A record of documented arms, meaning and origin, researched for the Bours family of France.
cross symbolChristian faith and serviceJ. B. Rietstap, Armorial Général, Gouda: G. B. van Goor Zonen, 1884–87
Blazon (the actual original written record)“D'or à la croix ancrée de gu.”
The Bours arms were recorded in Flandre, c. 1663.
Flandre grew rich on cloth, and its towns were among the busiest in Europe. Merchant families bought land with their profits and took arms to go with it, so trade put as many names in the registers here as land did.
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 Bours 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 family name Bours traces its roots to the historic region of Flanders, where members of the family were firmly established by the year 1663. During this period, Flanders was a vibrant center of trade and agriculture, and the name likely originated as a topographic descriptor. In the local dialects of the time, the term often referred to people who lived near a small settlement or a specific type of enclosure. As families in this region began to adopt permanent surnames to distinguish themselves for tax and legal purposes, the name Bours became a way to identify individuals based on their local community ties. Over the following generations, the family remained deeply connected to the social and economic life of the Flemish countryside, contributing to the development of the region through their work in local crafts and land management.
A fortified town or a settlement near a castle.
