Secondary abstract: |
Late medieval society, in the spirit of chivalry and crusades, began to develop family symbols, which were reflected like a painting on shields and are called coats of arms. Initially, the coats of arms were used only by the families that were highest on the social scale, but later, lower noble families began to use them as well. As a result, strict rules were developed that dictated to the nobles what the image of the coat of arms should be. At the end of the 13th century, more or less all families already had their coat of arms, which can be reconstructed today through seals. Seals are the primary starting point for recognizing family coats of arms. A family passed down its symbol, the coat of arms, from generation to generation and changed it only in rare cases. For the nobles, the coat of arms was a tool for confirming the owner's identity and the status symbol he had in society. In Lower Styria, in the 14th century, many noble families were present, who used various motifs for their coat of arms, among which animals and geometric shapes predominated. Among the families, Auffenstein, Kunšperk, Liechtenstein, Maribor, Pfannberg, Ptuj, Stubenberg, Viltuš, Heunburg, Vuzenica, Walsee, and Žovnek families stand out, which are among the most powerful families in Lower Styria in the first century. |