat of Arms

[Betty Eyer <betty_eyer@yahoo.com>]

Poster: Betty Eyer <betty_eyer@yahoo.com>

My SCA arms are based on my "family" arms.  Mine passed the very first
try.  There are several reasons why:

Hasbrouck, in all of its misspellings, is a pretty uncommon last name
in the USA, although it is common enough within traveling distance of
Hazebrouck in the benelux countries.  There was a whole page of
Hazebroucks in the Amsterdam phone book, but there are only two in the
Richmond phone book and both are blood relatives of mine.  

The Huguenot Historical Society did all the research for me. This is an
organization that tracks descendants of original Huguenot settlers in
upstate New York.  Their pamphlet on the Hazebroucks in Europe gave me
two, well documented, period coats of arms to work from.  One was very
early (1100?), found carved in stone over the "lord's" entrance to the
church of the town of Hazebrouck, colors unknown at this time.  The
other was registered around the time of Joan of Arc by the official
French government heraldic society (the name escapes me at the moment),
as being held by a Jean de Hazebrouck, no explanation as to why it was
granted, complete with augmentations (a moor holding aloft a bundle of
arrows?!?).  There was no clue about the source of the unusual
handlamps on it, either. 

I took elements of the two arms and combined them to form something
simple, appropriate to my persona and conforming to the rules of the
SCA.  

Another reason that it passed the first time is that it was the society
herald at the time who made out my paperwork at the Pennsic Heraldry
tent, one very, very hot afternoon five or six years ago.  

By the way, the town of Hazebrouck, Flanders, France, has a "founder's"
day celebration every year which includes a parade of the town
"giants".  These are oversized wooden statues of people who have made
significant contributions to the town.  The earliest, a carving from
the Renaissance, is a guy called "Roland de Hazebrouck".  He is a
knight with vaguely norman looking armor and shield.  His crest
features a rabbit rampant on a green field (one translation of
"hazebrouck" is "rabbit meadow" so there might be some sort of heraldic
pun here).  I think a guy who could go into battle with a bunny on his
shield is either way brave or crazy.  Anyway, I have toyed with the
idea of making a badge for myself on this theme.  It just tickles me to
think that I could have a blazon that reads "grey hare rampant".......


Magdalena de Hazebrouck

===
Magdalena de Hazebrouck 
Purpure, a fess fesuily argent between three torches or.
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