A "family crest" is a misnomer. The crest is a part of a Coat of Arms. It is an object above the helm. The helm is over the shield. The shield is composed of elements, ie: stars, animals, towers, trees, etc.
A Coat of Arms does not represent a family, rather it represents an individual. However, the heraldic rules for French Coat of Arms require the eldest son to retain the Coat of Arms unchanged, whereas each of the other sons would have different top borders.
The COA hanging in many of the Livaudais homes (roses, stars, and a plant) is not the official COA of the entire Livaudais family. We have found that several of the ancient Esnouls had their COAs officiall registered, but we have not found a registration for a Livaudais COA. The closest we come is that which is described by expert historian/genealogist M. Hervet, in his 1901 study of the Esnoul de Livaudais family.
Hervet describes a window of the home of the Sieur de la Livaudais that bears specific marking, that of the blason. There is a rectangular window on the manor, the upper part of which has a slab
of granite forming a border. This is sculptured in a flamboyant 15th century arch, topped with a Maltese cross.
Engraved in the stone, in the niche formed by the arch, is a fleur de lis that stands out in relief. Iron bars decorate the window with a Maltese cross engraved at the joints where the bars overlapped. On each facing the iron is chiseled in strips, running lengthwise in the direction of the three crosses. The granite framework is ornamented "d'une gorge (molding) qui se double dans l'ogive".
Hervet states that the Coat of Arms of the Sieur de la Livaudais can be established from the characteristics of the ancient window. He says that the fleur de lis found in the top border of the window would be on a blue background, the fleur de lis being silver. The crosses would be
from the Esnoul Coat of Arms (Sr. des Croix, father of Sieur de la Livaudais) and would be on a background of blood red.
But where did this other COA come from? The one with the roses and stars and plant? My
research leads me to believe that it was adopted by the Dugué de Livaudais branch of the family and subsequently spread throughout all the branches of the family.
The crown is that of a Marquis.However the family did not have any member officially with that title. This title was assumed by Marie Celeste Philippe de Marigny de Mandeville after she moved to France following her divorce from Jacques Enoul de Livaudais in 1826.
“The title of marquis ranks in principle immediately after duke, but was so ridiculed by the late 18th century (cf. the phrase "petit marquis" meaning a presumptuous and vain person) that Napoleon omitted it from his own scale of titles. It should also be noted that, in the 17th and 18th centuries, people assumed and used freely coronets of ranks they did not have; and, in the
19th and 20th centuries, great abuse has been made of courtesy titles"
Greg Livaudais
.