The Coat of Arms and Shields on this page are emblems representing various Vanier families.
Family Shield
Coat of Arms represents much more than a symbol; it represents a real sign of adherence to a community, to a family.
The Coat of Arms appeared as early as the 17th century. Below we find some Shields (displayed in a coat of arms),
apparently belonging to the Vanier families:
 Vanière de la Borde (source houseofnames.com) |
Vanier des Vauviers (source Cabinet Héraldique Luz) |
Vanier d'Hourgeville (source La Boutique Héraldique) |
Georges Philias Vanier (source Government House) |
I obtained the first three Shields from three heraldic sites. To date, we have found no historical proof associating any of these shields directly to Guillaume Vanier's family originating from Honfleur in France. However, the shield Vanier des Vauviers has been for generations part of the family tradition of some branches of the Vanier family in North America:
The shield of Général Vanier also has similarities to the Vanier des Vauviers shield (see description below). The fact that this shield shield can be found in different branches of the family, and that the coat of arms of Général Vanier contains elements of the Vanier des Vauviers shield, does lead one to beleive that this shield is in fact associated with Guillaume Vanier's family. Guillaume Vanier could have himself handed down this shield to his children, and then passed on from one generation to the next, which could explain these facts.
Maybe another shield that does not appear beforehand belongs to our ancestors from Normandie. If you have the answer, please write to me.
Vanière de la Borde
The first shield comes from the north-american web site
houseofnames.com. I received the Coat-of-Arms within minutes
of ordering a Vanier family shield. It belongs to the family "Vanière de la Borde" from the Orléanais region, with the
heraldic description "De sable, semé de fleurs-de-lis d'or, au lion d'argent, brochant sur le tout".
Vanier des Vauviers
The second Shield comes from the French website, Cabinet Héraldique Luz. I received that one four days after ordering.
The researcher apparently consulted several textbooks before finding the shield represented above.
Another site, Euraldic.com, is more specific and claims
that this shield belongs to the family "Le Vanier des Vauviers" of Normandie. The heraldic description:
"D’argent, au chevron de sable accompagné de trois merlettes de gueules".
The noble title and coat of arms given to the family
"Le Vanier des Vauviers" were initially attributed to
Michel Le Vanier, his brother Pierre and their children in 1709 by Louis XIV (34).
Vanier d'Hourgeville
The third Shield comes from another French site,
La Boutique Héraldique. The researcher indicated that this shield was
for the Vanier family in Normandie, France. The heraldic description is "D'argent, au sanglier passant de sable".
He consulted two historical sources, the "Armorial de Normandie" Drigon de Magny and "Grand armorial de France" Jougla de
Morénas. Euraldic.com is again more specific and
claims that this shield belongs to the family "Vanier d'Hourgeville" of Normandie.
Yves Vanier recently
discovered more details and this shield was attributed to the family LeVanier d'Ancreteville d'Hougerville
de la Hellotière. The heraldic description: "d'argent au au porc-épic d'argent
(35)". The first noble of this family was Robin Le Vannier seigneur de la
Hellotière, Ancreteville-sur-Mer et Hougerville, who lived in 1454. His son Antoine married Antoinette d'Estouteville.
The Estouteville family belonged to upper noble classe in France allied to the royal family.
Georges Philias Vanier
You will notice that the fourth shield, which is part of General Georges Philias Vanier's Coat of Arms, shown at the
bottom of this page, resembles the second one on top. General Vanier surely made
extensive searches when he created his official Coat of Arms. He was probably inspired by the second shield above.
The similarities are probably not just a coincidence.
Other Vanier shields
Robert Vanier aslo uncovered other Vaniers with designated
shields and coat of arms::
Vanier Coat of Arms
Coat of Arms are made up of various elements, such as the Shield, the motto, the crest, the helm, etc. The
following are the Vanier Coat of Arms using the above Shields:
 (source houseofnames.com) |
 (source Cabinet Héraldique Luz) |
Visit the following web site for more information about the Coat of Arms and its elements: www.historicalnames.com/diagram.htm.
General Georges Philias Vanier's Coat of Arms
Coat of Arms can be created based on family traditions. For example, the pictures below are the official
Coat of Arms for General Georges Philias Vanier, created for his tenure as
Governor General of Canada from 1959 to 1967:
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