A record of documented arms, meaning and origin, researched for the Pinault family of France.
pine coneLife and fertilityJ. B. Rietstap, Armorial Général, Gouda: G. B. van Goor Zonen, 1884–87
Blazon (the actual original written record)“D'azur à trois pommes de pin d'or, les queues en bas.”
The Pinault arms were recorded in Anjou, c. 1663.
Anjou was rich valley country along the Loire, with a dense scatter of small manors. Its gentry were numerous rather than wealthy, and even a modest holding was enough to justify a shield of one's own.
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 Pinault 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 Pinault family name originates from the historic province of Anjou in western France. By the year 1663, records confirm that members of the family were well-established in this region. The name itself is likely a derivative of the Old French word "pin," which refers to a pine tree. In early naming traditions, such terms were often used as nicknames for people who lived near a prominent tree or worked in the timber trade. As the family grew, they became part of the local social fabric in Anjou, living through a period of significant agricultural and regional development. These early ancestors were likely farmers or tradespeople who helped shape the rural landscape of the Loire Valley during the seventeenth century.
Derived from the Latin word pinus meaning pine tree.
