South Africa's Roman-Dutch legal system allows everyone to assume and bear arms at will, as long as they don't infringe on anyone else's arms in the process. Voluntary registration of personal arms, as a means of legal protection, was introduced by the Heraldry Act in 1963, and voluntary re-registration ("matriculation") for descendants of the original registrant was authorised in 1969, and extended in 1980.

The 1969 amendment to the Act enabled descendants or adopted children of lawful armigers to register arms in their own names, provided that they bear the same family name as the original registrant. The first such registration took place in 1978.

The 1980 amendment enabled registered armigers themselves to apply for their arms to be re-registered, after their deaths, in the names of any of their descendants or of anyone else bearing the same family name.

In both instances, differencing of the arms is optional (but does the option rest with the Bureau or the individual armiger?). A variety of methods and systems of differencing have been used over the years.

The issue of a registration certificate to a matriculant is evidently also optional, as some records in the Bureau's database indicate that matriculation was merely recorded in the Heraldic Register.

Of the roughly 800 South African personal arms registered at the Bureau since 1963, I've found 42 that have been matriculated, for a total of 94 matriculants (72 men and 22 women). The majority of them (34) have been matriculated for only one generation, but 7 have been matriculated through two generations, and one has been matriculated through three, i.e. down to great-grandchildren. In two families, the number of matriculations has already reached eleven.

In greater detail: the arms of 42 parents (40 fathers and 2 mothers), have been matriculated for their children, producing ...

... 64 first-generation matriculants (53 sons and 11 daughters), of whom 12 (sons) have re-matriculated for their children, producing ...

... 25 second-generation matriculants (17 sons and 8 daughters), of whom 2 (sons) have re-matriculated for their children, producing ...

... 6 third-generation matriculants (4 sons and 2 daughters).

The family with the most comprehensive set of matriculations, involving five different coats of arms, is undoubtedly the De Bowen extended family. Rev Alfred de Bowen registered his arms in 1974, and his wife Margaret registered her arms in 1981. His mother also registered arms in 1981, and he matriculated them in 1996. His mother-in-law registered arms in 1994, and his wife matriculated them in 1996.

Meanwhile, in 1982, their sons had matriculated their father's arms, and the elder son's daughter had matriculated them in 1991. In 2008, the younger son matriculated his mother's arms and both grandmothers' arms, which no doubt now quarters with his paternal arms.

Also in 2008, the arms of another De Bowen (the younger son's wife?), which had been registered in 1999, were matriculated undifferenced for her brother. This is evidently the first instance in South Africa of a brother being registered as an heraldic heir.

References/Sources/Links

South African Heraldry Website © Arthur Radburn