A record of documented arms, meaning and origin, researched for the Kolda family of Denmark.
J. B. Rietstap, Armorial Général, Gouda: G. B. van Goor Zonen, 1884–87
Blazon (the actual original written record)“D'arg. à une tête de diable de gu., posée de front. C.: la tête.”
The Kolda arms were recorded in Denmark, c. 1722.
Arms such as these were typically recorded in Sjaælland.
Zealand held the Danish court, the crown's offices and Copenhagen itself. Families who served the king kept estates within reach of it, and royal service was the ordinary route to a coat of 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 Denmark in this period.
Reigning in Denmark when the Kolda arms are first recorded.
Danish heraldry during this period was closely tied to noble status and royal favor rather than being open to all citizens. Arms were typically granted by the monarch to individuals, and these symbols were then shared by all members of the noble house. If a family line died out, the right to use those specific arms ended with them.
The Kolda family name finds its historical roots in the region of Sjælland, Denmark, where records confirm the presence of family members as early as 1722. During this period, the name was likely tied to the rural social structures of the Danish countryside, where families often lived and worked on the same land for many generations. Because the name is relatively rare, it suggests that the early Kolda ancestors were part of a localized community that maintained strong ties to their specific village or parish. Life in eighteenth-century Sjælland revolved around agricultural cycles and the strict oversight of local church records, which served as the primary way to track the family’s growth and movement. By studying these early parish registers, historians can see how the Kolda name persisted through the challenges of the agricultural reforms that later reshaped Danish society.
An Old Norse and Danish adjective meaning cold or chilly.
