The picture below was sent in by Eric du-Trieux de Terdonck, an Association 'friend' in Belgium (yes, Europe) who found us through this website. In his e-mails to me, he has written:
"My name is Eric du Trieu de Terdonck and I am living in Belgium. This is the homeland of the family. I am one of the last survivor of the family which is not so great (more or less 30 people).
"I have 3 view of my coat of arm: 2 are coming from books of the last century and one is an Ex-libris from a "Chanoine" (in english : Canon ??). You will notice the difference into the spelling of the name which was Du Trieu, DuTrieu de Terdonckt or Dutrieu de Terdonckt and which was modified during the years. Please note that the family sentence (as indicated into the coat of arms) is "Bien faire et ne rien craindre".
This coat of arms is essentially identical to the Coat of Arms #1, which was documented and diagrammed by Theodore de T. Truax in his early research. It's background is white, with crisp colors. See below for details about this diagram and coloring.
NOTE: I've left the image at it's original type (jpg) and size (63K) to keep the complete quality that was sent to me. You may save this image to your computer, and edit or print it out. It makes a nice picture when matted and framed !
EXPLANATION OF THE COAT OF ARMS
(from Theodore Theodore de T. Truax's documents, around 1907)The escutcheon or shield which contains the heraldic devices, is azure; represented by horizontal parallel lines.
The stirrup, occupying the honor point, represented as white, is silver; while the ribbon attached to it is red; denoted by parallel curved lines.
The stars occupying the base, sinister, and dexter points are gold; represented by stipplings within the stars.
The helmet, resting on the escutcheon, is the mark of a knight, or a warrior; and is emblazoned with gold, silver and red.
The crest which surmounts the helmet, represents the bust of a knight or warrior crowned with a toque of azure velvet, indicating the rank of a peer.
The summary would be--from the heraldic devices--that a knight or warrior known as "Dutrieu de Terdonckt", with the rank of a peer, represented with a stirrup suspended from his dexter hand; won victory while in the stirrup on the field of battle, and was rewarded--at different times--by a gold star of six radiating points.