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'azur au chev. d'arg., acc. en chef de deux loups pass. d'or et en p. d'un lion du sec.”
A record of documented arms, meaning and origin, researched for the Dagobert family of France.
J. B. Rietstap, Armorial Général, Gouda: G. B. van Goor Zonen, 1884–87
Blazon (the actual original written record)“D'azur au chev. d'arg., acc. en chef de deux loups pass. d'or et en p. d'un lion du sec.”
The Dagobert 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.
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 name Dagobert is rooted in ancient Germanic history, as it was originally a royal name famously held by several Merovingian kings of the Franks. The name combines elements meaning bright and day with the word for a shining spear or battle weapon. By the time the family appears in the official records of Normandy in 1663, the name had transitioned from a royal title to a hereditary surname used by common families in the region. During the seventeenth century, families in Normandy were often tied to the land through agriculture or local trades. The presence of the Dagobert name in these early parish registers suggests that the family had established a stable life in the French countryside during the reign of King Louis XIV. These early ancestors were likely part of the hardworking population that helped shape the local culture and economy of the Norman provinces before the modern era.
Derived from Germanic elements meaning day and bright or shining.
