A record of documented arms, meaning and origin, researched for the Rosema family of Germany.
J. B. Rietstap, Armorial Général, Gouda: G. B. van Goor Zonen, 1884–87
Blazon (the actual original written record)“De sa. à un écusson d'or en abîme.”
The Rosema arms were recorded in Westphalia, c. 1765.
Westphalia was a land of small estates and fortified farmhouses in western Germany. Its families were numerous and not especially rich, but each held its own ground, and holding ground was what brought 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 Germany in this period.
Reigning in Germany when the Rosema 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 Rosema family name finds its historical roots in the region of Westphalia, Germany, where records confirm the family was established by at least 1765. During this period, Westphalia was a landscape defined by small farming communities and tight-knit rural villages. The name itself likely originated as a locative surname, which was a common practice at the time to identify individuals by the specific farmstead or geographic feature where they lived. In the local dialect, the prefix "rose" often referred to wild roses or thorny brush, while the suffix "ma" functioned as a regional indicator for a person belonging to a specific household or estate. By living and working on these ancestral lands, early members of the Rosema family were deeply integrated into the agricultural traditions of the Holy Roman Empire. As the family grew, these early settlers helped shape the local community through their contributions to rural life and their adherence to the customs of the Westphalian countryside.
Latin term for dew of the sea or rosemary plant.
