A record of documented arms, meaning and origin, researched for the Viviers family of France.
J. B. Rietstap, Armorial Général, Gouda: G. B. van Goor Zonen, 1884–87
Blazon (the actual original written record)“D'arg. à trois viviers ou réservoirs d'eau de sin., remplis d'eau d'azur, 2 en chef et 1 en p.”
The Viviers 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 Viviers 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 Viviers originates from the French word for fishponds or reservoirs. In the medieval period, this name was often given to people who lived near these water features or worked as keepers of fish stocks for local estates. By 1663, records confirm that members of the family were established in the region of Bretagne. During this era, families in Bretagne were often deeply connected to the local landscape and agricultural life. The name reflects a time when surnames were chosen based on a person’s surroundings or their specific role within a village. As the family grew, they became part of the social fabric of northwestern France, moving through the changing political and economic landscape of the seventeenth century.
A Latin term referring to an enclosure for keeping live animals.
