Quote Originally Posted by Banquo's Ghost
Mon ami, you seek to confuse us with your feigned modesty.

The heraldic insect is invariably the bee. Far from being a humble charge, in France it is the symbol of the most ancient royal lineage. Golden bees (in reality, they were cicadas) were discovered in 1653 in Tournai inside the tomb of Childeric I, founder in 457 of the Merovingian dynasty and father of Clovis. To be granted bees on one's acheivement denotes ancient royal blood lines.

Or, a desire to demonstrate such connections. The Emperor himself had his arms mantled with ermine, decorated with golden bees. Bees were reserved for Napoleonic grants.

I always knew our Louis was a person of consequence.
Good Lord, no, nothing like that. I am very proud at the complete lack of any noble blood running through my veins. Well there was this maid who worked for a certain marquis and family rumour has it that
You'll no doubt be happy to know that my family has always considered the guillotine as the final word in all thing noble.

In the British Isles, family crests are a jealously guarded noble prerogative.

Not so over here. At some point during the Ancien Régime , this being France, an ambitious civil servant of the king discovered that there were no taxes levied yet on the bearing of arms. This gross oversight was of course duly corrected. Naturally, before long, another ambitious civil servant discovered that it was of course grosly unfair that families without a coat of arms should avoid this tax. So they were forced to adopt arms. And then promptly taxed to the hilt for it. Many bourgeois French families of enough importance and wealth hence came in the possession of a coat of arms.

Thank God we corrected this ridiculous system at the Revolution. No French government ever since has dared to levy obscure taxes.