Norwegian Heraldry - House Marks and Monogrammes

House Marks and Monogrammes

Bumerke (plural: bumerker), rarely spelled bomerke, are house marks with some relations to coats of arms, as they were frequently used instead of arms and often displayed within an escutcheon or a shield. Like coats of arms, they were often used on private seals and signet rings. Coats of arms consist of coloured fields whilst house marks consist of simple lines only, suitable for carving on e.g. wooden utensils. They are renditions of very simple runic-like letters and other graphic symbols which signify a specific person or family. They may be passed down through generations with some changes from person to person. This custom has mostly died out. Before literacy became widespread, a bumerke would often be used instead of a signature.

Some bumerkes consist of monogrammes which are owner's name initials. Most bumerkes are not monogrammes, and a monogramme is not automatically a bumerke. However, monogrammes were often used for the same purposes as bumerkes, e.g. when signing documents or marking personal belongings.