Coat of Arms & Family Crest Details
J. B. Rietstap, Armorial Général, Gouda: G. B. van Goor Zonen, 1884–87
Blazon (the actual original written record)“D'arg. à deux merlettes de sa. en chef et une quintefeuille de gu. en p.”
A record of documented arms, meaning and origin, researched for the Henslin family of France.
J. B. Rietstap, Armorial Général, Gouda: G. B. van Goor Zonen, 1884–87
Blazon (the actual original written record)“D'arg. à deux merlettes de sa. en chef et une quintefeuille de gu. en p.”

The Henslin arms were recorded in Soissonnais, c. 1663.
Soissonnais was northern French country on the road to Paris, crossed by armies again and again. Its families held land in return for service, and service in arms brought a shield.
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.
In France, a coat of arms was a mark of honor that passed down through the male line to all legitimate descendants. Families often used the same shield without changes to show their shared heritage. If a branch wanted to stand out, they could add a small mark to their shield to show their specific place in the family tree.
The family name Henslin traces its historical roots to the Soissonnais region of northern France, where records confirm the family was established by 1663. During the seventeenth century, this area was a vital agricultural and cultural hub located near the Aisne River. Families in this region often lived in small, tightly knit rural communities that revolved around local parish life and seasonal farming cycles. The name itself likely evolved from regional naming customs common to the borderlands of the Frankish territories, where Germanic and French linguistic influences frequently blended. By settling in the Soissonnais, the early members of the Henslin family became part of a long-standing tradition of provincial life that defined the social landscape of the French countryside during the reign of King Louis XIV.
A diminutive form of Johannes meaning God is gracious.
