Heraldry - A Cautious Approach
Heraldry is a fascinating aspect of genealogy, which can connect us to a rich history of knights and valour. But the genealogist must take a cautious approach when attempting to associate heraldry with their own lineage.
Heraldry was first used among the knights of Normandy and introduced to Britain with the invasion of William the Conqueror in the year 1066. Each individual knight had their own heraldry, displayed on their shield, which served to identify individuals who might otherwise be unrecognizable covered in armor. As the Norman knights became the ruling class in Britain, heraldry eventually became a social status symbol. Heraldry was granted to individuals by the king as a reward for service and to recognize feats of greatness.
Over time, heraldic records have become corrupted for a variety of reason, so that heraldry is generally not a reliable source for genealogy research. Heraldry books and websites are rife with misinformation. While some heraldic records are accurate, many more are not.
From the time of the earliest publications of heraldry books, the industry has been largely motivated by profit. Some writers of heraldry books, in the interest of selling to the largest possible market, engaged in the practice of ensuring that there was a coat of arms for every surname. In cases where no coat of arms existed for a surname, some unscrupulous writers were not above fabricating one or borrowing one from a similar surname. In many cases, inaccurate heraldry has been perpetuated by later writers who drew on previous books for their own publications.
The reality is that heraldry was granted to individuals, not surnames, and inherited only by their direct descendants. So there is no such thing as a surname coat of arms. Only the upper class of society possessed heraldry. The vast majority of the population were peasants, possessing no property and no heraldry.
In Ireland, in particular, there are few individuals with legitimate heraldry. The number of Norman lords in Ireland was small, and the native Irish would have had no heraldry of their own. Sources that assign heraldry to Irish surnames are generally not to be trusted.
Many books of heraldry were primarily vanity publications, taking advantage of the customer's egotistic desire to belong to a lineage of distinction. Paying subscribers were often allowed to submit their own coats of arms for inclusion in books, with little or no verification by the writers. This business model followed the same pattern as modern vanity publications, including poetry publications aimed at the proud parents of school children, "Who's Who" books, and local American biographical histories of the late nineteenth century.
In modern times, heraldry sales have taken the form of various trinkets: printed coffee cups, t-shirts, wall hangings, engraved jewelry, etc. But the sales gimmick is the same as ever - grossly inaccurate "surname heraldry" marketed toward naive victims, taking advantage of the customer's desire to belong to a lineage of distinction.
Since heraldry was considered an important social status symbol, many families of the past fabricated their own heraldry or claimed heraldry which was not rightfully theirs. The King of England eventually established an office, including the King of Arms and his junior officers, to regulate the usage of heraldry and prevent such abuses.
These officials traveled the country, auditing the usage of heraldry, officially approving and granting heraldry or denying it as appropriate. Heraldry which had not been granted by the king was prohibited and destroyed. The findings of these audits were recorded and later published in books called "visitations", such as "The Visitation of Herefordshire made by Robert Cooke, Clarencieux, in 1569". These visitations are generally more reliable information sources than other heraldry publications. But even this auditing process was subject to some corruption. Since heraldry was an important social status symbol, and some auditors were susceptible to bribery, there are cases in which false heraldry was none the less granted by unscrupulous officials. So even these official government records of heraldry are not always reliable.
Taking all these various corrupting influences into consideration, genealogists must be wary when relying on heraldry to establish a connection between different families or surnames. Similar heraldry among different families can generally not be trusted to prove a genealogical relationship. Genealogists must take care to thoroughly examine every record of heraldry, tracing the information to its original source and verifying that the heraldry is accurately assigned to a single specific family. Only then can one infer a connection between families based on similar heraldry. Additionally, connections based on heraldry must be carefully assessed in the context of the known history of the families, including their geographic distribution, documented name etymology, cultural background, and so forth. Heraldic assignments which are not consistent with the entire collection of documentation should be rejected as spurious. For example, if a well documented Irish Curley family of Connaught, having a lineage which traces to an ancient Gaelic culture, is supposedly assigned the same coat of arms as a well documented Norman Curlieu family, one should immediately be suspicious. Contradictions of this sort are warning signs that the heraldry assignment is erroneous.
Heraldry was first used among the knights of Normandy and introduced to Britain with the invasion of William the Conqueror in the year 1066. Each individual knight had their own heraldry, displayed on their shield, which served to identify individuals who might otherwise be unrecognizable covered in armor. As the Norman knights became the ruling class in Britain, heraldry eventually became a social status symbol. Heraldry was granted to individuals by the king as a reward for service and to recognize feats of greatness.
Over time, heraldic records have become corrupted for a variety of reason, so that heraldry is generally not a reliable source for genealogy research. Heraldry books and websites are rife with misinformation. While some heraldic records are accurate, many more are not.
From the time of the earliest publications of heraldry books, the industry has been largely motivated by profit. Some writers of heraldry books, in the interest of selling to the largest possible market, engaged in the practice of ensuring that there was a coat of arms for every surname. In cases where no coat of arms existed for a surname, some unscrupulous writers were not above fabricating one or borrowing one from a similar surname. In many cases, inaccurate heraldry has been perpetuated by later writers who drew on previous books for their own publications.
The reality is that heraldry was granted to individuals, not surnames, and inherited only by their direct descendants. So there is no such thing as a surname coat of arms. Only the upper class of society possessed heraldry. The vast majority of the population were peasants, possessing no property and no heraldry.
In Ireland, in particular, there are few individuals with legitimate heraldry. The number of Norman lords in Ireland was small, and the native Irish would have had no heraldry of their own. Sources that assign heraldry to Irish surnames are generally not to be trusted.
Many books of heraldry were primarily vanity publications, taking advantage of the customer's egotistic desire to belong to a lineage of distinction. Paying subscribers were often allowed to submit their own coats of arms for inclusion in books, with little or no verification by the writers. This business model followed the same pattern as modern vanity publications, including poetry publications aimed at the proud parents of school children, "Who's Who" books, and local American biographical histories of the late nineteenth century.
In modern times, heraldry sales have taken the form of various trinkets: printed coffee cups, t-shirts, wall hangings, engraved jewelry, etc. But the sales gimmick is the same as ever - grossly inaccurate "surname heraldry" marketed toward naive victims, taking advantage of the customer's desire to belong to a lineage of distinction.
Since heraldry was considered an important social status symbol, many families of the past fabricated their own heraldry or claimed heraldry which was not rightfully theirs. The King of England eventually established an office, including the King of Arms and his junior officers, to regulate the usage of heraldry and prevent such abuses.
These officials traveled the country, auditing the usage of heraldry, officially approving and granting heraldry or denying it as appropriate. Heraldry which had not been granted by the king was prohibited and destroyed. The findings of these audits were recorded and later published in books called "visitations", such as "The Visitation of Herefordshire made by Robert Cooke, Clarencieux, in 1569". These visitations are generally more reliable information sources than other heraldry publications. But even this auditing process was subject to some corruption. Since heraldry was an important social status symbol, and some auditors were susceptible to bribery, there are cases in which false heraldry was none the less granted by unscrupulous officials. So even these official government records of heraldry are not always reliable.
Taking all these various corrupting influences into consideration, genealogists must be wary when relying on heraldry to establish a connection between different families or surnames. Similar heraldry among different families can generally not be trusted to prove a genealogical relationship. Genealogists must take care to thoroughly examine every record of heraldry, tracing the information to its original source and verifying that the heraldry is accurately assigned to a single specific family. Only then can one infer a connection between families based on similar heraldry. Additionally, connections based on heraldry must be carefully assessed in the context of the known history of the families, including their geographic distribution, documented name etymology, cultural background, and so forth. Heraldic assignments which are not consistent with the entire collection of documentation should be rejected as spurious. For example, if a well documented Irish Curley family of Connaught, having a lineage which traces to an ancient Gaelic culture, is supposedly assigned the same coat of arms as a well documented Norman Curlieu family, one should immediately be suspicious. Contradictions of this sort are warning signs that the heraldry assignment is erroneous.
Curley Heraldry Overview
With these reservations in mind, let's consider some of the heraldry which has historically been associated with the Curley name. We will focus on those records which have some measure of legitimacy by nature of an early documented assignment to a specific individual or family of a specific locale.
For this investigation, the reader should have a basic knowledge of heraldry terms. The basic component of heraldry is the coat of arms, which would originally have been displayed on a shield and horse's caparison. The crest is a later elaboration, added at the top of the shield and used on architectural decoration, printed materials, and such. Heraldry uses a standard selection of colors, or "tinctures". The tinctures and their corresponding English named colors are:
For this investigation, the reader should have a basic knowledge of heraldry terms. The basic component of heraldry is the coat of arms, which would originally have been displayed on a shield and horse's caparison. The crest is a later elaboration, added at the top of the shield and used on architectural decoration, printed materials, and such. Heraldry uses a standard selection of colors, or "tinctures". The tinctures and their corresponding English named colors are:
Metals:
Or = Gold Argent = Silver Colours: Azure = Blue Gules = Red Purpure = Purple Sable = Black Vert = Green |
In addition to these basic colors, there are also more complex "fur" patterns used in heraldry, but a detailed knowledge of these is not required for this investigation.
There are only two major families associated with the Curley name which possess well documented, legitimate heraldry. The first is the Norman Curlieu family, who settled in England after the conquest of 1066. The second is the Scottish M'Kerlie family, who earned their heraldry fighting in the Crusades.
There are only two major families associated with the Curley name which possess well documented, legitimate heraldry. The first is the Norman Curlieu family, who settled in England after the conquest of 1066. The second is the Scottish M'Kerlie family, who earned their heraldry fighting in the Crusades.
Norman Curlieu Heraldry
Since heraldry is originally a Norman phenomenon, we will begin our investigation with the Norman Curlieu family. After coming to England, the family established an estate in Budbrooke, Warwickshire. This family is thoroughly documented in the "English" section of this website. The heraldry associated with this family at Budbrooke probably represents the earliest Curlieu coat of arms, utilized by the first Norman invaders.
Almost certainly descending from this original Norman Curlieu family, we have a documented group of English Curle, Kerle, and Kirle families all sharing similar heraldry. All these coats of arms share the same principal elements of a field vert with a chevron or. Some include additional decorations with various combinations of cinquefoils or fleurs-de-lis. Probably, the progenitor's coat of arms had only the chevron, and various descendants of his added the cinquefoils and fleurs-de-lis to differentiate their personal coats of arms. This coat of arms was apparently not derived from the heraldry used by the first family at Budbrooke. It was probably granted at a much later time to one of the Budbrooke Curlieus' descendants.
The curlew bird on the crest is possibly a nod to its phonetic similarity to the surname.
Almost certainly related to these English Curlieu/Curli families is the Corlieu family of France who migrated from Yorkshire, England, with the original English name of Curlieu/Curlew. The similarity of heraldry to the English Curle family is obvious and well documented. Thomas Corlieu, Captain of Archers, came to France in 1417 during the Hundred Years War with the Duke of Clarence and captured castle Gourville near Angoulême, Angoumoi, where he remained after marrying the heiress of the castle.
The Corlieu coat of arms is also documented in the manuscript at right, from a book of prayers dated to c. 1415. Thomas Corlieu's son, Jean, had the coat of arms added to the book shortly after its creation and purchase.
The Corlieu coat of arms is also carved into the structure of Francois de Corlieu's house, dated to the 15th or 16th century, in the town of Villebois-Lavalette near Angoulême. This well documented collection of Norman families - Curlieu, Curli, Curle, Kyrle, and Corlieu - all directly descending from the Curlieu family of England, are the only families of Norman origin to have legitimate heraldry in association with the Curley name. The origin and history of this family is well documented in the "English" section of this webpage. All other Curley families which have been supposedly associated with this Norman heraldry, including the Curleys of Ireland (who are Gaelic natives of Ireland, not Normans), are spurious, arising from the profusion of heraldic errors which has been previously discussed. For example, the coat of arms consisting of a field vert, chevron or, and three cinquefoils gules has been used by Archbishop Michael Joseph Curley, who was born in the city of Athlone, Ireland. Most Irish families did not use heraldry, and Archbishop Curley would have possessed no heraldry prior to entering the clergy. But catholic bishops are required to have coats of arms. In most cases, individuals would create their heraldry upon becoming a bishop. When it came time for Michael Joseph Curley to create his coat of arms, he must have consulted a book of heraldry and, knowing no better, naively copied his own heraldry from other Curley families, unaware that those Curley families descend from the Norman Curlieus who are entirely unrelated to the Irish Curleys. This heraldry has no documented prior association with the Curleys of Athlone or Ireland. The Norman Curlieu and Irish Curley families each have their own well documented history, with separate and distinct names at their origins, M'Kirilie (from Gaelic MacOirghiallaigh) for the Irish family and Curlieu or Curlibuef for the Norman family. Archbishop Curley's usage of the Curlieu coat of arms demonstrates how an erroneous assignment of heraldry can spread, possibly leading genealogists to incorrectly infer a connection between lineages where none exists. The entire collection of documentation shows that the heraldry consisting of a field vert and metallic chevron is consistently and correctly associated with the Norman Curlieu family, with branches in England and France. Assignment of this heraldry to the Irish Curleys contradicts the family's documented history, and must be discarded as erroneous. |
Scottish M'Kerlie Heraldry
The only other relevant family with well documented heraldry is the M'Kerlie family of Scotland, described in the "Scottish" section of this website. The family originally settled in Galloway and remained concentrated there for many generations. This family is documented in "The Scottish Nation; or the Surnames, Families, Literature, Honours, and Biographical History of the People of Scotland" by William Anderson. The family is also thoroughly discussed in P. H. M'Kerlie's "History of the Land and Their Owners in Galloway".
A MacCairill ancestor of the M'Kerlies served with distinction in the Crusades and had bestowed upon him, for valour, the most ancient and illustrious Order of Knighthood of Saint Constantine the Great. The red cross insignia of this order has been retained in the M'Kerlie crest.
A MacCairill ancestor of the M'Kerlies served with distinction in the Crusades and had bestowed upon him, for valour, the most ancient and illustrious Order of Knighthood of Saint Constantine the Great. The red cross insignia of this order has been retained in the M'Kerlie crest.
M'Kerlie of Galloway, Scotland
Arms: Azure, a chief argent, and a fret gules. Crest: The sun or, shining on a cross-crosslet fitchée sable, placed on the dexter side of a mount vert. Motto: "In hoc Signo Vinces" - "Under this sign you will be victorious". From "The Scottish Nation; or the Surnames, Families, Literature, Honours, and Biographicall History of the People of Scotland" by William Anderson |
This completes the survey of well documented heraldry which has been accurately assigned to Curley families. Beyond the Norman Curlieu families and Scottish M'Kerlie families, there are no other Curley lineages with reliable heraldry assignments.
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