A record of documented arms, meaning and origin, researched for the Eichenauer family of Germany.
J. B. Rietstap, Armorial Général, Gouda: G. B. van Goor Zonen, 1884–87
Blazon (the actual original written record)“Tranché: au 1 de sa. à une”
The Eichenauer arms were recorded in Bavaria, c. 1765.
Bavaria was a country of old landed families and walled market towns. Estates passed down the same line for centuries, and both the landowners and the leading townsmen kept arms, which is why so many Bavarian names sit in the registers.
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 Eichenauer 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 family name Eichenauer is a locative surname that originated in the southern German regions, specifically within the historical borders of Bavaria. The name is derived from the German words "Eiche," meaning oak, and "Aue," which refers to a meadow or a fertile river valley. This suggests that the earliest ancestors likely lived near a prominent oak forest or a meadow marked by oak trees. By the mid-eighteenth century, records confirm that the family was well-established in the Bavarian countryside. During this era, most people in the region were tied to the land through agriculture or forestry, and the name served as a way to identify individuals by the specific landscape they inhabited. As the family grew, they maintained deep roots in these rural communities, passing the name down through generations as a reflection of their connection to the local environment.
A sturdy deciduous tree belonging to the genus Quercus.
