Marcil-Mercille families

FAMILY COAT OF ARMS of the couple MARSIL / LEFEBVRE

COAT OF ARMS

In heraldry, we call "COAT OF ARMS" or "BLAZON" the complete set formed by a shield accompanied by the helmet, the mantle (foliage), the listel (banner), etc. while we call "ARMS" the ornaments on the shield itself as : enamels (metals, colors), partitions (divisions of enamels), furniture (figures).

THE SHIELD

The shield adopted for the coat of arms of the Marsil / Lefebvre couple is that of the logo of the Association of Descendants of André Marsil (A.D.A.M.), created in 1992.

The enamels of this shield are silver and red. The partitions form a "clevis". Three pieces of furniture adorn the shield: a plumb line, a patriarchal cross and a fleur-de-lis.

Our ancestor André Marsil was originally from St-Omer (Artois) and his wife, Marie Lefebvre, from Soissons (Ile-de-France). The arms of St-Omer were: "red, with a silver patriarchal cross". Those of Soissons: "red, with a silver fleur-de-lis".

Hence the choice of the two colors, and the presence of a patriarchal cross and a fleur-de-lis on the shield. The red sides of the yoke which meet remind the union of the first Marsil couple in New France, ancestor of our lineage. The plumb line suggests the idea of ​​descent, and alludes to the imposing offspring that André Marsil generated in America.

The coat of arms of the shield (its heraldic description) is as follows: senestre, the whole field ".

In everyday language: "In silver, with a red plumb line falling from the top; covered with a red cap, a patriarchal cross on the right side, a fleur-de-lis on the left, both in silver".

THE HELMET AND THE MANTLE

The 'gentleman's helm' (iron helmet, in profile, closed visor, without crown) is accompanied by lambrequins 'with arms', that is to say in the colors of the shield.

THE LISTEL

On the listel, the motto "Fidenter" ('With aplomb') refers to the plumb bob on the shield.
It expresses: assurance, balance, righteousness, accuracy, verticality.

Author: Michel Marcil S.J. 2002
Secretary of the A.D.A.M from 1993 to 1998