Alex, Flok couldn't be a ripoff of Noah and the Pigeons as he discovered Iceland with the three ravens. That happened before the viking invasion of France etc. What I am getting at is the symbology.
From the book "Birds of Omen"; http://www.vsnrweb-publications.org.uk/Birds%20of%20Omen.pdf
"The raven was held sacred by the vikings. When setting out on marauding expeditions, the raven was with many ceremonies let loose, and where he led the Norsemen followed, believing that their bird of omen would lead to some scene of triumph." (This implies that this was a regular practice and not a one time thing).
Most of the Vikings used the Raven symbol on the mast of their ship, their banner or other places.
In the "Birds of Omen", Floki named the three Ravens after three Norse Gods: Odin, Thor and Balder. Balder was the Raven that found Iceland. The Norse God Balder is is often interpreted as the god of love, peace, forgiveness, justice, light or purity, (Wikipedia).which is similar to heraldic color white or silver on a coat of arms.
The Pierce coat of arms is a simple white or silver field with 3 ravens. Two ravens are together, but the third raven is by it's self. A black band in the middle is referred to as sable. Possibly this might represent the black banner flown on viking ships with the raven.
When the Vikings marauded or conquered, they always predetermined their success by a "black banner with a raven" on it. So long as the banner with the raven fluttered, they were successful. It was important that the Raven was flying.
Because it was no longer in vogue to be a viking, I think that coat of arms is a symbolic reference to the ancient history of Floki's ravens and the three Norse Gods.
Because no black banner is waving in the wind, the ravens are depicted as flying on the coat of arms. Because the Norsemen/Northmen were baptized and had their names changed in their new home country, it would not be acceptable for them to continue to believe in or practice worship to Norse Gods. I think that is what the symbology means on the coat of arms, a reference to their past, their success, how they conquered and from where they came. It does not necessarily mean that Mainfred, Galfred and or Rollo were related to Floki, but that the story of their beginnings might be right in plain site all this time, through the use of symbols on a coat of arms that has been passed down for centuries.
Harald, you are correct with the lodestone use. The estimated time period of invention is around 1213 but they say it's possible the Vikings were using it during the pagan era 800-1000 AD.
Ulf, there was one more Raven named Balder for a Norse God.
Alex, you are right, the Bioluminescence theory is interesting but difficult to source.
It was the Sunstone found in Iceland that helped the Vikings with navigating in foggy weather. http://www.earldeblonville.com/books/pdfs/3_The_Viking_lodestone_co...
The Ravens must have been used prior to Sunstone. At least it provides some kind of timeline. No doubt these Vikings were Sea Kings as they say with expert navigational tools. Thanks for sharing that information guys, it was very helpful.