German coat of arms roll
The German Wappenrolle (PWR) is one of the non-profit association HEROLD register kept by German arms . On application and after examination in heraldic , genealogical and legal aspects, civil and noble family coats of arms, traditional and newly established coats of arms are registered in it. A certificate with a picture of the coat of arms is issued for the entry . The publication takes place in the book series "Deutsche Wappenrolle" published by HEROLD, in which a total of 78 volumes and a general register of the coat of arms donors had appeared by 2018.
task
Since the emergence of the coat of arms in the high Middle Ages, not only the nobility, but also citizens and farmers have had family coats of arms . The civil coat of arms was never subject to a sovereign state regulation in Germany, so that everyone is free to accept a family coat of arms. In this respect, the coat of arms is diverse. The HEROLD, Association for Heraldry, Genealogy and Related Sciences in Berlin, founded in 1869, as the oldest nationally operating non-profit professional association in Germany, has been taking care of this civil coats of arms and the registration of existing and newly accepted coats of arms since 1922.
This registration of the coat of arms is associated with free scientific information and further efforts to maintain the coat of arms (lectures, seminars on the "Certified Heraldist", conferences, publications). Knowledge of the origin, history and development of the coat of arms is spread as well as heraldically correct and graphically qualified coats of arms representations, especially in the case of new creations.
Practiced heraldic law
While there are statutory regulations for state and municipal coats of arms in Germany, the customs of the family coat of arms are based on customary law and have grown over time. Everyone is free to donate a family coat of arms . If this is to meet with acceptance, the founder would do well to know and observe the rules of heraldry and graphic presentation as well as the usual practices for determining the group of those authorized to manage the coat of arms.
In addition, an already existing coat of arms image cannot simply be adopted ( heraldic fraud ): Not all bearers of a family name are related to one another or belong to one family, rather there are several families with the same name. However, coats of arms that were originally unchecked are registered after a test procedure from a genealogical and heraldic point of view - e.g. with necessary heraldic improvement - so that a possible family identity that has grown through prolonged use of such a coat of arms can be taken into account.
To protect against possible erroneous and improper use as well as to provide archival evidence, it is advisable to register a family coat of arms in a coat of arms scroll and publish it in a widely used printing organ such as the German coat of arms of the HEROLD.
Coat of arms registration
The HEROLDs committee for the German coat of arms is elected by the general assembly of the HEROLD for three years and decides on the inclusion, certification and publication of family coats of arms in the German coat of arms. He works on a voluntary basis and consists of employees with heraldic , genealogical and legal competence.
The submitted coat of arms will be checked in terms of heraldry, coat of arms law and genealogy or developed in an advisory process. After a successful procedure, the coat of arms is documented and the applicant (co-founder) receives a letter of coat of arms as a documentary confirmation of the registration. The coats of arms registered in the DWR are published in print in the book series of the same name. A fee is charged for registration, letter of arms and publication.
The work of the HEROLDs committee is based on the statute of the PWR.
Registration principles
Family coats of arms from the German cultural area are registered in the German coat of arms. Family coats of arms represent the historically evolved identity of the founding family in the picture over the generation of the founder. This means that they are tied to the family name. The principle of exclusivity “One family - one coat of arms” applies. Thereafter, according to historical grown common law an existing crest and in practice of heraldic clubs and societies of a family of only moderate affinity of these family members carriers (derivatives) are guided the family name. As a rule, a new coat of arms can only be donated if the founder does not belong to a family that already has a coat of arms. Family research is therefore faced with the decision on a coat of arms foundation. In order to strengthen family ties over time, the Wappenstiftung is concerned with management rights that include other branches of the family as far back as possible in the direction of the progenitor and that can be considered an offer to previously unknown relatives based on the common family identity. The family identity can traditionally be passed on with the establishment of a management authorization for the coat of arms in the male trunk or in accordance with the legal regulations on the family name in the name trunk, which expands the group of authorized leaders. The “passing on” (not inheritance) of the family coat of arms is on the one hand bound to the passing on of the family name, on the other hand strictly to the actual descendants or their legal equality (adoption). In this respect, the “marriage” of a coat of arms with the family name and its transfer to one's own relatives without a genealogical connection is not possible.
The German coat of arms also includes family coats of arms that are already registered in another coat of arms after a corresponding test procedure and any necessary correction. State or municipal coats of arms protected by sovereign law cannot be incorporated into family coats of arms either in their entirety or in essential figures.
In addition to the German coat of arms, which records family coats of arms, the HEROLD has been running the German local coat of arms (DOWR) since 2011 , in which the coats of arms of towns and districts are documented and registered.
Publications
The coats of arms registered in the German coat of arms have been published since 1927, initially in loose succession in the association's magazine Der Deutsche Herold . Since 1936 they appear in the book series Deutsche Wappenrolle , which is distributed as a publisher's publication (from 1949 to vol. 69 (2005) by Verlag Degener & Co. Neustadt ad Aisch / Insingen, from vol. 70 (2006) by CA Starke in Limburg ad Lahn). After the coats of arms up to vol. 72 (2009) were still shown in the classic heraldic hatching , they appear in color since vol. 73 (2013) after a break due to the technical preparations.
literature
- Handbook of Heraldry. Wappenfibel , ed. vom HEROLD, 19th edition, arr. by Ludwig Biewer . Neustadt an der Aisch 1998.
- Coat of arms today - future of heraldry? A historical auxiliary science between art and science. Contributions of the joint conference of the section historical auxiliary sciences of the HEROLD and the HEROLDs committee for the German coat of arms roll on April 24th 2009 in the archive of the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft in Berlin-Dahlem , ed. by Lorenz Friedrich Beck (†), Regina Rousavy and Bernhart Jähnig . Limburg an der Lahn 2014 (= HEROLD studies. Volume 9).
- Dieter Müller-Bruns: About the principles of the so-called coat of arms law.
- Jürgen Arndt : The coat of arms, its workshops and their owners. A look into the heraldic subculture. Neustadt an der Aisch 1997.
Web links
- Information on the German coat of arms in GenWiki .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Several editions, most recently: General register for the German coat of arms 1920–2001. Published by the “Herold” Association for Heraldry, Genealogy and Related Sciences in Berlin. Edited by the Herolds Committee of the German Wappenrolle with the participation of Bernd Riechey. 3rd expanded and supplemented edition. Neustadt an der Aisch 2003, ISBN 3-7686-8060-6 .