2007-02-11 19:29:55 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ Genealogy
Only a handful of Central European families actually had a family crest. Even if there is a crest, it only passes only to the oldest son of the oldest son of the oldest son. Even the children of the second son or of the oldest daughter have no claim to the use of the heraldry. So even if you do find a crest for a given name, it doesn't belong to everyone who has that surname. This is why you'll often find two or three crests for a given name...one for the legitimate heir, one for military use of everyone in a given town fighting for the crown or noble, and one for a man who distinguished himself even if he wasn't the oldest son.
The legitimate colors under which most of our ancestors fought were the colors of the ruling family of their town, province or region. If you ever pay close attention to the sites that sell family crests, you'll notice how many of them are showing the same shield for multiple families. In a nutshell, they figured out that there's a lot of money to be made in selling people a pipe dream, whether there's any legitimacy to it or not.
2007-02-11 23:50:47 · answer #1 · answered by GenevievesMom 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Pavia is a city in Lombardy in Northern Italy. It will have various coats associated with it. These are commonly derived from the ruler. (The Holy Roman Emperor, The Visconti's)These might be partially fixed in the recent past. As a surname it may just imply that the bearer was from there and may not be armigerious themselves.
2007-02-12 04:00:07 · answer #2 · answered by colinchief 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If GenevievesMom reads this, wow, you really know your stuff, is it possible to get an email or IM to ask you a few questions?
2007-02-12 16:26:21 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can look it up at:
http://www.free-coat-of-arms.com
2007-02-12 15:17:28 · answer #4 · answered by Mike 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋