A record of documented arms, meaning and origin, researched for the Heinrich family of Germany.
J. B. Rietstap, Armorial Général, Gouda: G. B. van Goor Zonen, 1884–87
Blazon (the actual original written record)“D'azur à un chicot au nat., posé en fasce. C.: deux branches de frêne de sin., accostées et mouv. d'un chicot en fasce.”
The Heinrich arms were recorded in Holstein, c. 1765.
Holstein was farming country between the North Sea and the Baltic, held in large estates. The same families kept the same land for generations, and generations of holding is what fills a register.
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 Heinrich 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 name Heinrich is a classic German given name that eventually evolved into a common surname. It originates from the Old High German name Heimerich, which combines the words for home and ruler. This means the name essentially translates to ruler of the home or master of the house. By the time your ancestors were living in the region of Holstein in 1765, the name had been used for centuries across Germanic lands. Families often adopted the name as a surname to honor a prominent ancestor who held that name as a first name. Life in 18th-century Holstein was shaped by the rural landscape and the complex political shifts between Denmark and the German states. As your family established their roots there, they were part of a long tradition of people who carried this name through generations of agricultural and community life in Northern Germany.
Derived from Germanic elements meaning home and ruler.
