Family history Prince of Schedingen

Prince of Schedingen

The Lords of Schedingen, also called Scheidingen or Scheding, belonged to the Westphalian knightly order. They bore their name after Scheidingen, today a part of Welver near Werl. The first mention of Ritter Antonius von Schedingen appears in 1233 in Certificate a document related to the Count of Arnsberg. This placed the family at the center of the dense network of counts, spiritual lords, and burghers that characterized medieval Westphalia.

The seat is associated with the family of Haus Aul in Scheidingen. From there, the lords managed their estates, performed armed service, and witnessed legal transactions. Especially in the sphere of influence of the Cologne archbishops, members repeatedly appear as Urkundewitnesses. Such tasks required trust and good regional connections; they represent a family whose importance was based less on a large principality than on reliable presence in administration and the nobility.

It Coat of arms was unmistakable: In a silver shield lay a gold-black-shaped diagonal bar. On the helmet appeared an open silver fly whose wings repeated the chess motif. The clear design made the origin and belonging visible even without a written name.

Around the middle of the 15th century, the seat of the family changed hands. Johann von Scheidingen still served as Droste zu Werl in 1538, thus holding a responsible administrative position. At the same time, traces lead to Riga and Livland. There, Scheding is mentioned as a councilor in the 15th and 16th centuries; in the St. Peter Church they possessed an ancestral burial site that later passed to the Ulenbrock family. Thus, the family history stretched from Hellweg to the Hanseatic East Sea region.

A historical title of nobility is not documented for the Schedingen family. Their actual legacy lies in their work as knights, officials, and city council members. Local history, archival records, and the chess coat of arms preserve their memory to this day.

Sources: City Archives Werl, State Archives of North Rhine-Westphalia, Internet portal Westphalian History, Wappenbook about Westphalian nobility

Family coat of arms of Prince of Schedingen

This Coat of arms is based on the historical traditional coat of arms of the Westphalian noble family of Schedingen, also known as Scheidingen. The title of the prince is not documented as a historical rank of this family; the traditional Coat of armselements were unchanged and were taken as the heraldic basis.

The silver shield is crossed by a wide diagonal bar, whose fields are alternately black and golden. Above the shield stands a dark tournament helmet with black-silver helm covers. As a decorative element, an open silver eagle is displayed.

The Lords of Schedingen or Scheidingen were a Westphalian noble family from Scheidingen near Werl and have been documented since the 13th century.

Sources: Max von Spießen, Volume 1, Görlitz 1901–1903, page 111, Volume 2, page 276. Wikimedia Commons, after the Wappenbook by the Westphalian nobility. Rudolf Preising, Münster 1970.