APPENDIX IV
Richard Aldington translation
Cyrano de Bergerac
La vraye et parfaite science des armoires, augmentée par P. Paillot, Dijon et Paris, 1660, folio, gives a description of the arms of Cyrano which (with apologies to heralds) I English as follows:
"Azure, a chevron or, two lion-skins or bound gules suspended in chief, a lion with a tail saltire-wise or armed gules, with a chief gules."
In spite of this imposing shield the Cyrano family failed to establish its claim to nobility at the visitations of 1668 and 1704. On the former occasion Abel de Cyrano (brother of our author) was fined 300 livres for claiming nobility unlawfully and on the latter occasion a cousin, J. D. de Cyrano, was fined the large sum of 3000 livres for the same offence.