Le Claire

The Armorial

HERALDRY EXPLORER

Every coat of arms recorded for the House of LeClaire and its allied houses, granted, inherited or assumed across nearly seven centuries of Lorraine, Alsace, the Rhineland and the modern era. Click any shield for blazon, symbolism, estates and connected branches.

Branch

Category

The heraldic record

Recorded grants of arms

Three documented grants of arms attend the principal generations of the House of Le Clerc. Each is preserved in the heraldic registers of Lorraine and reproduced here from the original blazon.

  1. Ennobled · 1464

    Arms granted upon ennoblement, 1464
    Jehan Leclerc de Pulligny

    Blazon

    Gules, two fesses or intertwined with seven bezants argent, placed 3, 3 and 1.

    Occasion

    Granted on the ennoblement of Jehan Leclerc, 3 January 1464, the first ennoblement of the House.

    Historical Context

    Jehan was raised to the nobility by letters patent of the Duke of Lorraine, becoming the first Sieur de Pulligny. The seven bezants represent the seven principal fiefs held under his hand; the two intertwined fesses were read in the period as a sign of fidelity between vassal and prince.

  2. Ennobled · 1512

    Arms granted upon ennoblement, 1512
    Claude & Thierry Le Clerc

    Blazon

    Or, a leopard gules armed, langued and crowned azure, on a chief of the same charged with three bezants or.

    Occasion

    Granted to Claude and Thierry, brothers and sons of Mengin II Le Clerc and Mengette his wife, ennobled in 1512.

    Historical Context

    The renewal of nobility under Duke Antoine of Lorraine confirmed the family's standing into a second generation. The crowned leopard and the azure chief recall the brothers' joint service at the ducal court of Nancy.

  3. Ennobled · 1623

    Arms granted upon ennoblement, 1623
    Jean & Alexandre Leclerc

    Blazon

    Azure, two silver swords hilted in gold placed in saltire, on a chief gules a lion, known as the Lion of Saint Mark, or, holding an open book proper.

    Occasion

    Granted upon the ennoblement of Jean Leclerc, of the Order of Saint Mark, and his brother Alexandre, in 1623.

    Historical Context

    Restored to hereditary nobility on 28 May 1623, the brothers' arms carry the Lion of Saint Mark in memory of Alexandre's service to Charlotte Catherine de La Trémoille, Princess of Taranto, and his admission to the Venetian Order of Saint Mark.

Words of the House

Mottoes of the House of LeClaire

Three mottoes, three eras, one continuous House — each a fragment of how the family has chosen to stand before the world.

  1. Lorraine · XV, XVIII c.

    Nec Verbo, Nec Facto, Quendam Laedendum

    “Neither by word nor deed should anyone be harmed.”

    Borne by, Historical Le Clerc branches

  2. Restored, late XX, XXI c.

    De Nomine et Sanguine

    “By Name and Blood.”

    Borne by, Modern House of LeClaire

  3. Modern

    Nec Timeo Nec Sperno

    “I Neither Fear Nor Despise.”

    Borne by, House of Greenland