A record of documented arms, meaning and origin, researched for the Cornier family of France.
fessThe military belt, and readiness to serveJ. B. Rietstap, Armorial Général, Gouda: G. B. van Goor Zonen, 1884–87
Blazon (the actual original written record)“De gu. à trois fasces”
The Cornier 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 Cornier 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 Cornier originates from the northern regions of France, with deep roots established in the province of Normandie by at least 1663. The name is classified as a topographic surname, which means it was likely derived from the physical characteristics of the land where the first family members lived or worked. In Old French, the term "cornier" often referred to someone who lived near a corner of a field, a sharp bend in a road, or a prominent horn-shaped piece of land. As people began to adopt permanent surnames during the Middle Ages, families were frequently identified by these specific geographical markers. By the mid-seventeenth century, the Cornier name was well-integrated into the social fabric of Normandie, where ancestors likely engaged in agricultural or trade activities typical of the rural landscape of that era.
Latin term referring to a horn or a horn-shaped projection.
