A record of documented arms, meaning and origin, researched for the Capet family of Spain.
lionCourage, strength and royaltyJ. B. Rietstap, Armorial Général, Gouda: G. B. van Goor Zonen, 1884–87
Blazon (the actual original written record)“D'azur au lion d'or, arm. et lamp. de gu.”
The Capet arms were recorded in Catalonia, c. 1722.
Catalonia lived by sea trade, and its merchant houses were as powerful as its landowners. Both sorts of family took arms, and Barcelona kept records of the houses entitled to bear 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 Spain in this period.
Reigning in Spain when the Capet arms are first recorded.
In Spain, a coat of arms was considered a form of property that belonged to the entire family line. These arms were passed down from a father to all his children equally. Younger branches of the family usually kept the original design without needing to add any special marks to distinguish their specific line.
The origins of the Capet name are deeply rooted in the history of medieval France, where it first emerged as a nickname for Hugh Capet, the founder of the Capetian dynasty who became King of France in 987. Historians believe the name likely derived from the Latin word "cappa," which referred to a short cloak or cape worn by the clergy or nobility of that era. While the royal line held great power in northern France, the name eventually spread across various regions through migration and social mobility. By the early 18th century, records confirm that families bearing this name were established in Catalonia. This presence in northeastern Spain suggests that the name had moved far beyond its royal origins, becoming a distinct family identifier for people living in the borderlands between France and the Iberian Peninsula by 1722.
A Latin term referring to a hooded cloak or cape.
