Unarmigerous

Unarmigerous is a heraldic term describing a person or family that does not bear a coat of arms. The word is formed from un- (not) and armiger (one who bears arms), the latter from Old French arme and Latin arma, meaning weapons or arms. In heraldic usage, an armiger is someone authorized to display heraldic bearings; an unarmigerous party has not been granted or does not possess official arms, and therefore does not appear with arms in armorial rolls or heraldic records.

In practice, being unarmigerous identifies status rather than virtue or rank. It does not preclude social standing or future armigerous status; many families remain unarmigerous for generations, while others are later granted arms by a sovereign or heraldic authority. The primary authorities granting arms include the College of Arms for England and Wales and Northern Ireland, the Court of the Lord Lyon for Scotland, and equivalent bodies in other nations. Grants can be obtained by private application, often requiring a substantiated pedigree or legitimate claim, a heraldic description (blazon), and a fee; arms may be inherited or matriculated through the family.

In modern usage, researchers use unarmigerous to describe individuals in genealogical records who lack arms. The term is chiefly of interest to heraldists, historians, and genealogists and is less common outside of those fields.

See also: Armiger; Coat of arms; Heraldry; Armorial bearings.