DIEL (DYEL) COAT of ARMS

Of silver with a sable chevron charged at the point with a star of gold and with three azure clovers, two positioned "en chef" and the other at the pointed end of the shield.

GABRIEL ALEXANDRE DIEL, Squire, Lord of Enneval, Brazais, and of Vaudelle, living at the said place of Brazais, Parish of Marcilli on Eure, Diocese and Election of Evreux, Generality of Rouen, Province of Normandie, married 02 JUL 1704 to Adelaide Claude De HODENC, daughter of Andre De HODENC, Squire, Councilor-Secretary of the King and of the Parliment of Paris, and daughter of Elisabeth COLLART.

Of this marriage were born: Jean Jacques Alexandre, Anne Ferdinand, Claude Ferdinand, Anne Andree, and Marie Angelique Diel.

The said JEAN JACQUES ALEXANDRE, born 13 JAN 1708, became a page of the king at the grand stable on 09 JUL 1724 by the titles that were produced at the time of his reception which justified that the said GABRIEL ALEXANDRE DIEL was the son of ALEXANDRE DIEL, Squire, Lord of Enneval and of Clermont, Knight of the Orders of Notre Dame, Mt. Carmel, and St. Lazare of Jerusalem by letter of 18 JUN 1670 and the son of Marguerite D'ESPARBEZ whom ALEXANDRE married 27 APR 1672. Marguerite D'Esparbez was the daughter of Gabriel D'ESPARBEZ, Lord of Lussan and Brazais, and daughter of Marguerite DU FAY.

That the said Alexandre had a brother, JEAN DIEL, Lord of Clermont, Commander in the islands of Martinique, Ste. Alouzie, and Grenada by commission dated 05 APR 1663, and that they were the children of ADRIEN DIEL, second of the name, Squire, Lord of the Fosse, of the noble Fief of Enneval, and of the Vavassorie of Clermont, Lieutenant of the Lord of Breaute in the port of Saint Valery and of the coast of the Caux country in 1636 and 1641 and the children of Francoise DE VIPART, married to Adrien 10 JUN 1624 and daughter of Charles DE VIPART, Squire, and of Marguerite DE PRIMONT.

The said Adrien, son of SIMON DIEL, Squire, Lord of Fosse, and of Francoise BLONDEL who were married 08 MAY 1590, and the said Simon, son of NICOLAS DIEL, Squire, and of Laurence??(woman's name?)DE BURQUE, and that the said NICOLAS DIEL and SIMON, his brother, were emancipated 25 MAY 1541 by ADRIEN DIEL, Squire, first of the name, their father.

This family has been maintained in the possession of her nobility by order of Misters Diel De Miromesnil and Barrin De la Galissonniere, Commissars departed in the Generality of Rouen, 28 MAY 1644 and 13 JUL 1667 and by order of Mister Phelypeaux, Commissar departed in the Generality of Paris, dated 02 NOV 1707.

There are several other branches of this family which we will mention later when the proof of there existence is supplied.

NOTES:

1. Squire, for lack of a better English term, is used in place of the French title "Ecuyer" which designated a status above gentleman but less than knighthood. The duties of an ecuyer were probably the same as those of a page. He carried and cared for the knight's weapons and shield (ecu) and cared for his horse. The term simply translates to "rider".

2. Vavassorie, a kind of fief. In Normandy, the owner of a vavassorie owes a service less than that of a stronghold of haubert which demanded the service of a knight.

3.Nicolas Diel had a brother, Simon; they were the sons of Adrien. In French, the sentence reads "... Nicolas, and Simon, son fr� ani�furent �ncip�le 25 mai 1541 par Adrien, leur p�".

Nicolas and Simon, his older brother, were emancipated 25 MAY 1541 by Adrien, there father. Emancipated how? from what?

This is at a time when Adrien himself was pardoned from a long prison term by King Francois I. He was then sent to Canada as a commander of troops under Roberval, his cousin.

4. Laurence De Burque. Was Laurence a feminine name? Or is this an error?

5. Another description of the coat of arms said the three clovers (trefles) were sinople, or green. This description says "trefles de azure" which means trefoils of blue. Is one wrong, or are there differences among the family branches? Also, it is possible that the trefles could be shamrocks instead of clovers.

The gold star is five-pointed even though French heraldry called for a six-pointed star unless described otherwise. Could the original coat of arms have come from somewhere other than France? Three shamrocks were the badge of Ireland and of St.Patrick, the three shamrocks symbolizing the Christian Holy Trinity.