The Swayne-Swain Coat of Arms

Swaynes, Swains, and Swaines have used the Coat of Arms when official grants occurred from The College of Arms and when they did not.  Some COA were recorded by the heralds but were never granted; while others were not recorded and not granted either.  In order to sort through the various Coat of Arms, they will be categorized as follows:

1)         Official Grants:  These are COA that were specifically granted to individuals by The College of Arms.  Official uses of the COA include specific grants and confirmations.

a.            Individual Grants:  These are individuals that were specifically granted the Coat of Arms by The College thru their own merits.

b.            Confirmed Grant:  These are individuals that confirmed their lineage with their ancestors and proved the right to arms with genealogical records that link them to the COA. 

2)            Unofficial Uses:  These are COA that were used by Swaynes, Swains, or Swaines but were not granted by The College of Arms.

a.            Unofficial/Recorded:  The College may have these COA in their records but since they were not granted or confirmed, they do not qualify as an 'Official Grant'.  In other words, a Swayne, Swain, or Swaine created their own COA with similar imagery to the 'Official Grants' and used them as their own.

b.            Unofficial/Unrecorded:  There are also COA that do not appear in The College of Arms records but were still used by Swaynes, Swains, and Swaines.  This is probably the most common scenario.  These also include COA for other derivatives in spelling such as Sweeney or Swan but were used by Swaynes or Swains in error.

Official Grants

For this particular section, only officially granted Coat of Arms will be discussed.  Families can have more than one Coat of Arms.  The reasoning behind different COA for the same family is because a son could be granted his own COA.  When the College of Arms grants a son his own COA, they typically design the son's COA with similar (yet different) imagery such that it can be recognized as related to the COA from the father (as an example).

Heraldic Record, Blazons and Crests
There are a total of seven (7) unique Swayne-Swain Coat of Arms granted from the College of Arms.  The heraldic record, blazon of arms and crest was obtained from the College of Arms as follows:

1)         William Swayne, born in the county of Somerset, by Guyenne King of Arms, 29 January in the 39th year of the reign of Henry VI (=1461). Arms shown in trick as follows:

Azure a Chevron between three Broad Arrows (= Pheons) on a Chief Gules three Maidens Heads proper crined Or.

2)         Full text of a confirmation of arms and a grant of crest to William Swayne of London, Edward Swayne his brother, and their cousin Arthur Swayne of 'Sarsom alias Ansavage' (i.e. a place known alternatively as Sarson and as Ann Savage) in Hampshire, by William Camden, Clarenceux King of Arms, 10 June 1602. Recites the grant of arms by Guyenne King of Arms to the Swayne's ancestor William Swayne (as at Misc. Gts. 1/11v) which it confirms. Arms and crest shown in colour as follows.

Arms: Same as #1 (above)
Crest: A Maiden's Head proper crined Or between two Wings Ermine.

3)         Note of a grant of arms to William aka Thomas Swayne, citizen and merchant adventurer of London, 10 July 1612. Arms and crest shown in trick as follows.

Arms: Azure a Chevron between three Pheons Or on a Chief Argent three untinctured Roses.
Crest: A demi Dragon Or holding an Arrow point downwards Argent.

Note of the same grant as #3 (above):  Arms and crest shown in trick as there, though the roses are shown as Gules and the dragon has Azure wings.

4)         Grant of arms and crest to Henry Joseph Swaine of Halifax in Yorkshire, and the other descendants of his grandfather Joseph Swaine of Horton near Bradford in the same county, deceased. The text of the grant states that the grantee 'is informed that the Arms [previously] used by him do not appear recorded to his family'. Grant made by Garter and Norroy Kings of Arms, 7 March 1844. Arms and crest as follows.

Arms: Per chevron Azure and Or three Pheons counterchanged on a Chief engrailed Argent three Maiden Heads couped proper crined Or.
Crest: A Maiden Head as in the arms between two Wings Or each charged with a Cross crosslet Azure.
Below the shield is a motto scroll on which the motto VINCE MALUM BONO ('Defeat evil with good') has been written in pencil.

5)         Grant of arms and crest to William John Swayne, clerk in Holy Orders, MA Oxford, sometime vicar of Heytesbury in Wiltshire and now Custos of St John's Hospital there, and the other descendants of his father John Champeny Swayne of Pucklechurch in Gloucestershire, Member of the Royal College of Surgeons. Grant made by Clarenceux and Norroy Kings of Arms, 23 March 1904. Arms and crest as follows.

Arms: Azure a Chevron between three Pheons Or on a Chief Argent three Roses Gules barbed and seeded proper.
Crest: A demi Dragon Azure holding in the dexter forefoot an Arrow in bend sinister point downwards Argent and resting the sinister forefoot on a Rose Gules barbed and seeded proper.
Below the shield appears the motto METUENDA COROLLA DRACONIS ('Fear the dragon's crest').

6)         Grant of arms and crest to James Swain of Victoria Square, Clifton, in Gloucestershire, MD, MCh, Professor of Surgery in the University of Bristol. Grant made by Garter and Clarenceux Kings of Arms, 2 March 1911. Arms and crest as follows.

Arms: Azure a Chevron between three Pheons Or on a Chief Argent three Maiden Heads proper crined Or.
Crest: In front of a Maiden Head as in the arms two Pheons Gules.
Below the shield appears the motto CORDI DAT ROBORA VIRTUS ('Virtue strengthens the heart').

7)         Grant of arms and crest to Bernard Swain of Ormonde Fields House in the parish of Codnor, Derbyshire. Grant made by Garter and Norroy and Ulster Kings of Arms, 20 March 1970. Arms and crest as follows.

Arms: Ermine a Boar's Head affronty Azure langued and tusked Gules within a Bordure semy of Bezants on a Chief over all Azure three Stirrups with their leathers Or.
Crest: The Battlements of a Tower thereon a Riding Crop and rising therefrom a Falcon belled and jessed affronty all proper.
Below the shield appears the motto FORWARD ALWAYS FORWARD.

Analysis
The first six Swayne-Swain COA are of particular interest because they all have similar imagery and are most likely related to each other.  All six have images of pheons (spearheads) and most have images of maidens.  The first COA (William Swayne of Salisbury) indicates William Swayne was born in the county of Somerset.  There is no indication in the heraldic record that he was known as 'William Swayne of Salisbury'; however, there is overwhelming evidence that they are the same person as follows:

• The date of the grant is in line with William of Salisbury's political career.
• The county of Somerset is in close proximity to Salisbury.
• William of Salisbury's COA is etched into the church beam at Swayne Chapel in St. Thomas' Church which matches the heraldic blazon description.
• Given William of Salisbury's social status (mayor of Salisbury at least three different years), it is highly unlikely that a man of this status would need to 'assume' a COA.  Again, the COA was a symbol of social status and would prevent a man of William of Salisbury's position from 'unofficially' assuming the COA.
• There are no other known William Swaynes (in the mid 1400s) that would qualify for the COA.  This does not mean there weren't others with the same name, etc. but doubtful.

For the first two COA grants (William of Salisbury and William of London), an official confirmation occurred between the two Swaynes.  Furthermore, Edward (William of London's brother) and Arthur (William's cousin) are also noted as 'confirmed'.  There is a brief pedigree for Arthur's family outlined in the 'Third Party Data from The College of Arms' section in this document for your reference.  The remaining four (4) COA of similar style are noted by the College of Arms as official grants but the term 'confirmation' or 'confirmed' was not mentioned in the surname report conducted by the herald (Clive Cheesman) at The College.

Also, William of London confirmed his ancestry in 1602, added the maiden (with wings) crest AND he may have been the same William Swayne of London who was granted his own COA in 1612.  The report from the College of Arms does not clarify this point but there appears to be a possibility that they are the same person.  The rules of heraldry allow confirmed individuals to get their own COA; hence, they are possibly the same person.  Also, it makes sense 'chronologically' for a person to confirm their ancestry first, then request honorary arms at a later date (10 years in this instance).  You can only be granted the COA when you have confirmed your ancestry OR if you qualify by other means such as extreme wealth and social status.  This is an important point when considering the possibility that they are the same individual.  Also, the grant from 1602 included his brother (Edward) and his cousin (Arthur) who were all granted the same COA.  It also seems possible that William chose a different COA to distinguish himself from his brother and cousin's COA.  However, I should point out that there certainly remains room for doubt about the two William Swayne of London's actually being the same individual.  The name William Swayne is very common in Swayne genealogy and it is not impossible for there to be more than one William Swayne living at the same time (in the same location).  The common names are evident by simply reviewing the names of the official grants of the COA:  William Swayne of Salisbury (COA 1461), William Swayne of London (COA confirmed 1602), William Swayne of London (COA 1612), William Swayne (COA 1904).  Also, the grant in 1612 indicates an alternate name for this William Swayne as "Thomas Swayne". This could indicate a different William altogether but it is still inconclusive in the absence of the pedigree for these Swaynes.  Either way, the first six (6) COA are similar and (I believe) are related despite differences in the spelling of Swayne, Swain, and Swaine.

The seventh (7^th) Swain COA (Bernard Swain) is completely different and is possibly unrelated to the others and potentially a different Swayne-Swain family altogether.  Again, confirmation with other COA is not mentioned for this entry.  This does not mean that Bernard Swain had no kinship with the other Swayne-Swain COA but the fact that Bernard made no effort to keep his COA consistently styled with the others does have significance in the world of heraldry.  In heraldry, it would suggest no relation.  The COA for Bernard Swain has a boar's head and the crest is a Battlement Tower with a Falcon.  These symbols suggest military background; however, it is also possible that Bernard Swain was descended from Mac Subne (Sweeney). I raise this point due to the common symbolism between Bernard's COA and the various Sweeney COA.  For example, several of the Sweeney COA display boars, battleaxes and some crests contain griffins.  The boar is the most common symbol used in the Sweeney COA.  Although it could be a coincidence, heraldry usually follows a certain pattern such as common symbols for families.  Perhaps Bernard determined he was likely connected to Sweeneys and requested similar symbols for his own COA.  In any event, there are some samples of Sweeney COA in the "COA for Other Spelling Derivatives" section of this document for your consideration. 

The Swayne Crest (on top of the helmet) is different for each:  No crest, crest of Maiden with wings, crest of a dragon supporting an arrow, crest of maiden with wings and a cross, crest of a dragon with arrow and a rose, crest of maiden with two spearheads, crest of a Tower with a Falcon.  The crest is commonly confused with the Coat of Arms but they are actually different.  I have read that during visitations, heralds granted crests to individuals who requested one (if one did not already accompany the COA).  William Swayne of Salisbury's original COA (1461) did not include the crest of the maiden but was (later) added by William Swayne of London (upon his confirmation in 1602).  This explains why documented references for William Swayne of Salisbury's COA are missing a crest yet some references actually include a crest.

Regarding the COA image for William Swayne of London (1612), I wanted to point out that the image does not exactly match the heraldic description.   The arrow should be pointed down (not up) and the dragon should be Azure (blue) instead of gray.  The incorrect image is the result of incomplete (and incorrect) data reported in Burke's General Armory 1884 which was the source used to create that particular image.

Note that the later grants of Swayne-Swain Coat of Arms contain mottos.  A motto (if one exists) is usually displayed on a banner (appearing at the bottom) of the Coat of Arms.  A motto usually appears in Latin and is intended to convey the family attitude, quote, mission, or battle cry.