Châtellerault

CHÂTELLERAULT

Département : Vienne

Official blazon

D'argent au lion de gueules; à la bordure de sable chargée de huit besants d'or.

Origin/meaning

These arms were borne by Richard (1209-72), earl of Cornwall, count of Poitou, second son of King John of England.The original house of Poitou merged with the Plantagenets before the beginnings of heraldry. The last few counts of Poitou (Richard LionHeart, Otto IV of Brunswick and Richard of Cornwall) all used a lion. It may well be that Richard combined the arms of his father as count of Poitou and the arms of Cornwall (the bordure). Curiously, although Richard never actually held Poitou, the present-day arms of the city of Poitiers and those of Chatellerault are both derived from those of Richard