A record of documented arms, meaning and origin, researched for the Bertaut family of France.
owlWisdom and vigilance by nightJ. B. Rietstap, Armorial Général, Gouda: G. B. van Goor Zonen, 1884–87
Blazon (the actual original written record)“D'azur à une chouette d'arg.”
The Bertaut arms were recorded in Lyonnais, c. 1663.
Lyonnais centred on Lyon, one of the great banking and silk towns of France. Money made in the city bought estates in the countryside around it, and those estates brought arms with them.
This is where the arms were entered in the register. Families often moved to other parts of the country, so the same name can turn up in more than one region.
The body that granted and recorded arms in France in this period.
Reigning in France when the Bertaut arms are first recorded.
In France, a coat of arms was a mark of honor that passed down through the male line to all legitimate descendants. Families often used the same shield without changes to show their shared heritage. If a branch wanted to stand out, they could add a small mark to their shield to show their specific place in the family tree.
The surname Bertaut traces its roots to the French region of Lyonnais, where records confirm the family was well-established by the year 1663. The name is derived from the Germanic personal name Berhtwald, which combines the elements for bright and ruler. Over many centuries, this name evolved through various regional dialects before settling into its current form. Families bearing this name in the seventeenth century were often connected to the local trades and agricultural life that defined the landscape surrounding the city of Lyon. As the family grew, they became part of the social fabric of the province, participating in the religious and civil life of their parishes. By maintaining a presence in this area for generations, the Bertaut name became a permanent fixture of the local history of the Lyonnais region.
A Germanic element meaning bright, famous, or illustrious.
