The Family Name

The v. Pressentin Family has its roots in what is today the village of Prestin, in North Germany. In prehistoric times the area was populated by a Slavonic tribe known as the Wends.  Professor Kühnel, perhaps the most respected of all professors for Slavonic Studies, has written that the v. Pressentin family were members of this tribe and that the name Pressentin and that of their estate Prestin has its origins in the words "porstin" or "parstin" which in the language of the Wends means claw and is a direct reference to the claw in the family's coat of arms.

The Christians in western Europe began at the time of the Crusades to spread their influence in heathen eastern Europe.  Around 1150 what is known as the "Wend Crusade" took place and they were converted to Christianity.  It is at this time in a document dated 1163 that the first written evidence of the v. Pressentin family appears.  It seems that the family converted to Christianity and constructed a wooden church in Prestin. Another document from 1184 names the family.  The familys written history begins with a title deed dated 1270 recording Petrus v. Pressentin of Prestin as owner and builder of the church which stands today.
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How the family name became to be written Pressentin and their estate as Prestin is, as Professor Kühnel writes, of no importance.  In the accepted reference work from a Professor Schlie dated 1899 he writes that "the estate Prestin, written 1331 Prescentin, 1348, Preszentin, 1372, Pressentyn has been in the hands of the family since 1270 and without doubt it was in the hands of the v. Pressentin family long before then".  In the Middle Ages spelling was irrelevant because official documents were not signed but sealed with a Seal bearing the holders coat of arms.
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