A record of documented arms, meaning and origin, researched for the Hartill family of England.
Sir Bernard Burke, The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, London: Harrison & Sons, 1884
Blazon (the actual original written record)“Barry of six ar. and vert”
The Hartill arms were recorded in England, c. 1620.
Arms such as these were typically recorded in York.
Yorkshire is the largest of the English counties, and it held more gentry families than any other. Land there was split among a great many households rather than a few, so a great many of them carried arms.
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 England in this period.
Reigning in England when the Hartill arms are first recorded.
English heraldry allowed arms to be shared by all legitimate descendants of the original owner. These symbols were treated as personal property that moved through the generations to all children. While the eldest son kept the original design, other family members could use the same shield without needing to change it or register their own unique versions.
The family name Hartill is a locational surname that likely originated from a small settlement or a specific geographical feature in England. The name is composed of two Old English elements, with "hart" referring to a male deer and "hill" describing a prominent piece of rising ground. This suggests that the earliest ancestors to carry the name were people who lived near a hill frequented by stags. By the year 1620, records confirm that members of the Hartill family were well-established in the city of York. During this period, York served as a major northern hub for trade and administration, meaning the family was likely involved in the urban economy or the local craft guilds that defined life in the city. As the family grew, they moved beyond their original home, but their presence in York provides a clear link to the social and historical fabric of seventeenth-century England.
Old English words for stag and hill.
