[Duchy of Anjou
Barony of Chateaubriant
Castellany of Durtal
Countship of Alencon]
[Arms for the Duchy of Anjou] [Duchy of Anjou] [Arms for the Barony of Chateaubriant] [Barony of Chateaubriant] [Arms for the Castellany of Durtal] [Castellany of Durtal] [Arms for the Countship of Alencon] [Countship of Alencon]

This is another on my short list of favorite groups. I especially like Châteaubriant (somthing about yellow on red strikes my fancy) and find Durtal’s shield bold and pleasing.

The province and Duchy of Anjou is in western France, and is formed by the Loire valley west of Tours and east of the maritime countship of Nantes. It was attached to the French crown between 1325 and 1360.

The town and Barony of Châteaubriant in in northwestern France in eastern Brittany, roughly equidistant from Rennes, Angers, and Nantes. One source source states that the arms date from 1230 where, in appreciation for service rendered to the French cause, a Baron of Châteaubriant was given the privilege of carrying a variation of the French arms with the motto “our blood tints the banners of France”. The current baron may have been Hervé de Chateaugiron, which one source lists as having died some time after 1352.

The town and Castellany of Durtal is in western France within the duchy of Anjou, about twenty-five miles northeast of the town of Angers. Despite having such a pleasantly designed coat of arms, the holding seems to be quite obscure, and I am unable to find anything more about it.

The Countship of Alençon is in northwestern France, occupying a region just to the south of Normandy. The title-holder was Count Charles III d’Alençon, later archbishop of Lyon and primate of France.