About the Coat of Arms
Even though no formal date exists for the origin of the Verstraete Coat of Arms, the paternal history of the Verstraete family dates back to Belgium as far as the early 1700’s, with a maternal history of the family dating back to Zwolle, the Netherlands, to the mid 1400’s. The current design of the Verstraete Family Coat of Arms is an updated rendering created in the mid 1970’s by Gerrit Verstraete, based on information obtained from his father, Chris Verstraete (1920-2003). It was redesigned and refined in 2009, by Gerrit Verstraete, including proper colours, and adapted to digital format to be included in the Verstraete Family Archives.
Heraldry as an inheritable emblem did not appear in Europe until the middle of the 12th Century. Early heraldic devices were seals representing the owners. The Low Countries were great centres of heraldry in medieval times. Coats of arms in the Netherlands were not controlled by an official heraldic system as in the United Kingdom, nor were they used solely by noble families. Any person could develop and use a coat of arms if they wished to do so, provided they did not usurp someone else's arms, and historically, this right was enshrined in Dutch Roman law. As a result, many merchant families had coats of arms even though they were not members of the nobility. These are sometimes referred to as burrghe arms, and it is thought that most arms of this type were adopted while the Netherlands was a republic (1581-1806). Dutch heraldry is characterized by its simple and rather sober style, and in this sense, is closer to its medieval origins than the elaborate styles which developed in other heraldic traditions. The focus of modern heraldry is the armorial achievement, or the coat of arms, the central element of which is the “escutcheon” or shield.
Traditional rules of heraldry
There is no known colour version of the Verstraete Coat of Arms. However, based on traditional rules of heraldry, the use of tinctures, which are the proper colours used in heraldic design, appropriate colours can be determined for the Verstraete Coat of Arms. When the design was reproduced in a single colour, or black and white in an engraving for example, colours were represented by areas of thin black lines such as horizontal for blue, vertical for red, and diagonal for green. Dots were gold and white was silver. Solid black could be either the colour black or sable. Considering the fact that the Verstraete family had its most durable roots in the city Zwolle, one may presume a predominance of colours from the official coat of arms of the city, namely royal blue and white.
The Verstraete Coat of Arms consists of a shield or crest divided into three horizontal fields. The top field contains three hunting horns. The middle field represents the IJssel River, on which the City of Zwolle is located. On top of the shield is a helmet and the shield is surrounded by leaves or foliage called supporters. The banner and its Latin inscription or motto was not part of the original design. It was added during the mid 1970’s, by Dr. Beert Verstraete. Its Latin inscription reads: convocat nos deus ad societatem vitae, meaning “God calls us to a society of life.”
Using traditional rules of heraldry, most colours can be accurately determined, but some must be envisioned as “looking” proper when no details are available. It was common practice to use natural colours outside the rules of heraldic design, at the discretion of individual owners.
The colours on the Verstraete Coat of Arms are:
1. Overall linear outlines of the design are black. A variation shows a double outline of
black around the shield with gold in between.
2. Hunting horns – dark brown on silver ( envisioned )
3. River – white on royal blue background
4. Field of dots – gold
5. Helmet – silver with gold
6. Leaves or foliage – green ( envisioned with veins in the leaves )
7. Banner – gold with black inscription or motto ( envisioned )
8. Date / Name (1710)- black