SHORT PATRONYMIC HISTORY OF OUR LINEAGE
Part 1.
Recent and extremely important historical information has been put on the Official Internet Site of the City of Bailleul (France) under http://www.bailleul-cantonales.fr
There one can read: “…On voit apparaitre vers l´an mille, alors que le comte (de Flandre) Baudouin IV, Belle Barbe, organise les châtellenies, la famille Van Belle (ou de Bailleul*), Seigneurs de Bailleul qui avaient le titre et exerçaient la juridiction de vicomtes… ».
“…appeared around the year thousand, at the time the Count (of Flanders) Baudouin IV, Belle Barbe, organized the castellanies (castle tenants), the Van Belle (or de Bailleul*) family, Lords of Bailleul “Balliol” who had the title and exercised the jurisdiction of Viscounts ".
(*) Actually, one should read “Balliol” instead of “Bailleul” because the toponym Bailleul is a French version of the Latin ancient form that was only in use centuries later!
The sentence of the City of Bailleul (France) brought fresh water for my mill. Did I not encounter, as I will develop it in this Essay, some Bels and Belle, lords, and knights, very much anterior to any Balliol of Flanders? In fact, the first Bels already appeared “officially” as soon as anno 843, so more than two centuries before the first-ever mention of the “Balliol”. And, as we will see later on, most probably at the break of the Merovingian Dynasty, which brings us to the year 400. And even further back in time.
By this statement, and most probably based upon the study of my Essay handed over to Mr Jerome Steenkiste, in 1995, the concerned Historical Services (Archivist, Cercle d´Etudes Historiques, etc.) of the Municipality of Bailleul (France) decided to abandon the old prevailing historical version and to replace it with mine. Therefore, did they recognize publicly the precedence of the Belle (de-van) lineage on the de Gramines family, in Belle (Balliol and much later Bailleul). The Lords of Balliol were nobody else than the Bels-Belle (de-van), feudal lords and big patriarchal families of Ypres and of some other places in Flanders.
I request the reader to have this constantly in mind during the reading of this Essay. This new information, being practically discovered at a time when my Version 3 of this Essay was done, I decided, by lack of time, not to rewrite the integral corpus of my Essay.
There is a strong feeling that the de Gramines, a less important lineage of the time, became a Belle or a Balliol (not a Bailleul) with or without the consent of the “van Belle” or the pre 960 existing “Balliol” Lineage(s). We do not know exactly what happened. Was it a very welcome transfer of the name to ensure the continuation of the lineage or was it an illegal appropriation?
We'll see later that this was indeed an illegal appropriation by a lord of the name “de Gramines”. He made the toponym "Balliol", a small town that had been under his protection for some time, his new patronymic, unaware that several families already bore this name. We can already mention that this subsitution only lasted two or three generations at most.
Is there a parallel to a similar event that happened in Scotland, anno 1192? At that time, the Lord Bernard II Balliol, of Barnard Castle, having no male heir “offered” a certain Eustace Ist de Hélicourt, a member of a local family that was a tenant of the Balliols, to become a “Balliol”. The man agreed and so inherited the estates, titles, and jurisdictions of the Balliols. This case proves to us that such happenings do really occur.
The reason for the “Belle” or “Balliol” patronymic and not “Bailleul” is that the French version of the toponym “Bailleul” only appeared much later. In fact, after the Treaty of Nimègue (Nijmegen), in 1678, was confirmed by the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. Even then, the fire that destroyed the City on May 8th, 1681, is still reported as the “Belle Brant” and not the “Bailleul Brant”.
The real complexity with these names lies in the fact that there was a huge amalgam between the patronymics that were all based upon “a” toponym: the Bels-Belle. I intentionally quoted “two” patronymics but mentioned only “a” patronymic, because it is still uncertain which patronymic appeared at first. If the patronymic was based upon a toponym, what it most certainly did, then the “Belle” must have been the most ancient one (based upon the latin Balliol one). If on the other hand, the patronymic was the one that appeared at first in historical records, then the most ancient was by far the “Bels” one, outdating the “Belle” by at least… two centuries!
Corpus:
Our Lineage goes back at least to about the year 960, to Arnuldius de Grameninis (in Latin), from the “Cornfield” in English, also named:
- Arnulf Van de Graan or Van de Koren (in Diets, an old form of Flemish spoken language) and
- Arnoldus Grameninis or Gramininis (in Latin).
- Arnould de Gramines (in later French translation).
and his wife:
- Gertrui van Valkenberghe (in Diets) also named:
- Plectrude de Fauquemberges (in later French translation).
Fauque = French word for the Dutch word “Valk” or Falcon. Fauquemont = Valkenberg.
Berghes = Dutch word for “Berg” or mountain in the plural form. Today “Bergen”.
The Fauquembergues were a chivalrous family that built a fortress on the old Falcons Mount (Mont des Faucons or Valcken Berg). Their patronymic is issued from a toponym. As happened with the Balliol of Flanders!
Arnuld (ius) was Châtelain (Lord of a castle) of the city of Belle (Balliol).
Balduinus IV, Count of Flanders, appointed Arnuldius´s son, Simon, as:
- Heer Simon van Belle (in Diets) or
- Simon “de Balliolo” or “Balliol” (in the Latin written language).
Because of the importance and the honour of the inheritance of the title and of the ship, Simon decided to give his children and heirs (by the law of inheritance) the name “Balliol” or “Belle” and no longer the name of his own Lineage “Van de Graan or Van de Koren” or “Grameninis”. His ship (toponym) became a family name (patronymic): “Balliol - Belle” or “de Balliolo - van (de) Belle”.
Balliol, already mentioned by the Romans, before Jesus Christ, is the name of a Flemish city located some 15 km south of the city of Ypres (in Flanders, Belgium). However, its origin goes even farther back in time. The Celts used that word to designate a “fence” or anything that related to it such as a “House with a fence” or a “Stronghold” (Albert Carnoy in “Origine des noms de familles en Belgique”).
Around the year 600, the name “Balliol” being taken over by the Diets spoken language became “Belgis, Belsch or Belle”. The written language was Nederlatijn (Folklatin), a mixture of Diets and Latin.
During the XI century, the genitive forms “de Belle" began to change into “van Belle” and other genitive forms frequently encountered in all German-based languages such as Belles, Bels, Beyls, etc. (with or without the suffixes as “van” or “de”). In German, the classical genitive form: “Der Hut VON meineM Vater” can be transposed into a second form: “Der Hut meineS VaterS”. Both forms being grammatically correct, so appeared the “Van Belle” and the “Bel(le)s”.
Several other transformations occurred, not only using that particular form of the genitive but also by the different dialects spoken in Flanders. (See under “in 1633”).
During the late Middle Ages, the “Middelnederlands” (Middle Flemish) took over from the Diets language and became the new written language. Hundreds of years were needed for the Diets language to join the path that led to the language today known as Flemish (Dutch). The first written manuscripts in Flemish date back as far as the early beginning of the XIVth century.
Balliol, that was the written Latin form (used by educated people for centuries) for Belle became in some documents: Bella, Balliolo, Bailliolo, etc. (examples: Baldeum de Bella and in 1265, Zeghers van Belle was, in Latin, Sigerius, Sicherus, Sygerus or Segerus de Bella or de Balliolo - with or without the suffix “de”). Here some examples extracted from old Lineage documents.
One of the main reasons for the multiple forms the name “Belle” took in Folklatin is that there were no fixed grammatical rules for the written language.
Balliol became progressively less popular and was finally overthrown by the original name of Belle. Later, even before the Flemish cities were annexed to the Kingdom of France, the name of Balliol became, without bypass to the Diets forms, “Bailleul”. The latest will become the French version of the patronymic.
In Normandy, in England and in Scotland, early settlers from our family used either the Latin form of their name “Balliol” (mainly in written documents) or the Diets forms “Belle” or variants thereof. Across the Channel the evolution of the patronymics, mainly due to phonetic use, continued. It underwent an identical phenomenon as the one that happened in the Diets language in Flanders. So were born in England patronymics such as Balliol, Bell, Bail, Baillie, Ballie, Bayley, etc.
Proof of the allegation that all people bearing these kinds of patronymics variants belong to the same Lineage is given by the same blazon they armoured for centuries. Coats of Arms of big families sometimes help historians to link them to our Lineages.
That is what allowed Mr Beryl Platts, excellent in-depth, if not the world leading heraldic historian and researcher, to conclude that many of the Scottish family’s descent from Flemish origin. (Scottish Hazard). I came through the same heraldic approach to the same conclusions.
“...Interesting to note is that the Bell’s blazon, discovered in England, is the same as the one used in Flanders, around the XIth century. Quite logic when we remember that thousands of people mainly from Flanders went over to England via the Battle of Hastings in 1066 as well as in the decades and centuries that followed. So it is that we encounter…” out of “Essai sur l´Origine des Patronymes” by Robert Adelsohn Bels. Bibliothèque Royale de Belgique. Albertine. Bruxelles.
Here are a few examples of blazons: See picture below!
1. The BELS or BELLE (van) from Flanders’ Bruges before 1056
(Armorial Général van Rietstap, pl LXVIII).
2. The BELLE (van-de) or BELS from Flanders before 1056. (AG van Rietstap)
3. The BELL from Perth (Scotland)
4. The BELL Ailluardus from Suffolk (England) 1086 (Doomsday Book).
5. The BELL from Provosthaugh (Dumfries) Scotland.
6. The BELL from Jamaique (AG van Rietstap pl. CLXVII).
7. The BELL from England or Scotland? Moto: Prends-moi tel que je suis.
8. The BELL from Boston (USA) (AG van Rietstap pl. CLXVII).
William Bell of Blackethouse (+1627).
8. The BELL from Hulster (Ireland) Motto: Virtus vincit invidiam
(La vertu surmonte l´envie). Picture Press Brian Murphy.
9. The BELL from Belview (or Drumcroo) County Fermanagh, North Ireland.
10. The BELL from Woolsington Hall, Northumberland.
11. The BELL from Unk.
12. The BAILLEUL from Bourgogne (France) (AG van Rietstap pl.CVIII).
13. The BAILEY from Scotland.
14. The BELL from Yorkshire. (AG van Rietstap pl. CLXVII).
14a. The BAILEY from England and Wales. Same Motto as 37.
“Quid Clarius Astris”
15. The BAILLEUL from Saint Maclou (France)
16. The BESLES from Flanders.
16a. The Le BEL from Picardy (Flanders before anno 1477).
(Armorial Dubuisson)
16b. The PINKENY from Henri de Pinkeny (Flanders). Linked to the “de Besles”
(Balliol)
17. The BELLE (van) from Bruges (AG van Rietstap, planche CLXVIII).
18. The BELL from Chief Baron of the Exchequer who died anno 1577.
(See in anno 1197). Idem for the Bell from London
and Newcastle.
19. The BELL from Westmorland and Cumberland.
20. The BAISLES (de-van) from Flanders
21. The BAILLIEU from Avricourt (Lyonnais) VS (AG van Rietstap pl.CVIII).
21a. The BAILLEUL from the region of Tournai (Flanders)
(AG van Rietstap pl.CVIII).
21b. Unknown from a XVth century work on “Le Roi Arthur et la Reine Isolde”
Musée Condé. Chantilly (F)
21c.The BONEN from the “de Boulogne” Lineage (Earl of Boulogne).
Same blazon as Nr 30. What were the links between
both Lineages?
22d. Town of BOULOGNE French for Boulogne-Sur-Mer.
(Bonen, in Diets, Flemish).
22. The BELS from Flanders (lords of Gonthière, etc.)
(AG van Rietstap, pl CLXXII).
23. The BELL from Kirkconnel (Dumfries) Scotland.
24. The BELL from Scotland. With William anno 1426 (later lords of …
25. The BAILLEU from Normandy (France) (AG van Rietstap pl.CVIII).
26. The BAILLEUL from Boismaqueau (Maine, Bretagne) (France)
(AG van Rietstap pl.CVIII).
27. The BAILLEUL from France (AG van Rietstap pl.CVIII).
28. The BEL(LE) from des Aulnay (Bretagne) France.
(AG van Rietstap pl.CLXV).
29. The BEL from Holland (van den Berch) (AG van Rietstap pl.CLXV)
30. The Count of Flanders from Arnould Ist le Grand (the Great)
anno 915 x Mahaut fa. Arnoul de Ponthieu.
300. The BEL(LE) from Hommet (Normandy (AG van Rietstap pl.CLXV).
31. The BELLE (van) from Mechelen (AG van Rietstap, pl CLXVIII).
32. The BELLE (van) Flanders (lords of Ypres) (A.G. van Rietstap, pl CLXVIII).
33. The BAILLIE unk
34. The BAILLIE of Lamington (Scotland)
35. The BAILLIE unk
36. The BAILLIE of Jerviswood (Scotland) (AG van Rietstap pl. CVIII).
37. The BAILLIE from London. (Recorded in anno 1675 ?).
(AG van Rietstap pl. CVIII).
38. The BAILLIE of Hoprig (Scotland in 1368) Lamington family in
Forman´s Roll.
39. The BAILLIE of Hoprig (Scotland) (AG van Rietstap pl. CVIII).
40. The BAILLIE of Hoprig (Scotland). Signed with seal. Berwick, anno 1292.
41. The BAILLIE from Jerviswood (Scotland)
42. The BAILLIE from Walstoun. Scotland. (AG van Rietstap pl.CVIII)
43. The BALLIE Seton from Scotland (Lamington)
44. The BAILLIE from Lochfour (Scotland) (Burton).
45. The BALLIOL from Barnard Castle (North England)
46. The BALLIOL from Barnard Castle (Hughes Balliol, fs. Jean II).
Crown of Galloway. Also reported in heraldic works as from Bywell?
47. The BALLIOL linked to Barnard Castle (Eustache Balliol, or
Eustas de Tours)
48. The BAILLOL from Alexander de Baillol. (Alisaundre de Bailolfs). Branch of
Henry de Balliol x Lora de Valoignes. Fs Eustache x Ada de Fontaines.
49. The BALLIOL from Barnard Castle (Eustache Balliol x Ada de Fontaines).
50. The BERTRAM from Robert Bertram. Is he linked to the Balliol?
(See blazon 51)
51. The LINDSAY from Walter de Lindsay (Limésy, F) of Lamberton,
are linked to the Balliol Lineage.
51a.The BALLIOL Enguerrand de Balliol (Normandy)
52. The LINDSAY from Gilbert Lindsay (Limésy, F).
53. The BALLIOL (Bailleul) from Flanders (Artois). (AG van Rietstap, pl.CVIII).
54. The BALLIOL (Bailleul) from Flanders (Artois). (AG van Rietstap, pl.CVIII).
55. The WAVRIN from Flanders. Linked to the Balliol. (Armorial Lalaing)
56. The BELS (Bellens) from Flanders (branch Stas BELS. Limburg) in 1487
(Recueil J. Th. de Raadt). Ecu personnel, héraldique parlante.
55a.The MacMILLAN (Bell) From Scotland. (Associated with the Bell in the
XIVth century). Almost the blazon of Count of Flanders + three stars).
57. The Counts of Flanders Flanders (Belgium). Arms since anno 1170.
58. The BAILLEUL from Brabant (Belgium, Brabant)
(AG van Rietstap pl. CVIII).
59. The BALLIOL from Flanders (Douxlieu)
60. The BALLIOL from Flanders (Flanders)
61. The BALLIOL from Baudouin V of Balliol (Flanders)
62. Mathilde of Flanders. Spouse (+1083) of Guillaume the Conqueror.
The blazon belonged to Balduinus Ist Iron Arm (Bras de Fer) Count
of Flanders and from Artois from anno 862-879.
63. The BELLE (van) from Holland. (AG van Rietstap pl. CLXVIII).
64. The Count of Hainaut from Balduinus VI Count of Hainaut.
65. The FAUCONBERG from Walter de Fauconberg (French Flanders).
In 1255, English noble of Flemish source. Faucon (Valck in Diets &
Flemish) and Berg (in 1255). Fauconberg=Fauquemberghes (Valkenberg).
66. The BELL Massachusetts (William Bell, Scotland, in 1737).
Merge of heraldic elements between the blazons 21c, 30 and 16b to
show the intern correlation between 67 & other blazons from our lineage.
68. The Counts of FLANDERS Flanders (Belgium). Not stylized
picture. Compare 57.
69. The Lion of SCOTLAND. The primitive Lion of Scotland taken by William
Ist, King of Scotland in anno 1165 (see note)
70. The Lion of SCOTLAND. The later Lion of Scotland by King Alexander II.
Blazon of the Royal House of Stewart. Blue tong and Claws.
71. The Lion of SCOTLAND. The Lion of Kenneth (anno 844) Red tong and
Claws.
72. The de BAILE The “de Baîle” family.
73. The BAILE and BAYLE Reported as belonging to the Baile and Bayle.
74. The BALES The Bales from Northampton.
75. The BAIL from France.
76. The BALES from Suffolk.
77. The BAILLEUL The Bailleul most probably of France.
78. The BALLI Unknown Line.
79. The BAILLIF The Baillif and Baillif Tourault. Probably France.
80. The BAILLEUL Nicolas III. First Marquis of Château-Gonthier.
81. HAVERSKERQUE Old Flemish village of northern France
(Haviskerka in 1047)
81. CONDE-sur-l´ESCAUT (idem as above). Old Flemish village of
northern France.
82. The Counts of Flanders Old Arms attributed to the House of Flanders
with Baudouin Iron Arms, in use until Baudouin VI of Hainaut (1171-1205),
Count of Flanders and Hainaut, Latin Emperor of Constantinople.
This Flag was taken over by the State of West-Flanders (Belgium),
Registered by decree dated 27th May 1997 and officially published
in the Belgian "Het Staatsblad" on 12th July 1997.
The Countess Mathilde of Flanders (+1083), spouse of Wilhelm the
Conqueror, carried her ancestors` Flag but with only four blue (Azure)
rays on a yellow (Or) background.
Part 2
83. The Counts of Flanders Oldest Arms attributed to the House of Flanders.
The Ordo Balliolensis decided, upon the legal advice given by Fra.
Herbert Class, one of its Knights of Honour and General Consul of our
Order in Belgium, dated Sterrebeek (Belgium) 12th June 2018, to take the
Flag with 5 blue (Azure) rays (See below, 83) which is the one carried by
all the ancient Counts of Flanders - before the Count Philippe d’Alsace
(1170) who decided to take the Black (Sable) rampant Lion with red
(Gueules) tongue and pawns on a Yellow (Or) background).
The Flag reminds us of the ties that have united us for more than 1377
years (2019-642) with Flanders and its Counts, installed first as Grand
Foresters, in the year 621, by the Merovingian King Dagobert I. Title
confirmed much later, in anno 862, in Tournai, by King Charles the
Bald (Capetians).
84. The Saint OMER the internal structure of the coat of arms is identical to
that of the Bels. This is logical since these families were interconnected
and close to each other.
85. St OMER de Wallon-Cappel Family issued from Eustache de Morbecque
and Walburge de Saint Omer.
86. Arms of the BELS College The BELS College was created in 2022 by Fra.
Robert Adelsohn Bels. Split of the BELS and the BALLIOL arms.
87. Arms of RLC The Arms of Rennes-le-Château.
Note on the blazon 56.
This was the blazon taken by Stas Bels (Bellens) from the Branch of Brustem (Limburg). Stas used what is called in Heraldry, the “Armes parlantes” or “Canting arms”, by adding a weaving shuttle with bobbin, to inform his heirs, that he was a weaver. He was to kill two birds with one stone! Since there were no weavers in Limburg, his message indicates also and unequivocally, that he originated from Flanders.
The textile industries together with the banking business were the key economic engines of Flanders. The unique success of this industry, which made Flanders the richest region of Europe, together with Florence (Italy), was mainly due to Flanders seaports and waterways as well as to its relative proximity to the English seaports. By good weather, it would take only two or three hours, for a wool cargo, to cross the English Channel (la Manche). These factors greatly influenced Flanders` textile industry and its resulting economic repercussions.
Brustem, the place where Stas Bels appears, in 1487, was a commercial desert, the end of the world, cut off from all business roads and waterways. The closest navigable river, called “de Maas” or “la Meuse”, flows some 40 km away, the seaport of Antwerp is 100 km away and the Rhine River flows 160 km away, much too far to insure commercial effectiveness.
The reason(s) for Stas´ departure from Flanders for Brustem (Limburg) is not known. The biggest Flemish people’s emigration, in the XVIth and early XVIIth centuries, was mostly Protestants fleeing from religious persecution by the Spanish and Catholics.
On the picture, right, is the great-grandfather of our Dynast Willy Bels, Arnoldus (Nolleke) Bels (*1830+1901) x Maria Coelmont. That is about ten generations after Stas Bels.
Some Bels, not only weavers, having changed their religion, fled in all directions to escape the Inquisition that also included, since the Imperial edict of 1535 by King Charles Quint, the Protestants. The edict stated that the heretics should be “…condemned to death; repentant males to be executed with the sword, repentant females to be buried alive, and the obstinate, of both sexes, to be …”.
These people fled to the Netherlands, Germany, France, to England and even to Scotland, invited by the Scottish Parliament’s Law “Act in Favour of Flemish Craftsmen”, dated 1587, encouraging weavers to settle in their country!
However, by that time, Stas Bels, in Brustem, was already dead for more than half a century! He was from a time before the Lutheranism! So were the religious troubles not the reason for his departure from Flanders. There were no other major happenings, in the XVth century that would account for Stas´ decision to leave the richest county in Europe, for an isolated region in Belgium.
Under “in 1487”, (page 154), I stated as a possible reason for Stas´s departure from Flanders to Limburg: “…Stas Bels may have left Flanders as soon as anno 1323 due to socio-economic problems that would find their paroxysms in anno 1337 with the wool blockade in England…”.
Another reason may have been the fact that some Flemish Families send their Knights to take part in the War of the Cow (Guerre de la Vache), in 1278. A war that was started by a cow stolen from a certain Mr. Rigaud de Corbion, a resident of Ciney (Belgium). It claimed about 15.000 lives.
Or still, another opportunity for the Bels to land in the region was the Battle of Brustem, fought on 28 October 1467, that opposed the Burgundian State and the Prince-Bishopric of Liège. The last battle, known as the Second Liège War, was the answer of Charles “le Téméraire” (the Foolhardy) of Flanders (1433-1477), Fs. of Philippe “le Bon” (the Good) (1396-1467), to put down a revolt by the people of Liège.
It may be after these events that some Bels Knights did not come back to Flanders but got stuck in Brustem and the immediate area, establishing so the Bels of Limburg Branch of our Lineages that, later, will spread to the north into the Netherlands and to the east, to Germany. In the previous old French version of my Essay I wrote:
- “…Among other reasons: we know that in these distant times of our history, opportunities did not fail to wage war in the four corners of Belgium. As it is evident that the counts of Flanders, the most powerful princes of the epoch, only went to these places accompanied by other Knights and Lords of Flanders, some of the Bels, the Belle (de-van) and the Balliol Knights must have been of the party!…”.
- “…If a lot of reasons can be invoked as for the establishment of a family, or of some of their members, in certain regions, one of them, and from a distance the most frequent, is the marriage. We all know that young women, from a neighbouring village or city, are always prettier than in our own places, we may reasonably conclude that somehow, they rather easily succeeded to trap our valiant knights. Genealogical research proves that women, most of the time, cause the break-up of stem families…”.
Serge Hazevoet said:
“…It seems that in the town of Andenne (situated only a few kilometers from the city of Namur), some 46 km from Brustem, the principal lords of the country competed in tournaments (for the love of beautiful ladies and their pride of knight). They were accompanied by their Knights…”.
Therefore, may socio-economic problems, tournaments, either wars or women, have been the reason for Stas Bels settlement in Limburg.
Stas Bels decided to carry a personal blazon (above at number 56), which was a decision no commons could ever make, because they were not allowed to have Coats of Arms. By deduction, Stas must have belonged either to the nobility or to a patrician family of Flanders. As a personal blazon is, by rule, broken at the wearer’s death, the regular Stas´ lineage blazon, the one that is transmitted to his heirs, is shown below at number 2h.
PART 3
Note on the blazon 69.
With the accession of William Ist upon the throne of Scotland in 1165, the wild boar of Scotland was firmly set aside and replaced with a simple T'red (gules) lion rampant'T, identical to that of Flanders whose color was black (68).
This new heraldic device commemorated the great trade treaty that had been achieved by King David Ist of the Scots (1124-1153) and his wife Maud of Senlis, with the Counts of Flanders. It was during the reign of David Ist, whose wife was a cousin to the Count of Flanders that Scotland became a member of a unique trade monopoly, held by the city of Bruges, which spanned as far as Russia, the Middle East, and North Africa. It was also then, in 12th century Scotland, that surnames make a proper appearance.
Note on the blazon 10.
It appears that the blazon of the Bell from Woolsington Hall, Northumberland is also the same as the one of Sir Robert Bell (*1563 +1639). (Speaker). Sir Robert´s blazon has been painted on stained glass panels (center on the bottom line) representing the various marital alliances that were shared by the Beaupré´s and the Bell's.
“…The panels were originally bourne and incorporated around the entry way of Beaupre Hall, Norfolk, and were later cut down and relocated to windows in the rear of the Hall; perhaps after 1730 when the antiquary, Beaupré Hall, succeeded to the property.
Beaupre Hall passed into the hands of Mr Edward Fordham Newling, and his brother, who anticipated the Hall's ruin, and wished that the stained-glass panels would be placed in the care and possession of the Victoria § Albert Museum, London, where they are currently on display.
The Arms of Sir Robert Bell (centre bottom line) are: Sable a Fess Ermine between three Church Bells Argent. The Crest is upon a Helm on a Mount Vert, a Phoenix Rising wings elevated and inverted Or armed Sable…”.
Source: Robert Bell (Speaker) (*1563+1639)
on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Bell_(Speaker).
Note on the blazon 70.
Alexander II (1214-1249) who introduced the “double tressure flory counter-flory gules” enclosed the red lion. It commemorates an Alliance Treaty between France and Scotland that was signed, as history claims, between King Eochaid IV of Dalriada and Emperor Charlemagne, then King of the Franks. Another and later treaty between King John Balliol of Scotland and King Philippe IV of France was signed in 1295 against the then common enemy, Edward I of England.
Coats of arms (see picture below) according to the:
- Catalogue Général des Armoiries van Rietstap.
- General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales.
- Armorial de Gelre. The armorial was compiled before 1396 by one Claes Heinenzoon (or Heynen, fl. 1345-1414) who was a herald of the Duke of Guelders and the creator of the Beyeren Armorial.
- Le Rôle d'Armes de la bataille de Falkirk.
- Le Rôle d'Armes de Caerlaverock (1300).
- Le Rôle d'Armes du Siège de Stirling (1304).
- L'Armorial Lalaing (1560-1570), recopie d'armoriaux plus anciens tels de Geire et Bergshammar.
- Robert Bell (Speaker) (*1563 +1639) on Wikipedia.
https:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert Bell_(Speaker)
to show the “Internal coherences” between them. These “Internal coherences” happens with almost all the blazon linked to a patronymic variation of our Lineage, but also to Knights of the Ordo Balliolensis. Today we have (non-exhaustive list) the Arms of:
1.The BELS from Flanders (Branch Edouard Bels. Kortrijk. 1866).
2. The BELS from Flanders (idem as above). Cadency marks for David Bels
(Alaska. USA)
2b. The BELS from Flanders (Branch Jean Bels. Hazebrouck. 1580).
2c. The BELS from Flanders (Branch Clais Bels. Westkappel-Kortrijk. 1395).
2d. The BELS from Flanders (Branch Jean Bels. Kortrijk. 1630).
2e. The BELS from Flanders (Branch Guillaume Bels. Kortrijk. 1690).
2f. The BELS from Flanders (Branch Michel Bels. Kortrijk. 1904.).
2g. The BELS from Flanders (Branch Jérome Bels. Kortrijk. 1901).
2h. The BELS from Flanders-Limburg (Branch Stas Bels. Brustem-Horpmal.
1440).
2i. The BELS from Flanders-Limburg (Branch Nicolas Bels (Bellis).
Prob. Brustem. 1565).
2j. The BELS from Flanders-Limburg (Branch André Bels. Horpmal.1748).
2k. The BELS from Flanders-Limburg (Branch Egidius Bels. Brustem.1788,
if Egidius´s brother Arnold 1777, has no male heirs through
Jean-François 1962).
2l. The BELS from Flanders-Limburg (Branch Egidius Bels.
prob. Vreren.1850).
2m. The BELS from Flanders-Limburg (Branch Hendricus Bels.
Brielle (NL).1843).
3. The BELLES from Flanders-Limburg (Branch August-Hans
Belles (B), 2000.
4. The BELS from Mecklenburg. (D) origin Flanders-Limb. (Branch Jürgen Bels, 2003).
5. The BELS from Heiko Bels. (D) orig. Flanders-Limb. (Branch
Jürgen Bels).
6. The BELL from Bell Kenneth. (Ramstein Air Base, anno 2002).
7. The BAILEY from unk. Same blazon as the Bell from Westmoreland
and Cumberland!
8. The BAILLIE from Port Orchard. (Wa.USA). Attributed to Franck. 2003.
9. The BELLES from Limburg. (B) origin Flanders. (Branch x )
Attributed to Xavier. 2003.
10. The BYRNS from Capt. Mike Byrn (Ten.USA). Ireland. (Branch x )
Attributed to Mike. 2004. Linked Lineage via wedding with Sarah
Bels, Baroness of feudal nobility.
11. The VANBELLE from Knight Robin Vanbelle (B), origin Flanders. 1989.
12. The BAILEY from Joseph Bailey (Ca. USA) (Branch Bailey Wick).
2007. CM52
13. The BELL from Knight James Elton Bell (Ariz. USA) (Branch BELL
of Woolsington Hall, Northumberland. UK) Anno 2009.
14. The KILCHLING from Alexandra Kilchling (D). Knight Ordinis Balliolensis.
2012.
15. The BELS from Robert Adelsohn. Flanders (blazon 1). Incorporated into
the Arms of the Knights of the Order of St. Stanislas, on 10th March 2016,
in Krakau (Poland) due to elevation to the polish nobility, in accordance with
the constitution Point III, from 7th May 1765, given by King Stanislaw
August Poniatowski. Adelsregister als Wappenrolle des Ordens. Patent
Nr. 51/03/16. This nobility is not hereditary.
16. The SENDEN from Yves Senden. Knight Ordinis Balliolensis. Anno 2019.
17. The DETTMER from Gerald Dettmer. Knight. Commandeur
Ordinis Balliolensis. 2010.
18. The BELS from Norman Feniger-Bels. Knight Ordinis Balliolensis.
Mecklenburg (D). Origin Flanders-Limb (Branch Jürgen Bels). 2022.
19. The MANNING from Jacob Manning. Clovis NM (USA) Knight
Ordinis Balliolensis. 2000.
20. The KRÜGER from Robert Krüger. Knight Ordinis Balliolensis. 2017.
21. The BLOCK from Thomas Block. Knight Ordinis Balliolensis. 2019.
Source: Bels Armorial. Fra. Robert Adelsohn Bels. 2023.
Please note that knights who have left our Order are no longer included in this list. The same applies to their coat of arms. The same does not apply to those who have passed away.
As can be seen, all these blazons bear the same heraldic key elements and are linked to each other. People, no matter how geographically distant they may have been from each other, bearing the same coats of Arms, had to belong to one and same Lineage.
In those times, only patrician and noble families had their blazons. Being lords themselves, they had absolutely no reason to bear fraudulently the blazon from another family. Furthermore, in these much-closed circles where everybody knew everybody, it would have been virtually impossible for any usurpation to go on unnoticed!
One should also keep in mind that according to the communal spirit of the Carolingian people:
“…no stranger, arriving in a village, could settle there unless he was welcomed by all. A single refusal would force him to clear out after three notices. But if he was admitted, he then shared rights over the pastures, waters, and communal roads…”. Pierre Riché in his “Daily Life in the World of Charlemagne”. Hachette, 1973. Paris.
One assumes that the idea of the heraldry, the carrying of family Coats of Arms and emblems, comes from Flanders and not from England, as was assumed earlier. However, it was in England, in the late 14thPth century that the registration and control of the Coats of Arms were made by a College of Arms and that a college of heralds was established.
In those remote times, it was important for a Knight to carry his respective emblem so that one could identify him despite his armament and coat of mail. However, to identify his blazon it had to be recognised in the first place by Kings, Lords, and Knights from all over Europe. Bringing this kind of information to courts but also to the most remote ships was one of the functions of the Heralds of Arms.
For almost a millennium, the law considered any usurpation of a blazon as a crime. Severe punishment was strictly and swiftly applied to protect the prerogatives of a certain class (sic) of the society. We can compare its severity with the law on hunting. Even today, the blazon is under legal protection such as the patronymic.
There are numerous big families in the case such as the “Bayley” family (UK), only historians specialising in heraldry and genealogy will recognise the link that this family has with the “Balliol” of Flanders.
Some Bayley stemmed from either Philippe or John de Balliol (van Belle), descending themselves from the Lords of Eecke (Oostoven) and Steenvoorde (Flanders). These old Balliols lordships were sold in about 1590 when their lords took refuge in England, due to religion problems. Philippe and Jean de Bailleul were young man in 1655. Philippe lived until 1706.
“…In a subsidy roll of 16 (?) Charles II. 1664, Philip Bayley is returned for two hearths in Whittlesey of which Bayly, his mother, has one. She was probably the widow of Jacques, the son of Jacques, the elder brother of Antoine”. Source: The Bailleuls of Flanders.
The Subsidy Rolls were England and Wales taxation records that started as soon as 1332, under Edward III, king of England (*1312 +1377) till 1674. As other rolls of feudal era, their purpose was to record population and land holdings for the purpose of taxation. Quite a lot of these rolls have been lost and/or damaged.
Whoever devised the Arms granted to Isaac Bayley seems to have had in his mind the arms of Bailleul-aux-Cornailles and those of Belle-Eecke (*) (Flanders) and not knowing to which of the families Isaac Bayley really belonged, blended the two blazons taking the fess, martlets, and ermine from the one, and the quarter and lion rampant (of Flanders) from the other. (The Bailleuls of Flanders and the Bayleys of Willow Hall, by Francis Bayley).
Today, after more than a century of intensive research, the theory of Francis Bayley, formulated in 1881, turned out to be exact. The Bayley descended indeed from the “Belle” from Flanders via the Châtelain Petrus Balliol (around 1350) x Jeanne de Créquy, ancestor of the Lord of Eecke (Oostover) and Steenvoorde (Flanders).
His ancestors, at the 8th generation, were the lords of Zoeterstede (Locus Dulcus or Dulcis, in Latin and Douxlieu in French), via Henricus Balliol in 1150, himself having for ancestors, at the 5th generation, the Lord of Balliol Arnuldius Grameninis (in Latin) and Gertrui van Valkenberghe (Plectrude de Fauquemberges in later French sources). See picture.
(*) PS: To stick to the historical truth, please note that we used the original names “Belle” and “Balliol”, in the previous text as in the text (not the citation) of Francis Bayley, instead of the names used in later French! See picture below.
The connection to the Balliols is also verified for the “Baillie” (UK) family, who were the ancestors of the present earls of Haddington. We have here two historical versions:
- “... In Scotland in 1358, Edouard Ist of Balliol, second King of Scotland from our Lineage, could not withstand the ascension of Robert de Bruce to the Scottish crown. Due to the now, unpopularity of the name “Balliol” and to escape the "tender mercies" of the English King after King John II Balliol of Scotland was defeated by the English and sent in prison in the Tower of London, many changed it to “Ballie” that would quickly become “Baillie” and “Bailie”. At the start of the 14th century, Edouard Ist (William Ist in other sources) Balliol acquired the property of Lamington in Lanarkshire. His son, Edouard II (also William II in other sources) Baillie, was granted a charter confirming the ownership in 1358.
- The wife of Edouard Ist Balliol was the illegitimate daughter of William Wallace (Braveheart) & Marian Braidfute. The son of Edouard Ist Balliol was said to be Sir Edouard II Baillie of Hoprig who, according to many historians, was the first Baillie whose name appears in known records. His first appearance was as a juror in a 1311 (or 1312) inquest regarding forfeit lands in Lothian. In 1315, he was a witness to a charter by John de Graham, Lord of Albecorn. He was knighted in 1357 and received a royal charter to the Barony of Lamington (sometimes called Lambiston). The Bailies of Ireland were said to originate when a son...” (Research and compilation by our Dynast Frank Baillie. Port-Orchard. WA. USA).
Please note that the Clan Baillie is composed of the branches of the Baillie of Dochfour, Baille of Dunain, Baille of Jerviswood, Baille of Lamington and Baille of Polkemmet.
PART 4
According to the book “The Scottish Clans and their Tartans by Johnstob & Bacon. London”, the tartan of the Bell is like the MacMillan’s. That means that the patronymic is similar, since a tartan, like a blazon in a Coat of Arms, indicates the Lineage.
The MacMillan Lineage had several branches. One of these, in far remote times, settled on both strands of the Loch Arkaig in Lochaber (Scotland). King of the Scots Malcom IV (*1141-+1165) had them settled in the Crown lands of Loch Tay, in Perthshire. Later, during the XIVth century some of them immigrated southwards to Knapdale, on the coast of Argyllsoon where their influence became considerable.
An interesting quote is: “In some parts of Argyllshire, the MacMillan’s are known as the Na Belich or the Bells“. That means that during the XIVth century, at the time of King Edouard Ist Balliol, the second King of Scotland from our linage, at least one MacMillan clan was in one way or the other, associated with the Bell Lineage.
In “Clan and Dependant, showing Clan connections” the Bells are referred to Bell. The real patronymic is therefore Bell and not Bells that is the plural form of the name: one Bell - two Bell(e)s.
The chief habitation of the Bells of England has long been on the Scottish border. (Bell Roots).
In a small shop in Perth (Scotland), we had, in 1825, Arthur Bell who began to trade with tea and whisky. Twenty-five years later, defying a current convention, he created the “Bell’s blend”, which led to the world-famous Bell’s Whisky. In 1978, this whisky was crowned UK's No.1. The Patronymic Bell’s is in this case also issued from Bell. It is its grammatical Genitive form!
The Clan Bell has since January 1. 1984, its own Tartan under the name “Bell of the Borders”. The Tartan was designed by Bob Martin for Col William H. Bell of California (former president of one of the Bell societies in the US). There are two Tartans recorded: The Bell of the Borders (STA ref 1489) and the Border Bell (STA ref 370). Two other personal Tartans were created as well as three commercials for the Bell’s Whisky. Source: The Scottish register of Tartans.
Did these Bell, also called “The Border Bell”, stemmed from Ailluuradus Bell that I traced back in the "Doomsday Book of 1086" and whose blazon is identical to the one of the Belle (de-van) and Bels from Bruges (Flanders) with only the colours reversed? If so, then they belong to the same Lineage as the Bels and Belle (van) from Bruges (Flanders). (See subsequently under anno 1086).
Once more heraldry will give us a hint. The blazon of the MacMillan (see above Nr 55a) is, except for minor details (three stars added on top), the blazon of the Count of Flanders and of today’s Flanders State in Belgium (Nr 57). The stars replaced the bells on most of the blazons of our Lineage in England, Scotland and even in Flanders as on the blazon Nr 60, from the Balliol of Flanders.
King John II Balliol blazon’s basic colour “de gueules” (red) was also based upon the blazon of the Balliol of Flanders. King John added the “escucheon de gueules” that was on Countess Mathilde of Flanders’ blazon, fa. of Balduinus V, Count of Flanders (see Nr 62 and Nr 82).
The countess raised the blazon of her ancestor Balduinus Ist, Iron Arm (Bras de Fer) Count of Flanders and from Artois, from anno 862-879 who received Flanders, Tournai, and its region, from Charles the Bald (le Chauve) after his marriage with Charles’s daughter Judith.
This proves that the city of Tournai was integrant part of Flanders until 1187 when the King of France Philippe Auguste visited the city and erected it as a “Royal free-town”. He freed the city and its inhabitants from the authority of the count. Later, in anno 1313, Baudouin de Mortagne, the thirteenth châtelain (lord of a castle) of Tournai, sold his “Châtellenie” to the French King Philippe-le-Bel.
Mathilde was Duchess of Normandy since she married Guillaume the Conqueror, some 10 years before the conquest of England via Hastings. Knowing the links between the Balliol, the Duke and the Counts of Flanders, King John Balliol may have hit three targets with one throw:
- He honoured his own Lineage by having the basic colour of his blazon as the one from the Balliol of Flanders.
- He honoured the Counts of Flanders by taking a piece out of Balduinus Ist Iron Arms´s blazon.
- He honoured the Duke of Normandy by having a piece out of his wife’s blazon.
This masterpiece of diplomacy, as we have seen previously, is not an isolated one. Another example: The blazon of the Belle (van) from Holland (blazon 63) that was also based upon Count Balduinus Ist Iron Arms`s blazon.
There is even more to it. I recently discovered that King John II Balliols blazon might have something to do with the Lineage of the “de Wavrin” or vice-versa. They do not only have the same pattern in their blazon (compare blazons 45 and 55), but they are also directly linked to the Balliol via the wedding of Balduinus II of Balliol with Agnès of Wavrin who was fa. of Roger III de Wavrin and Richilde de Hainaut. (See 1177). Is this all-mere coincidence?
Back to our MacMillan. Does that mean that the MacMillan link themselves to our Lineage in far remote times? If not, why then did they also choose a blazon that clearly indicated a Flanders link as did the Balliol of Scotland?
“…Although the Bells were a Borders family, there are others of this name wo are of Highlands origin, and in that case, Bell is held to be a sept of Macmillan…”. (Source: Georges Way & Romilly Squire in Scottish Clans & Family Origin).
We need a full stop right here! According to the above-mentioned authors, the Bell is a “sept” of Macmillan. A sept means a clan or a division of a family. The term is used in both Scotland and Ireland where it may be translated as “sliocht”. This word means “progeny” or “seed”, it is used in the context of a family or clan with members who bear the same surname and inhabited the same territory, as a manner of distinguishing one group from another.
Why is there mentions stating that, at the time of King Edouard Ist Balliol, the second King of Scotland from our linage, “…the MacMillan’s are known as the Na Belich or the Bells…”.
Does that mean that there is much more than “…inhabiting the same territory…”? That the Macmillan’s were members of the Bells family of Flandres?
If not, why did they find it necessary to add three stars on their blazon? These three stars, together with three bells, is a recurrent trilogy in the blazons of the Bels - Bell and Bayles.
And why did they find it necessary to use, as the central piece of furniture for their blazon, the Lion of Flanders, which is, in the year 1170, the blazon of the Count of Flanders Philippe. The Balliols of Scotland did the same when they took the central piece of the blazon of Lyderic van Buc, the “escutcheon de gueule”, given to him by the Merovingian King Dagobert 1st, (+ St Denis on 9 January 639), in about anno 621. Was it an unwritten message to tell future generations that they came from Flanders? Did the Macmillan the same?
The first traces of the MacMillan’s, I found, is around the year when one of their branches settled on both strands of the Loch Arkaig in Lochaber (Scotland). “…Malcom IV (1153-1165) had them settled in the Crown lands of Loch Tay, in Perthshire. Later, during the XIVth century some of them immigrated southwards to Knapdale, on the coast of Argyllsoon where their influence became considerable…”.
Whatever the outcome of the debate on the Bels and MacMillans, this old information indicates that the Flemish Bels-Bell were already in England and probably in Scotland, centuries before the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Wool trade between England and Flanders contributed largely to the very early immigration of Flemish weavers to England. The English procured the wool, the Flemish manufactured the products out of it.
In 1678, by the peace treaty of Nijmegen, the city of Belle together with others such as Valencienne, Saint-Omer, Kamerijk, and Cassel was officially annexed to France and got its French form “Bailleul” officialised. The French region where Bailleul is situated is still called “La Flandre”.
Please find some size reduced geographical distribution maps of patronymics, according to official Belgian population registers, dated 1998.
Through the centuries an overwhelming number of members of our Lineage remained in Flanders and astonishingly close to the cities of Belle (Balliol), Ypres and Bruges, all places being very distant in times of their common history. One exception however: The Belle patronymic that moved probably between the XVIIIth and the XXth centuries, to the coal mining and later heavy industrial region of Hainaut (Belgium).
The Bels patronymic, as seen previously, gave birth in Limburg to patronymics such as Belles, Bellis and Bellens.
It is therefore not surprising to see these patronymics shifted from western to eastern Belgium and spread out from the region of St. Truiden, more precisely from the village of Brustem, that used to be in the principality of Liège, today in the federal state of Limburg.
If Bailleul, the modern form of “Balliol” (Belle) is, as expected and geographically speaking “at its place”, its Flemish form, “Belle” and a few other synonyms, shifted west, out of Flanders´ territories.
The distribution maps of some other forms of Bels and Belle such as: De Bels, Bayls, Beyles, Bayle, Van Bel, Van Belle, etc., are not inserted. However, their disposition, on the Belgium territory, follows more or less, the same pattern as for the Bels.
As can be seen on the map above, the town of "Balliol" or "Bailleul" was still referred to as "Belle" in 1641.
It was this usage for almost two thousand years that made the "Balliol" also "Belle". People from "Belle" were called "de Belle" or "van Belle", which amounts to the same thing. The name being a genitive form of Flemish (archaic German), as was the other genetic form “Belles". We'll look at this in detail later in the texts.
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