Armorial of the House of Lusignan

The coats of arms, flags, and badges of the House of Lusignan, royal family in the Levant during the Crusades.

First House of Lusignan edit

Including attributed arms.

French Nobility edit

Blazon Period Description
 
885–1192 Lords of Lusignan

Barry of ten argent and azure

Motto: Pour loyauté maintenir "To maintain loyalty" [1]

 
1192–1393 Lords of Lusignan, Counts of La Marche, and Angoulême

Barry silver and azure eight rooms, a lion gules armed langued and crowned with gold stitching on the whole.

 
1221–1250 Personal Arms of Hugh XI[2]

Barry silver and azure, charged with six cubs reds brochants, posed three, two and one.

 
1250–1270 Personal Arms of Hugh XII

Barry silver and azure, charged with six cubs gold brochants, posed three, two and one.

 
 
?-1274 Personal Arms of Geoffroy I of Lusignan (Jarnac) (c. 1223/24-b. 1274), lord of Jarnac, Château-Larcher and Châteauneuf

1. Barry silver and azure, charged with a lion rampant-brochant gules, debruised by a four-point label gules (according to his 1246 seal).

2. Barry silver and azure, charged with a lion rampant-brochant gules (according to his 1248 and 1269 seals).

Cognac edit

Blazon Period Description
 
12th-13th Century Lords of Cognac

Barry silver and azure eight parts, the label Gules.

Lezay edit

Blazon Period Description
 
12th-13th Century Lords of Lezay

Barry silver and azure, nine martlets in orle gules surmounted to fair canton gules .

Vouvant edit

Blazon Period Description
 
12th-13th Century Geoffroy I and II of Lusignan (Vouvant), lords of Vouvant and Mervent

Barry of ten argent and azure a lion counter-rampant gules.

Motto: QVI PLVS MORTIS CONPTEMTOR QVAM LEO FORTIS "Who fears death less than lion's strength."[3]

Issoudun edit

Blazon Period Description
 
13th Century Counts of Eu and Lords of Issoudun

Raoul Ier, first lord of Issoudun and count of Eu, was the younger brother of Hugh IX of Lusignan. Barry of ten argent and azure a label of three points gules

Rochefoucauld edit

Blazon Period Description
 
10th-12th Century Lords of Rochefoucauld

Barry of ten argent and azure three chevrons that in chief couped gules

Motto: C'est mon plaisir "It was my pleasure"[4][5]

Parthenay edit

Blazon Period Description
 
11th-15th Century Lords of Parthenay and Retz

Barry of ten argent and azure a bend gules

English Nobility edit

Valence edit

Blazon Period Description
 
1225–1247 Guillaume de Lusignan

Personal arms of Guillaume de Lusignan, uterine half brother of King Henry III

Barry of ten argent and azure a label of five points gules on each point three lions. Supported with a wyvern on each side.[6]

 
1247–1324 Lords of Valencia, Earls of Pembroke and Wexford

Guillaume de Lusignan, known as William de Valence, moved with his brothers and sister to England the request of their half brother King Henry III. Henry made William the Earl of Pembroke.

Barry of ten Argent and Azure an orle of martlets Gules

Hastings edit

Blazon Period Description
 
1313–1389 Earls of Pembroke

Quarterly, 1 and 4, or, a maunch gules (for Hastings); 2 and 3, barruly argent and azure, an orle of martlets (for Valence)

Jerusalem Royal Family edit

Blazon Period Description
   1159–1268 Kings of Jerusalem

Personal arms of Guy de Lusignan, then used as the arms of the Lusignan Kings of Jerusalem after his death until 1268.[3]

Quarterly, 1 and 4 in blue with the silver cross and 2 and 3 barry silver and azure eight rooms, a lion rampant, armed, langued and crowned with gold stitching on the whole.

 
1335–1385 Prince of Galilee

Quarterly, 1 and 4 in silver, a cross of gold, between four crosses of the same and 2 and 3 barry silver and azure eight rooms, a lion gules armed langued and crowned with gold stitching on the whole.

Royal Family of Jerusalem and Cyprus edit

Blazon Period Description
 
1194–1268 Kings of Cyprus

The kingdoms of Jerusalem and Cyprus split following the death of Guy until they were reunited in 1268 by King Hugh III of Cyprus.

Barry silver and azure eight rooms, a lion gules armed langued and crowned with gold stitching on the whole.

 
1268–1393 Kings of Cyprus and Jerusalem

Quarterly, 1 and 4 in silver, a cross of gold, between four crosses of the same and 2 and 3 barry silver and azure eight rooms, a lion gules armed langued and crowned with gold stitching on the whole.

 
1314–1319 Queen of Aragon

Second House of Lusignan edit

Royal Family of Jerusalem, Cyprus, and Armenia edit

Blazon Period Description
 
1342–1382 Kings of Armenia

Advantage of both, 1 gold lion rampant, armed, langued and crowned azure, 2 silver, a cross of gold, between four crosses of the same and 3 barry money and azure eight rooms, a lion rampant, armed, langued and crowned with gold stitching on the whole.

Motto: Pour loyauté maintenir "To maintain loyalty" [7]

 
1393– Kings of Armenia, Cyprus, and Jerusalem.

Quartered, 1 in silver, a cross of gold, between four crosses of the same, 2 barry silver and azure eight rooms, a lion rampant, armed, langued and crowned with gold , stitching on the whole, 3 gold lion rampant, armed, langued and crowned azure and 4 silver lion rampant, armed, langued and crowned with gold.

Motto: Pour loyauté maintenir "To maintain loyalty"

Flags edit

Flag Period Description
 
12th-14th Centuries Flag of Lusignan Kings of Cyprus[8][9]

Flag from Kyrenia Castle. The fleur-de-lis symbolised the Lusignan's French ancestry and the cross symbolized Jerusalem and the Holy Sepulchre.

Flag Period Description
 
14th Century Flag of Lusignan Kings of Armenia

Symbols edit

Roses, lions, dragons and mermaids were Lusignan symbols and heraldic elements.[10]

References edit

  1. ^ "Son Altesse royale Marie de Lusignan, princesse de Chypre, de Jérusalem et d'Arménie. Notes biographiques". 1888.
  2. ^ Seal of Hugues X de Lusignan dated 1224. Sceau équestre: le comte à cheval, en costume de chasse, le cor au cou et tenant à la main un petit chien posé sur la croupe du cheval. Legend: * SIGILL’ : HVGONIS : DE : LEZINIACO : COMITIS : ENGOLISME; Revers. Écu burelé. Le champ à arabesques. Legend: + SIGILL’ " HVGONIS : DE : LEZINIACO : COMITIS : MARCHIE.). Douet d’Arcq, Collection de Sceaux des Archives de l’Empire 1, 1 (1863), 397–398.
  3. ^ a b "Lusign".
  4. ^ "la rochefoucauld". Jm.ouvrard.pagesperso-orange.fr. Retrieved 2022-09-03.
  5. ^ * Courcy, Pol Poitier de (1862). In Nobiliaire et armorial de Bretagne, Volume 2. Forest, Grimaud, Aubry. p. 346. Google Book Search. Retrieved on November 12, 2014.
  6. ^ * Richardson, Douglas (2011). Kimball G. Everingham. In Plantagenet Ancestry: A Study In Colonial And Medieval Families, 2nd Edition. CreateSpace. p. 679. ISBN 1449966314. Google Book Search. Retrieved on November 12, 2014.
  7. ^ Latrie, Louis Mas (1852). "Histoire de l'île de Chypre sous le règne des princes de la maison de Lusignan".
  8. ^ Piperno, Roberto. "Caterina's Bequest - Cirenes (Kyrenia)." Caterina's Bequest - Cirenes (Kyrenia). N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Nov. 2014.
  9. ^ Fuller, Michael, PhD, and Neathery Fuller. "Kyrena." Turkish Cyprus. St. Louis Community College, Mar. 2004. Web. 26 Nov. 2014.
  10. ^ Coureas, Nicholas, P. W. Edbury, and Michael J. K. Walsh. Medieval and Renaissance Famagusta: Studies in Architecture, Art and History. p. 94. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Web.