The grenade: It specifies that the ancestor of the Mivilles was a
man-at-arms.
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The creneleed band: By this we remember the birth of Pierre
Miville in a fortified town, that is Fribourg.
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Six bends: These charges were in the coat-of-arms of the town of
Brouage where the children of Pierre Miville were born. The use of the
bends is symbolic.
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The inescutcheseon of France: This small escutcheon was also in the
coat-of-arms of Brouage. It adds to the symbolism of the six bends, and
reminds us of our place of origin, France.
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The Snake: It is a charge borrowed from the coat-of-arms of Jean
de Lauzon. it recalls that it is he who granted the first parcel of land
to Pierre Miville. The snake who bites his tail is called an ouroboros
and symbolizes continuing movement, life and power.
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The branches of leaves and the acorns: These two elements are very
symbolic in that they explain the name of Miville-Deschênes. Indeed,
one of the sons of Pierre Miville signed his marriage contract under the
name of Jacques Miville sieur desChesnes.
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Motto- "Sunir pour construire" ("United to Build"): The
strength of a steel cable comes from the union of hundreds of wires, all
united to hold or support. If a family unites all its forces of the mind
and of the heart in a single effort to build its future, it will result
in the well-being of each and every one of its members.
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Tinctures
Gules: It is the colour of blood such that ancestor Pierre Miville
must have seen and even provoked in battle and war. it also spells
beauty, courage, charity and love. The symbolism of this tincture
applies quite well to the family that must have traveled from
Switzerland, to France and from France to Canada.
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Azure (blue): It is a colour profound as sky and sea. It symbolizes
peace, joy, and devotion, that is self-sacrifice. The history of Miville-Deschênes
family who were farmers and occupied different professions bear witness
to the importance of this tincture in the coat-of-arms of the family.
Moreover, the blue and the lilies recall the country of origin. |
Argent: It symbolizes the pure light such as is received and
projected by the transparency of crystal, in the limpidity of water, in
the reflection of a mirror and the brilliance of a diamond. It symbolizes
righteousness and fidelity. One cannot find a better symbol for a family
that wants to remember its ancestors.
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Divisions
The three areas represent the origins of the
Miville-Deschenes family.
The first recalls the place of origin of the Miville ancestor. He
was born around 1602 and came either from the Swiss Canton of Fribourg,
or from the town of Fribourg, since he is identified in the 1665 land
grant as being a Swiss from Fribourg. The creneleed band recalls the
defensive character of that town.
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The second area underlines the passage of Pierre Miville in
Brouage France, where all his children were baptized. We have reproduced
the principal elements of coat-of-arms of the town of Brouage in order
to emphasize what happened there around 1629.
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The third part notes the presences of the family of Pierre
Miville at Quebec. In 1649, he obtained a land grant of twenty-six
arpents at Québec and another parcel of land of three arpents frontage
and forty arpents in depth in the Seigneurie de Lauzon. |
