Vilain XIIII

Vilain XIIII
noble family
Coat of Arms
Country	Belgium

Vilain and Vilain XIIII (pronounced Vilain-Quatorze [vilɛ̃ katɔʁz], sometimes written with the more standard Roman numerals Vilain XIV) is a Belgian noble family. Their coat of arms is basically "Sable, on a chief argent a label of the field" (French: De sable, au chef d'argent chargé d'un lambel du champ), a colour scheme that is present from the earliest Vilains in the 15th century, and is also seen in the Vilain XIIII arms, which have the "XIIII" added to it.

They were descendants of the important medieval family of Vilain in Ghent; the name "Vilain XIIII" probably comes from the coat of arms of Philippe de Liedekercke, chamberlain of emperor Charles V, who had 16 quarters in his coat, the fourteenth (bottom row, second from the left) of which was the coat of Vilain.^[1]

The three main branches of the family were the Princes of Issenghien (the De Gand, dite Vilain branch), the Counts of Aalst (the Vilain XIIII branch), and the Counts of Guines (originally also De Gand dite Vilain, later Vander Steene).

One branch lived at the Chateau of Leut (or Leuth) from 1822 until 1922, when the last of 7 daughters of Vicomte Charles Vilain XIIII died. The oldest mentions of "Villain XIIII" date back to the 16th century, but its origin is unknown. Politically, they were usually part of either the Catholic parties, or the Liberal parties. The first known generations were politicians (often bailiff or mayor) in Geraardsbergen and Aalst; the family also owned the county of Wetteren until 1796, and the city coat of arms still bears the XIIII of the family.^[2]