The Blazon of Molière: An Investigation into His Personal Coat of Arms

While Molière is celebrated as a master of comedy, a lesser-known aspect of his life is the personal coat of arms he adopted. This blazon, featuring three mirrors and a theatrical mask, was not inherited but personally chosen, reflecting his profession and his genius for observing human nature. An analysis of a portrait engraved by Jean-Baptiste Nolin after Pierre Mignard reveals the symbolic origins of these arms, linking them to the playwright's preferred colors, his family life, and his identity as both a poet and an actor.

Benjamin FillonJune 25, 2026

When Charles Perrault, thoroughly imbued with the prejudices of the official world of his time, granted Molière a place among the Illustrious Men of the 17th Century,¹ he sought to accompany the great comic poet's biography with an image that faithfully reproduced his features. As the plate engraved in 1685 by Jean-Baptiste Nolin, after a painting by Pierre Mignard, was still capable of yielding a large number of prints, Perrault rightly believed he could do no better than to use this precious work. The portrait, reduced to a bust, was set within an oval frame, decorated at its lower part with an escutcheon showing three mirrors, arranged two and one, and surmounted, in place of a helm, by a mask with lambrequins.

As this coat of arms has never been the subject of a special study, we will attempt to trace its origins.

The Heraldic Evidence

An extract from a small notebook of heraldic notes from the early 18th century, concerning certain families of the Parisian bourgeoisie, will first indicate the color of its tinctures. This notebook was once shared with us by M. Lefebvre, the former bookseller of the Arcade Colbert. On pages 18 and 22, we find:

"BÉJART: Azure, a fess Argent, with three mullets Or, two in chief, one in point."

"Mme DE MONTALANT-RACHEL, by name, DE MOLIÈRE-POQUELIN: Vert, three mirrors of Truth, framed Or.³"

Mignard, Paul

French, 17th century

Crédits photos

Molière · Wikimedia Commons
Armande Béjart · Wikimedia Commons
Cropped - Molière

Notes

¹ *Les Hommes illustres qui ont paru en France pendant ce siècle* (Paris: Antoine Dezallier, 1696), 2 vols., in-folio. ↑

² Little is known of this engraver, whose work is very limited. The address inscribed at the bottom of his portrait of Father Menestrier indicates that he lived on the Quai de l'Horloge. Perhaps he was the same artist as J.-B. Nolin, geographer to the king and a seller of geographical maps. ↑

³ A second manuscript from the same period, relating to Brittany and a few other provinces, which was owned by the Gautier brothers of Nantes, blazons these same arms as follows: *Azure, three mirrors of truth Argent*. However, the numerous inaccuracies found in it suggest that it should not be given too much credence. Before having studied the question with all the care it required, we had accepted this variant and recorded it in the Fontenay newspaper *L'Indicateur* on May 18, 1873. M. A.-P. Malassis did the same in the small volume titled *Molière jugé par ses contemporains* (Paris: Liseux, 1877, in-8º). The engraving placed at the beginning of the book reproduces them in this way. ↑

⁴ The tinfoil backing of the mirrors must have been white; but we will see later that Molière had introduced matte white among his favorite colors. The engraver who added a frame to Nolin's print, likely having no heraldic knowledge, misinterpreted the field of the blazon. In the drawing of it made by M. Goutzwiller, the hatching has been indicated as is proper for reading the tinctures. ↑

¹ Jacques Collinet, Sieur de la Jarrie, born in Saint-Hilaire-de-Riez (Bas-Poitou), was a clerk in the naval administration, then secretary to the intendancy of Rochefort. He was a collector of medals and art objects, like his patron, and had married the daughter of the engraver and print publisher Pierre Landry of Paris. ↑

² Michel Bégon, intendant of the navy at Rochefort, wrote biographies of several famous men of the 17th century and had their portraits engraved, with the aim of composing a work similar to the one Charles Perrault later published. Upon learning that Perrault was soon to release the first part of his own work, Bégon abandoned his project and generously gave his competitor his notes, the fruit of his personal research, and the plates that had already been executed. Bégon did not appreciate Molière's genius at its true value. "I esteem Molière more than Scarron," he wrote on February 8, 1689, to Cabart de Villermont, "but neither the one nor the other should pass for the illustrious men of the century." MM. de la Morinerie and Georges Duplessis have published studies filled with curious details about this fine arts enthusiast. ↑

³ This refers to the *Vie de Molière* published by Grimarest in 1705, and not another one written by Bégon, as has been wrongly stated. ↑

⁴ *Recherches sur Molière*, by Eud. Soulié, p. 281. ↑

¹ *Mercure galant*, vol. IV, 1673, p. 264. The article by Jean Donneau de Visé is titled *Conversation dans une ruelle de Paris sur Molière défunt, suivie de son Oraison funèbre* (Conversation in a Parisian Salon about the Deceased Molière, Followed by His Funeral Oration). ↑

² It was used by M. Malassis in his booklet *Molière jugé par ses contemporains*, p. 23. But the author there confused the accessory elements with those of the blazon itself. ↑

³ These monkeys alluded to the comedian's profession, but it was perhaps also a souvenir of the house, known as the "Maison des Singes" (House of the Monkeys), where Molière was born. On the carved post that formed its corner, several of these animals could be seen. ↑

⁴ This 1666 edition is the first to appear as a collected work with continuous pagination. Among the earlier ones, which are in reality only collections of separate plays, we will point out the following, of which we have a complete copy before us: *Les Œuvres de monsieur Molier* (sic) (Paris: Charles de Sercy, 1664), 2 vols., in-12. The first volume is composed of *Remerciement au Roy* (1664); *Les Précieuses ridicules* (1662); *Sganarelle ou le Cocu imaginaire* (1662); *L'Escole des maris* (1663); *Les Fascheux* (1663). The second volume contains *L'Estourdy* (1663); *Le Dépit amoureux* (1663); *L'Escole des femmes* (1663); *La Critique de l'Escole des femmes* (1663). M. Paul Lacroix knew only the first volume of this collection (*Bibliographie moliéresque*, 2nd edition, no. 266, p. 72). ↑

¹ As this was being written, we found the following passage, which had escaped us in M. P. Lacroix's *Iconographie moliéresque*: "We had always supposed that Molière had had a token struck for himself bearing his family arms (for his relatives, several of whom had been judges and consuls of the city of Paris, used the title of *noble homme* in civil records). Perhaps he had been content to put on this token his emblem, which was a theatrical mask, or his canting arms, which were three mirrors. My learned friend, Baron Pichon, has just shown me, in support of my suppositions, a silver token, struck for the use of a Poquelin, a relative of Molière." The description follows. "This Louis Poquelin had been a judge-consul in 1661." ↑

¹ Pierre Nivelle, Bishop of Luçon, a prelate and artist. We hope to be able to publish his biography soon. ↑

² *Recherches sur Molière*, by Eudore Soulié, p. 134. ↑

³ Ibid., p. 138. She nevertheless admitted the emerald, and, as a brunette or chestnut-haired woman, the carmine sparkle of the ruby; sometimes also, a note of red in her attire, as the inventory of her clothing made after her death attests. ↑

¹ *Gazette des Beaux-Arts*, 2nd period, vol. V, 1872, p. 230. A woodcut reproduction of the third state of the plate accompanies M. Lavoix's article. ↑

¹ This autograph manuscript bears the date 1660 on page 2, but it contains poems composed before that year, and others that were composed after. The trisyllabic name of the author, beginning with the letter P, appears on p. 420 in an epistle to Uranie. Perhaps it was a certain Pérachon, a poem by whom is found in the Conrart manuscripts; vol. XIII, no. 22. ↑

² La Grange's Register mentions no performance in which Molière appeared between these two dates. There was, moreover, a temporary interruption due to the death of the Queen Mother. Robinet notes Molière's illness and his reappearance on stage on the date of February 24. ↑

³ M. Henri Lavoix is mistaken in saying he is dressed in "that striped brocade dressing gown, lined with blue taffeta," listed in the post-mortem inventory. The work of the burin indicates, on the contrary, a plain silk fabric of a rather bright color, with a lining of a different and darker tone. ↑

⁴ It is not a book proper that he holds in his hand, but rather *Tablettes*, a kind of agenda or notebook for taking notes. If the painter had really wanted to represent a book, he would not have failed to depict, on the spine of the binding, some semblance of a title and some accessory indicating on what the note was to be inscribed with the pen. ↑

¹ *Recherches sur le séjour de Molière dans l'ouest de la France en 1648* (Fontenay, 1874, in-8º). ↑

² *Recherches sur Molière*, by Eud. Soulié, p. 333. ↑

³ If one were to believe certain dreamers, the time indicated by this clock (2:40) would be the hour of Molière's death, which occurred on the night of February 17-18, 1673. It would have been a warning, placed before his eyes in advance, to announce the moment of his approaching end. ↑

¹ *Étude sur Pierre Mignard*, by M. Le Brun-Dalbanne (Paris: Rapilly, 1878, in-8º), p. 206. ↑

¹ The missive having been sent in an envelope, the address is missing. It is part of a precious collection of letters and other original documents concerning the literary history and bibliography of the last twenty-five years of the 17th century, which was discovered at the beginning of last November near Tours. It contains some first-rate documents. ↑

² This must be the book published under this title in The Hague, by H. Van Bulderen, in 1685, in-8º. ↑

¹ *Jugements des sçavans sur les principaux ouvrages des auteurs* (Paris: A. Dezallier, 1686, in-12), p. 140. ↑

² The name of Mignard was inscribed on the plate only after the engraving was executed. The old proofs do not bear it, and the Abbé de Monville makes no mention of it, directly or indirectly. ↑

The Heraldic Evidence

Mignard, Paul

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