Coat of Arms & Family Crest Details
Sir Bernard Burke, The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, London: Harrison & Sons, 1884
Blazon (the actual original written record)“Or, billetée and a lion ramp. az”
A record of documented arms, meaning and origin, researched for the De Angeles family of England.
Sir Bernard Burke, The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, London: Harrison & Sons, 1884
Blazon (the actual original written record)“Or, billetée and a lion ramp. az”

The De Angeles arms were recorded in Poitou, c. 1363.
Poitou was western French farming country, divided among a large number of small landed families. Its gentry were numerous and modest, and even a small estate was enough to justify a shield.
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.
English heraldry allowed arms to be shared by all legitimate descendants of the original owner. These symbols were treated as personal property that moved through the generations to all children. While the eldest son kept the original design, other family members could use the same shield without needing to change it or register their own unique versions.
The family name De Angeles traces its roots back to the medieval period, with documented evidence placing members of the family in the Poitou region of France by 1363. During this time, the name likely emerged as a way to identify individuals based on their religious devotion or their association with local ecclesiastical institutions. The Poitou region was a significant area for trade and administration in the fourteenth century, which suggests that the family held a stable social position during the late Middle Ages. As the family grew, they integrated into the local culture of western France, eventually spreading across different regions while maintaining their distinct identity. This early presence in Poitou highlights the family’s long-standing connection to the history of the French provinces and their role in the social fabric of the era.
Derived from the Greek word for a divine messenger.