A record of documented arms, meaning and origin, researched for the Cordon family of France.
J. B. Rietstap, Armorial Général, Gouda: G. B. van Goor Zonen, 1884–87
Blazon (the actual original written record)“D'azur à trois cordons d'or.”
The Cordon arms were recorded in Normandie, c. 1663.
Normandie held a dense crowd of knightly families on some of the best farmland in France. Its men had fought and settled abroad for generations, and a family that sent sons to war needed a shield they could be recognised by.
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 Cordon 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 Cordon has deep roots in the historical region of Normandy, France, where members of the family were firmly established by the year 1663. The name is generally considered to be topographic or occupational in origin, likely derived from the Old French word for a cord or a small rope. In medieval society, this often referred to a person who made ropes or worked as a cordwainer, which was a skilled craftsman who fashioned leather goods. By the mid-seventeenth century, families bearing this name were integrated into the local social fabric of northern France, contributing to the agricultural and artisan traditions of the Norman countryside. As these families grew and moved, they carried their name across the region, eventually becoming part of the wave of French settlers who expanded their influence throughout the Atlantic world.
Latin term meaning a rope, cord, or string.
