Place Coat of Arms
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Which coat of arms or "family crest" is mine?
Choose the design you like best, just your ancestors did when they painted these symbols on the shields they carried into battle and displayed in their homes. These coats of arms are real, historical works of art/culture dating back as far as 1100AD. Most of these designs were compiled and documented by genealogists and heraldists in large books published in the nineteenth century. These arms were owned by individuals who bore your surname, and were passed down through the generations from father to son, earning the monicker "family crest".
Origin, Meaning and Family History of the Place Name
Listed as Plaice, Place, and Placey, this is an English surname. It has three possible known origins. The first being geographic from the residence near a fence of residing wood with intertwining branches, and grown as a defensive wall against attackers, but above all a means of retaining sheep and cattle at night to prevent them straying. The origin is from the pre 10th century Olde French word “pleis” meaning to plait, weave or intertwine”. More common variations are: Pleace, Plaice, Placey, Palace, Plaece, Pilace, Polace, Plasce, Placeo, Playce.
The surname Place first found in Norfolk where they held a family seat from very early times and given lands by Duke William of Normandy, their true King, for their special assistance at the Battle of Hastings
Some of the people with the name Place who arrived in the United States in the 17th century included John Place, who settled in Barbados in 1634. John Place, aged 22, who landed in St Christopher in 1634. James Place, who settled in Virginia in 1636. James Place, who arrived in Virginia in 1636. Mary Place, who arrived in Virginia in 1636. People with the surname Place who landed in the United States in the 18th century included Rowland Place, who landed in Virginia in 1713. Lorentz Place, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1742.
Place Coat of Arms Meaning
The main device (symbol) in the Place blazon is the lion. The two main tinctures (colors) are or and gules.
The bright yellow colour frequently found in coats of arms is known to heralds as Or, or sometimes simply as Gold.1Boutell’s Heraldry, J.P. Brooke-Little, Warne, (revised Edition) London 1970, P 27. Along with, argent, or silver it forms the two “metals” of heraldry – one of the guidelines of heraldic design is that silver objects should not be placed upon gold fields and vice versa 2A Complete Guide to Heraldry, A.C. Fox-Davies, Bonanza (re-print of 1909 Edition), New York, 1978, P85. The yellow colour is often associated with the Sun, and the zodiacal sign of Leo.3Understanding Signs & Symbols – Heraldry, S. Oliver & G. Croton, Quantum, London, 2013, P53.
Red in heraldry is given the name Gules, sometimes said to be the “martyr’s colour”4The Symbolisms of Heraldry, W. Cecil Wade, George Redway, London, 1898 P36. The colour is also associated with Mars, the red planet, and the zodiacal sign Aries 5Understanding Signs & Symbols – Heraldry, S. Oliver & G. Croton, Quantum, London, 2013, P53. Later heralds of a more poetical nature would sometimes refer to the colour as ruby, after the precious stone.6A Complete Guide to Heraldry, A.C. Fox-Davies, Bonanza (re-print of 1909 Edition), New York, 1978, P77.
The art of heraldry would be significantly poorer if we were without the lion in all its forms. Most general works on Heraldry devote at least one chapter solely to this magnificent creature and its multifarious depictions 7A Complete Guide to Heraldry, A.C. Fox-Davies, Bonanza (re-print of 1909 Edition), New York, 1978, P172 8Boutell’s Heraldry, J.P. Brooke-Little, Warne, (revised Edition) London 1970, P 63 9Understanding Signs & Symbols – Heraldry, S. Oliver & G. Croton, Quantum, London, 2013, P140. Some of the earliest known examples of heraldry, dating right back to the knighting of Geoffrey of Anjou in 1127, where he is shown with six such beasts upon his shield 10A Treatise on Heraldry, J. Woodward, W & A.K Johnston, Edinburgh & London, 1896, P45 .The great authority on heraldic symbology, Wade, points out the high place that the lion holds in heraldry, “as the emblem of deathless courage” 11The Symbolisms of Heraldry, W. Cecil Wade, George Redway, London, 1898 P60, a sentiment echoed equally today.