Barnacle, Horse-bray | Broie, Broye

The broye features in the arms of the related families of Joinville in France and Genneville in England. Geoffroy III (d. 1188) m. Félicité de Brienne (widow of Simon de Broyes, d. c1132, mother of Hugues de Broyes), had Geoffroy IV (d. 1190), who had by Héluis de Dampierre : Geoffroy V (d. 1203), Robert s. de Sailly, Guillaume (archbishop of Reims, d. 1226), Simon s. de Sailly and later s. de Joinville, and Guy s. de Sailly. Geoffroy V received a chief bearing a lion as augmentation of arms from Richard Lionheart during the 3d Crusade. Simon (d. 1226) succeeded him and had surviving children by Beatrix d'Auxonne: Jean (d. 1317), Geoffroy s. de Vaucouleurs, Simon s. de Gex, Guillaume. The last two brothers moved to England and their name was altered to Genneville.

 

Brault (Early Blazon, s.v. broie, p. 134) says: "Long confused with the hempbray (illustrated in Boutell, p. 289, fig. 437), the charge in question has been shown to be a stylized horse-bray or barnacle, 'an instrument consisting of two pieces of notched wood hinged together at one end', used for curbing horses.  See London, 'Notes and Reflections, II', p. 271, and, especially, the latter's definitive study entitled 'The Geneville Brays', Coat of Arms iii (1954), no. 19, 84-7.

See also Aspilogia II, p. 135, note to item 103: 'The brays of Geneville were taken from the canting arms of Simon de Broye, first husband of Felicity de Brienne (fl. c.1140), though the Genevilles were descended from Felicity's second husband and had no connection with Broyes.  Geoffrey and Simon, who differenced their paternal coat by changing the tincture of the chief and field respectively, were younger brothers of John, Lord of Joinville, the historian of the Seventh Crusade.  Geoffrey, Lord of Vaucouleurs, was b. c.1226, settled in England c.1251, was summoned to Parliament 1299 and 1314.  His wife Maude de Lacy was widow of Peter of Geneva, elder brother of B104.  Simon, youngest of the three brothers (B102), was Lord of Marnay and d.1277.  (Genealogist, n.s.xxi, 1, &c.  Birch 6059.)

Oxford English Dictionary (2nd ed.):
bray (breI), sb.3 Her. Also brey. [a. OFr. braie, braye, *breie, now broie.]

  1. A semicircular figure representing a barnacle or bit to restrain a restive horse.
    1863 C. Boutell Man. Her. 45 Breys, barnacles for a horse's nose, used in breaking the animal. 1864 C. Boutell Her. Hist. & Pop. (ed. 3) xv. 175 Three breys or barnacles in pale or.
  2. (Corresponding to Fr.) A tool used for breaking hemp, used as a bearing.
    1882 Cussans Handbk. Her. 109 A Hemp-brey is really the same instrument as a Horse-brey, except that they were used for different purposes, and that the former is in Armory always represented as being upon a wooden stand.
barnacle ('bA:rn@k(@)l), sb.1 Forms: A. 2 bernac, 5 bernak(e, bernag. ß. 4-6 bernacle, 5 barnakylle, -alle, byrnacle, (6 barneckle, burnacle), 7 -8 barnicle, 9 bernicle, 4- barnacle. [ME. bernak, a. OFr. bernac `camus'; of which bernacle seems to be a dim. form: cf. OFr. bernicles in Joinville c 1275, in sense of the instrument of torture (sense 2) as used by the Saracens, for which Marsh has suggested an oriental origin, comparing Pers. baran-dan to compress, squeeze, baranjah kar-dan to inflict torture. But, so far as evidence goes, 1 was the earliest sense, and of western origin. The sense of `spectacles' seems to arise naturally enough from the others, but has been treated by some as distinct, and referred to OFr. béricle (since 15th c. b ésicle) `eye glass,' originally `beryl':-late L. *bericulus, dim. of beril lus, beryllus: it is not easy to trace any phonetic connexion between this and barnacles, even though the mod.Fr. dialect of Berry has berniques `spectacles.']
  1. A kind of powerful bit or twitch for the mouth of horse or ass, used to restrain a restive animal; later, spec. an instrument consisting of two branches joined by a hinge, placed on the nose of a horse, if he has to be coerced into quietness when being shoed or surgically operated upon.
    A[C. 1200 Neckam De Utensilibus in Wright Voc. 100 Camum (bernac) vel capistrum (chevestre) sponte pretereo. ] C. 1440 Promp. Parv. 33 Bernak for horse [1499 bernakill], chamus. 1468 Medulla Gram. in Cath. Angl. 22 Chamus , a bernag for a hors. A. 1500 in Wülcker Voc./572 Chamus, a bernake. ß1382 Wyclif Prov. xxvi. 3 A scourge to an hors, and a bernacle to an asse. 1387 Trevisa Higden Rolls Ser. I. 353 Þey dryueþ hir hors wiþ a chambre 3erde [virgam cameratam] in þe ouer ende in stede of barnacles. 1483 Cath. Angl. 22/1 Barnakylle, Byrnacle, Barnakalle, camus . 1562 Leigh Armorie (1597) 104 Barnacle..is the chiefest instrument that the smith hath, to make the vntamed horsse gentile. 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts 251 Barnacles..put upon the Horses nose, to restrain his tenacious fury from biting, and kicking. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. i. i. (1862) I. 245 note The horse..being caught by the nose in barnacles. 1831 Youatt Horse xxii. (1872) 457 The barnacles are the handles of the pincers placed over and enclosing the muzzle.
  2. An instrument of torture applied in a similar way. Also fig.
    [1382 Wyclif 2 Kings xix. 28, I schal putten a cercle in thyn noos thrillis and a bernacle [Coverdale, brydle bitt; 1611 bridle] in thi lippis. ] 1625 tr. Gonsalvio's Sp. Inquis. 145 Clapped a Barnacle vpon his tongue, which remained there vntill the fire had consumed it. 1679 Hist. Jetzer Pref., Magistrates may flatter themselves, that with the Barnacles of a strict and well-worded Oath they can hold a Jesuites Nose to the Grind-stone. 1870 Edg ar Runnymede 109 To save my body from the bernicles.
1873 Boutell & Aveling Heraldry Gloss., *Hemp-brake or Hackle, an instrument for bruising hemp.

References

Illustrations

13th century

Wijnbergen roll (c.1280; in Cahiers d'Héraldique II 1975).


 illustration for n.53
 

14th century

Gelre roll (c.1350; in Cahiers d'Héraldique II 1975).

illustration for n. 1604
 

Bellenville roll, c.1390 (in Cahiers d'héraldique V, 1983):
 

Arms of Joinville (geenvile, genvile) 2r21		  
Arms of Kückelsheim (kukulthei')
50v19

15th century



Seal of Féry de Lorraine, comte de Vaudémont and his wife Marguerite de Joinville, from Mémoires de la Société d'archéologie lorraine (1881, p. 86).
 

17th century

From John Gibbon: Introductio ad Latinam Blasoniam (1682)


p. 1, s.v. barnacle ("an instrument used by farriers to curb and command an unruly horse")

From Menestrier: Méthode raisonnée du blason (1761 ed., but illustration is earlier)

18th century

Both pictures come from the plates to Diderot's Encyclopédie.
 

Joinville: d'azur à trois broyes d'or, liées d'argent, mal ordonnées.
Moreilles: d'azur à trois morailles d'argent, posées en fasce l'une sur l'autre.

19th century

From Dictionnaire Encyclopédique Larousse (1898):

s.v. broye


s.v. Joinville

From Rietstap's Armorial Général (2d ed., 1884)

s.v. broyes
 

From Parker's Glossary (1894):
s.v. barnacle ("an instrument used by farriers to curb and command an unruly horse.  It is occasionally borne extended, that is, horizontally.")


s.v. hemp-break
 
 

20th century

Boutell's Heraldry (1950 ed. by C.W. Scott-Giles, but probably taken from the 19th c. editions):


 

Illustration drawn by C. W. Scott-Giles for Brault's Early Blazon (1972, 2d ed. 1997):

It is not clear what the source of the illustration is.