A record of documented arms, meaning and origin, researched for the Damboise family of France.
Sir Bernard Burke, The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, London: Harrison & Sons, 1884
Blazon (the actual original written record)“Paly of six, or and gu. a jaw-bone in pale az”
The Damboise arms were recorded in France, c. 1663.
Arms such as these were typically recorded in Bretagne.
More families held coats of arms in Bretagne than anywhere else in France. The land was divided into many small estates rather than a few large ones, so far more households counted as gentry, and each needed a shield of its own to be told apart.
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 Damboise 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 Damboise originates from the historical region of Bretagne in northwestern France. By the year 1663, records confirm that members of the family were well-established in this coastal area. The name itself is topographical in nature, which means it was likely used to describe someone who lived near a specific type of wood or a forest. In the French language, the prefix "dam" often acted as a contraction for "de am" or "de la," while "boise" relates to the word for woods or timber. This suggests that the earliest ancestors were likely people who worked in forestry, lived in a wooded settlement, or managed timber resources for their local community. As these families moved and grew during the seventeenth century, the name became a permanent way to identify their roots and their connection to the landscape of their homeland.
A French term derived from the Old French word for wood or forest.
