A record of documented arms, meaning and origin, researched for the Agricola family of Germany.
J. B. Rietstap, Armorial Général, Gouda: G. B. van Goor Zonen, 1884–87
Blazon (the actual original written record)“D'or au soc de charrue au nat. C.: un homme iss., hab. d'un parti de gu. et d'arg., coiffé d'un bonnet pareil, tenant de sa main dextre étendue le soc de charrue. L.: d'arg. et de sa.”
The Agricola arms were recorded in Nuremberg, c. 1765.
This is where the arms were entered in the register. Families often moved to other parts of the country, so the same name can turn up in more than one region.
The body that granted and recorded arms in Germany in this period.
Reigning in Germany when the Agricola arms are first recorded.
In the Holy Roman Empire, coats of arms were often granted to individuals by the Emperor or his representatives. These arms were then passed down through the generations to all legitimate descendants of the original holder. Younger branches of a family usually kept the same shield design without needing to change it, as the arms belonged to the entire lineage.
The surname Agricola is a Latinized version of the German word for farmer, which is Bauer. During the Renaissance, it was common for scholars, clergy, and professionals to translate their original surnames into Latin to appear more educated or distinguished. By the time the family was firmly established in Nuremberg in 1765, the name had already been in use for centuries across various German-speaking regions. Many people who adopted this name were associated with the intellectual movements of the time, often working as teachers, musicians, or theologians. Because the name was chosen rather than inherited through a single bloodline, it emerged independently in several different locations. This means that families named Agricola often share a common cultural background rooted in the academic traditions of the Holy Roman Empire rather than a single ancestral village.
A Latin word meaning a field or piece of land.
