Coat of Arms & Family Crest Details
J. B. Rietstap, Armorial Général, Gouda: G. B. van Goor Zonen, 1884–87
Blazon (the actual original written record)“D'arg. à la fasce de sa.”
A record of documented arms, meaning and origin, researched for the Boisé family of France.
J. B. Rietstap, Armorial Général, Gouda: G. B. van Goor Zonen, 1884–87
Blazon (the actual original written record)“D'arg. à la fasce de sa.”
The Boisé arms were recorded in Berry, c. 1663.
Berry was central French farming country, quiet and long-settled. Its estates were modest and stayed in the same hands for centuries, and steady landholding of that kind is exactly what puts a name into the heraldic records.
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.
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 family name Boisé finds its deep roots in the historic province of Berry, located in central France. Records confirm that members of the family were established in this region by 1663, living within a landscape defined by dense woodlands and fertile plains. The name itself is derived from the Old French word for wood, which suggests that the family’s earliest ancestors likely lived near or worked within the vast forests that covered much of the Berry countryside. During the seventeenth century, families in this area were often tied closely to the land through agriculture or forestry trades. By settling in Berry, the Boisé family became part of a long tradition of rural life that shaped the social and economic character of the region for generations.
A Late Latin term referring to a wood or forest.
