A record of documented arms, meaning and origin, researched for the Gines family of France.
J. B. Rietstap, Armorial Général, Gouda: G. B. van Goor Zonen, 1884–87
Blazon (the actual original written record)“Vairé d'or et d'azur.”
The Gines arms were recorded in Picardie, c. 1663.
Picardie lay on the northern road into France and saw armies pass through it repeatedly. Its landowners were soldiers as often as farmers, and a soldier needed a shield he 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 Gines 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 name Gines finds its early roots in the northern region of France known as Picardie. By the year 1663, records confirm that members of the family were already established in this area. During the seventeenth century, Picardie was a landscape defined by its proximity to the border and its role in the agricultural and social life of the French kingdom. Families living in this region often worked in trades related to the fertile soil or the growing textile industry that defined the local economy. As the Gines family settled into their community, they became part of the long history of northern French society. Their presence in the region during this period suggests that they were deeply connected to the local customs and the changing political climate of seventeenth-century France.
Derived from the Latin word for birth or origin.
