The House of Meyer-McLaughlin coat-of-arms was designed by Daniel Meyer in August 2016, and later redesigned in August 2018. The arms were designed to personally represent Daniel, and was constructed using the recognizable assets of Sodacan (famous Wikimedia contributor). It was designed using Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop.
The coat-of-arms is, of course, not official in any way. Daniel’s maternal lineage (McLaughlin) reveals a family of fishermen and peasants from County Clare, Ireland; his paternal lineage (Meyer) reveals simple workers from Hanover, Germany. This lack of nobility did not deter Meyer, who has always been fascinated with the German and British aristocratic traditions.
Design Elements
In designing the escutcheon, I considered my family’s origins: yellow for my German lineage, and green for the Irish (with yellow above green, due to German being the primary background). Additionally, I stole the blue checkered band from the arms of the city of Pittsburgh, where my family has lived for over a hundred years. The motto, Claonann Muid Lenár nDúchas is Irish for “We Cleave to Our Heritage”, and is decorated with shamrocks.
Per fess Or and Vert a fess chequay Argent et Azure, for a crest, upon a helm and Or and Vert torse, thereon a Stag trippant Argent attired Or and Vert the attires enfiling a Salmon naiant Argent as the crest; for Supporters, dexter and sinister a deer rampant Proper; ‘Motto ‘Claonann Muid Lenár nDúchas’ in the compartment below the shield.
Above the escutcheon sits a gold barred helmet, wearing a torse and mantling of green and yellow. Atop the helm sits the crest, depicting a white deer holding a salmon in its horns (this is a reference to my fishing ancestry). Additionally, the shield is supported by two deer rampant (for Pennsylvania and our abundance of deer).
The shield is surrounded by the collar of the fictional Order of the Morning Glory, a prestigious award created by myself for Oakbury. Additionally, I am Fellow of the Sprawling Oak, another educational award in the Republic of Oakbury.
Several aspects of this piece are historically inaccurate (I should not have supporters; I should have a closed steel helmet or even steel helmet affronté, instead of a gold barred helmet; the inclusion of a fake Order), but I am American and we do not have a heraldic authority. Because of this, I do not subscribe to the rules of any Office of Heraldry, but rather to my own Office of Aesthetics.
Dan Meyer 