A record of documented arms, meaning and origin, researched for the Wolfenstein family of Germany.
J. B. Rietstap, Armorial Général, Gouda: G. B. van Goor Zonen, 1884–87
Blazon (the actual original written record)“Tranché-nébulé d'arg. sur azur. C.: un vol aux armes de l'écu (sur l'aile dextre le tranché est transformé en taillé).”
The Wolfenstein arms were recorded in Swabia, c. 1765.
Swabia was broken into a great many small territories in southern Germany, and each had its own landowners and its own leading townsmen. That fragmentation produced an unusual number of families with 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 Wolfenstein 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 surname Wolfenstein is a topographical name that originated in the German-speaking regions of Central Europe. It combines the German words for wolf and stone, likely referring to a specific geographic location or a fortified residence near a rocky outcrop associated with wolves. By 1765, records confirm that families bearing this name were established in the Swabia region, which covers parts of modern-day southwestern Germany. During this period, the family lived within a society defined by agricultural traditions and the influence of the Holy Roman Empire. The name likely served as a way to identify individuals based on their ancestral home or the landscape of their local community. As the family moved and grew, the name remained a link to their roots in the rugged terrain of the Swabian landscape.
Wolf and stone or rock.
