The peraluminous granitoid intrusions of southern Nova Scotia contain several mineralogical expressions of the excess alumina, including variable amounts of cordierite, in different textural types of granitoids, ranging from fine-grained aplites through coarser grained monzogranites and granodiorites, to very coarse-grained pegmatites. A detailed study of the spatial, textural and chemical characteristics of these cordierites suggests that the majority are of relict metamorphic origin, but that primary magmatic cordierites, as well as cordierites which grew in equilibrium with a water-rich fluid phase, also occur.