A French Registration of Arms, 1696

The Edict of 1696

The only exception to the freedom of assuming arms in France occurred from 1696 to 1709. An Edict of 1696 declared that, for a coat of arms to be valid, it had to be registered with the King of Arms, for a fee naturally (this was the middle of a European war, and the French government was short of cash). As a consequence, 110 000 coats of arms were registered (of which 80 000 by non-nobles) by d'Hozier, the King of Arms. The registers are still in the National Library. By 1709 registration of arms ceased altogether, and the Edict was ignored from then on.

A Registration of Arms of 1696

This registration of arms was made on August 8, 1698 to Nicolas Scourions, esquire, lord of Begaudelle. The arms are not blazoned in this certificate (they azure three wheat-sheaves or). The certificate is signed by d'Hozier, "Keeper of the General Armory of France". The form is pre-printed on parchment,

A translation of the text follows:

Generalite of Amiens  		[hand-painting of coat of arms]
Volume: 1
Number: 59

BY RULING MADE 
on August 8, 1698 by 
the General Commissioners of the Council 
assigned to the matter of coats of arms, 

those of Nicolas Scourions, Esq, Lord of Begaudelle, 

such as they are here painted and represented, after having been 
received, have been registered in the General Armry, in the volume 
labeled "Amiens", in consequence of the payment of fees set forth 
by the tariff and arrèt du Conseil of November 20, 1696, 
in testimony whereof the present certification has been issued 
in Paris by us, CHARLES D'HOZIER, conseiller du roi, and keeper 
of the General Armory of France, etc.
			[signed] d'Hozier

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