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Coats of Arms Associated With the Norvell Family
by Ronald L. Norvelle
Coats of arms were developed by Medieval knights to identify themselvesto their illiterate men at arms so they could rally their men and not beattacked by their own forces. The early battlefield messengers, or heralds,recorded these designs so they could accurately communicate the outcomesof the battles. Their records became the authority on what design belongedto whom, and provided a reference to avoid duplication. The whole systemof designs and symbols became known as heraldry due to the records of theheralds upon which it was based.
A coat of arms consists of several elements. From thetop of the design to the bottom they are: the crest, torse, mantle, helm,shield (with charges), supporters (usually for royal, governmental or corporatearms), and motto. The most important of all is the shield with charges (designs),for in most cases this illustrates an important feature of the deed thatled to the awarding of the arms. Second in importance is the crest, whichalso elaborates something about the deed or the person bearing the arms.The motto, if present, may also tell something about the deed or the personbearing the arms. The torse, a twisted roll of fabric wound around the topof the helm and crest, was to hold the mantle in place. The mantle was acloth reminiscent of the cloaks knights would drape from their helms toshade their armor from the sun's heat. Both the torse and the mantle taketheir colors from the dominant colors of the charges placed on the shield.
There is a standard code heralds used in the recordingthe charges, or designs, of coats of arms.
The colors are given abbreviations based on their medievalnames. The colors were also given a pattern so that they could be recordedin black ink without resorting to a complete pallette of colors each timea design was to be recorded. Below is a listing of the colors with the modernname first, the old name, the abbreviation, and the black/white pattern:
Gold=Orpiment, or.-stipple
Silver=Argent, ar.-white
Red=Gules, gu.-vertical lines
Blue=Azure, az.-horizontal lines
Black=Sable, sa.-crosshatch of lines hor. & vert.
Green=Vert or terre-vert, vt.-diagonal lines from upperleft
Purple=Purpure, pu-diagonal lines from upper right
The charges consisted primarily of diverse ways of dividingup the surface of the shield and images and devices to symbolize the deedthat occasioned the award of arms. A common division of the shield was thestripe or bend. The various stripes and their variations are too numerousto list here. The only one I will describe is the one that occurs on theNorvell arms: the bend dexter or proper, a broad stripe extending from theupper left to the lower right. If the bend was dexter or proper, the commonform, it was simply referred to as a bend. The sequence of listing the chargesis from the base color of the shield upward in succeeding layers, and formajor quarterings from the upper left, across and down.
There are at least four coats of arms associated withthe norvell family, at least two crests and at least one motto. The actionsor deeds that accounted for the awarding of these arms are not known tome at this time, but the following descriptions of the arms themselves arewell documented.
From The General Armory of Scotland, England, Irelandand Wales, by Sir John Bernard Burk, C.B., LL.D., (1884), the following:
Norvel(that ilk). Sa. on a bend ar. three martletsof the first.
Norvel, Normanville (Gargunnock, Scotland). Ar.on a bend sa. voided of the first, three martlets of the second, beakedgu.
Norvill (Boghall, Scotland, 1682). Sa. on a bendbetw. two cotises or., three martlets az. Crest-A martlet rising ppr. Motto-Spemrenovant alae.
Norvill, or Norvyle. Gu. fretty ar. a bend vaireor and of the first.
From An Ordinary of Arms by Sir James BalfourPaul, Lord Lyon King of Arms (2nd. Ed., 1969), the following Under bend:
480. Sa. on a bend arg. between two cotises or.three martlets az. Norvell of Boghall (1682, Stacie)
From Fairbairn's Crests of the Leading Families inGreat Britain and Ireland, by James Fairbairn, revised by Laurence Butters,Seal engraver in ordinary to the Queen and edited by Joseph MacLaren (1963),the following:
Norvel, an apple, in pale, stalked and leavedppr.
Norvill, Sco., a martlet rising ppr. Spem renovantalae.
From The Book of Family Crests, published by HenryWashbuourne & Co., London (1856), the following:
Norvel, an apple erect, stalked and leaved ppr.
Norvill, Sco., a martlet rising ppr., Spem renovantalae.
The following was found on p441, of "SCOTTISH CLAN AND FAMILY ENCYCLOPEDIA" by George Way of Plean and Romilly Squire, published by Barnes & Noble.
NORVEL
A shortened form of Normanville, which supports their claim to be of Norman descent. Robert Norvyle witnessed a charter of Sir David de Wemyss in 1373. Johannes Norwald, Lord of Cardonald, near Paisley, witnessed a notarial deed in 1413. William Norwell represented Stirling in Parlament from 1568-1586. Nisbet lists Norvel of that ilk claiming descent from Sir Walran de Normanville, and the arms that this family bear have the simplicity which heralds associate with early nobility. The name is still common in central Scotland."
The description of the arms listed in the reference are as follows:
"Sable on a bend argent three martlets of the first."
The illustrations that I have done are based on V. &H.V. Rolland's Illustrations to the Armoral General, by Johannes-BRietstap (1967).
Norvel (normanville) 
Norvel (thatilk) 
Norvill 
Norvyle
Quite obviously three of the designs have a strong visualand thematic similarity, but this does not in any way mean that they arethe same. Even if the persons granted arms were related, the differenceswould not be those visible between the several coats of arms. These designsare of the original coats of arms, and show no differencing for cadency-thehereditary differencing for succeeding generations and siblings. This differencingfollows its own code and can be found in any complete reference on Scottishheraldry. It is too involved to enumerate here. Coats of arms are differencedto each individual descendent of the original grantee. ( Yes, the Lord Lyon'soffice in Edinburgh, Scotland, is still in operation, but it is the lastone in full operation.) The coat of arms matriculates to each male and femaledescendent of the original grantee, and is differenced accordingly. Thearms of the males were placed on the traditional shield, where those offemales were placed on a lozenge or diamond shape. Marriages between personswith coats of arms resulted in the combining of those coats of arms andmade a new coat of arms. Again, there is another set of rules for the combiningof coats of arms through marriage.
The meanings of the charges on the arms associated withthe Norvell families are as follow:
The Bend is a standard charge and does not carryany particular meaning.
Martlets do not have any strong meaning in heraldry,but some have commented that the bird, which is similar to the swift, connotedspeed or swiftness. The martlet was also associated with messengers whowere relied on for their swift reliable communications before the telegraphand later technology. Additionally, since the casual observer was neverable to see the feet of a martlet, they were drawn without feet, and werethought to be capable of tireless flight. Therefore there is a feeling ofswiftness, reliability, and tirelessness associated with the martlet asa charge in a coat of arms.
The term Vaire refers to the use of furs in heraldry.The pattern is traditional and is an abstraction of the alternating patternof light underbelly and dark back fur on animal pelts. The pelts of smallanimals such as ermine is indicative of the fur used in these charges.
The Helm should be of the period during whichthe award of arms was made, and of the proper nationality. A French coatof arms would not carry a helm of German or English design for example.The helm in my designs is a Heaume from the 1450's as shown in plate 437in The Book of Costume, by Millia Davenport(1976). My selection is a roughapproximation based on an assumption of when the grant of arms is likelyto have occurred, ca. 1373-1500.
The Mantle may take on almost any form, but isgenerally arranged in such a way that the inner and outer colors are displayedto advantage.
The idea that a coat of arms belongs to the family name and that anyone with that sirname can use them is completly false. A coat of arms is granted to an INDIVIDUAL and may be passed on to the grantee's heirs. The arms do belong to the family lineage, but not to cousins or anyone else who happens to share the sirname.
The proper use of a Scottish coat of arms is obtainedthrough the Lord Lyon's Office in Edinburgh, Scotland, after proper documentationof relationship and descent. The Lord Lyon's office will then, for a feeof about 260 pounds sterling, difference and cadence your family'scoat of arms down to you, provide a certificate of arms with a hand painteddepiction of the design. That becomes YOUR coat of arms. American commonusage is simply to find a design associated with your name and use it. However,since the Lord Lyon is still in business enforcing the legal use of Scottishheraldry, and since these are Scots arms, I would be very uncomfortablewith the casual personal appropriation of what may well be active coatsof arms. Anyone wishing further information on obtaining rightful ownershipof a differenced or matriculated coat of arms should contact: The Lyon Clerk,The Court of the Lord Lyon, H.M. New Register House, Edinburgh EH1 3YT,Scotland, or telephone: 031-556-7255.
A related site: The Scottish Lord Lyon's web site.
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