A record of documented arms, meaning and origin, researched for the Freeburg family of Switzerland.
J. B. Rietstap, Armorial Général, Gouda: G. B. van Goor Zonen, 1884–87
Blazon (the actual original written record)“De gu., chapé d'or. C.: un chapeau piramidal de gu., retr. d'or, supp. une boule d'or, sommée d'une panache de plumes de coq de sa.”
The Freeburg arms were recorded in Switzerland, c. 1745.
Arms such as these were typically recorded in Bern.
Bern was the largest of the Swiss cantons and ran itself, with its own council and its own courts. Its governing families held office for generations, and office of that kind carried a shield with it.
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 Switzerland in this period.
In Switzerland, coats of arms were not restricted to the nobility and were often adopted by common citizens and families. These symbols were passed down through generations to show family identity. When branches of a family grew, they often changed small details of the design to distinguish their own line from the original group.
The family name Freeburg is an anglicized version of the Swiss-German surname Freiberg, which translates literally to "free mountain" or "free hill." Historical records confirm that members of this family were established in the city of Bern by 1745, a time when the region was a center of trade and political influence within the Old Swiss Confederacy. During the eighteenth century, families with this name were often associated with the skilled artisan class or landholding citizens who played a role in the local governance of the Swiss cantons. As the family grew, some members moved through the German-speaking territories of Europe before eventually migrating to North America in search of new opportunities. This transition often led to the spelling change from Freiberg to Freeburg, as families adapted their names to better fit the phonetic patterns of the English language.
A free person or citizen living in a fortified town.
