Un echiquier entre deux tours. I wish I knew the story

All three are French coats of arms of the late 17th c. [at least]. All three from the region of Soissons, two first with the same family name. Never seen a similar theme. A chessboard, even a smaller one, between two towers-rooks [?] [Found in Armorial général de France by Charles René d'Hozier, Vol. 32, Soissons].

Elegant!

Intriguing stuff mate.

Rather fascinating. Is there anywhere or anyone who can explain the use of symbols in heraldry or blasons? 

I am with the peasants!

I think that towers usually are meaning actual towers or a castle. But not sure.

But if it was, wouldn't be known their castle?

For the first two the name is Dambertrand or D'Ambertrand.

Those were smelly times......the peasants could take baths in the river, but the royalty....well, let's just say you could smell them downwind!

"

The art of perfumery was known in western Europe from 1221, taking into account the monks' recipes of Santa Maria delle Vigne or Santa Maria Novella of Florence, Italy.^{[citation needed]} In the east, the Hungarians produced in 1370 a perfume made of scented oils blended in an alcohol solution – best known as Hungary Water – at the behest of Queen Elizabeth of Hungary. The art of perfumery prospered in Renaissance Italy, and in the 16th century the personal perfumer to Catherine de' Medici (1519–1589), Rene the Florentine (Renato il fiorentino), took Italian refinements to France. His laboratory was connected with her apartments by a secret passageway, so that no formulae could be stolen en route. Thanks to Rene, France quickly became one of the European centers of perfume and cosmetics manufacture. Cultivation of flowers for their perfume essence, which had begun in the 14th century, grew into a major industry in the south of France.

Between the 16th and 17th centuries, perfumes were used primarily by the wealthy to mask body odors resulting from infrequent bathing. In 1693, Italian barber Giovanni Paolo Feminis created a perfume water called Aqua Admirabilis,^[13] today best known as eau de cologne; his nephew Johann Maria Farina (Giovanni Maria Farina) took over the business in 1732."- Wikipedia

Well, I'm thinking the turrets represent protection or defense. I have no idea what a chessboard or a chevron depicts. 

From Wikipedia......

"A chevron (also spelled cheveron, especially in older documents) is a V-shaped mark, often inverted. The word is usually used in reference to a kind of fret in architecture, or to a badge or insignia used in military or police uniforms to indicate rank or length of service, or in heraldry and the designs of flags (see flag terminology).

Ancient history

The chevron occurs in early art including designs on pottery and rock carvings. Examples can be found approximately 1800 BC in archaeological recovery of pottery designs from the palace of Knossos on Crete in the modern day country of Greece.^[1]

Sparta (Lacedaemonia (Λακεδαιμονία)) used a capital lambda (Λ) on their shields.

Heraldry

A chevron is one of the ordinaries in heraldry, one of the simple geometrical figures which are the chief images in many coat of arms. It can be subject to a number of modifications including inversion. When the ends are cut off in a way that looks like the splintered ends of a broken piece of wood, with an irregular zig-zag pattern, it is called éclaté.^[2] When shown as a smaller size than standard, it is a diminutive called a chevronel.

Chevrons appeared early in the history of heraldry, especially in Normandy. In Scandinavia the chevron is known as sparre; an early example appears in the arms of Armand desmondly."

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Peasants had no "Coat of Arms", or castles....they had the land, the river, the Sun and each other....

My 5th surname is French.... (Chevremont). I have French ancestors on my father's side. Sometimes I feel it in my music!

Have a good day!

Ok. So they were probably military men. Anyway.

Just attracted my attention this obvious chessboard and not just checkered pattern.

Have a good day too

Maybe it is a symbol of prestige.....as in intellectual ability.

Was he related to Richard Farina (who married Mimi Baez, Joan's sister) and wrote "Pack up Your Sorrows?"

Quite logical.

But it's really rare. I was looking in the volumes of this kinda encyclopedia. Look at least 5 of them totally. Consider about 1000 pages each with 5 blasons on each page. I've tracked only these 3 and another one, totally four, with a chessboard=checkered pattern with borders.

Seemed really unique.

Chevrons are used today as NCO stripes in the army, but I wasn't sure what the represented to the 17th century French.

Chessboards could be just chessboards or they could be something else entirely. At any rate the board between the towers is eye-catching.  

Probably is.....and probably chess was NOT played in every municipality! Any "nobleman" could have someone design a "Code of Arms".....it would make you look a bit more important.....

My ex-wife's family had a Code of Arms....(Italian).....go figure!  It was enough fighting her...she was like an army unto herself!

So it basically means "I have an army".....any growing French  (or Italian, for that matter) munioipality could make itself look more prosperous or important by adopting a "Code of Arms", a symbol to be put on its soldier's uniform (even if that "army" was a bunch of old farmers dressed up for battle!).

I guess it is important to remember that Italy and France were not always a unified country, but rather a collection of small "kingdoms". On this subject I am definitely NOT an expert. As a matter of fact, I am not an expert on ANY subject!

So, coats of arms were more or less a type of advertising and subject to the same pitfalls?

Yep! 

😂