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)“Fascé d'or et de gu. de huit pièces; à l'aigle ép. de sa., br. sur le tout.”
A record of documented arms, meaning and origin, researched for the Stickler family of France.
J. B. Rietstap, Armorial Général, Gouda: G. B. van Goor Zonen, 1884–87
Blazon (the actual original written record)“Fascé d'or et de gu. de huit pièces; à l'aigle ép. de sa., br. sur le tout.”

The Stickler arms were recorded in Picardie, c. 1663.
Picardie lay on the northern road into France and saw armies pass through it repeatedly. Its landowners were soldiers as often as farmers, and a soldier needed a shield he could be recognised by.
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 Stickler carries a history rooted in the linguistic shifts of Northern Europe. While the name is often associated with Germanic origins, records confirm that members of the family were established in the Picardie region of France by 1663. During this period, Picardie served as a vital crossroads for trade and migration between the French interior and the Low Countries. Families living in this area frequently adapted their surnames to match the local dialect, which explains how a name with Germanic roots became integrated into the French administrative records of the seventeenth century. These early Sticklers likely worked as skilled laborers or tradespeople, as the surname itself is derived from a Middle High German term for a person who creates or sharpens tools. By settling in Picardie, the family became part of a diverse social landscape that defined the border regions of France during the reign of King Louis XIV.
A Middle High German verb meaning to stitch or to embroider.