Family Branch - v. Pressentin genannt v. Rautter
The v. Pressentin coat of arms is of prehistoric origins. In the later middle ages the Sovereign began formally granting coats of arms recognising military services. In the 17th and 18th centuries this practice was extended to include merchant families and in the 19th and 20th centuries industrialists, inventors, and benefactors were enobled. In England such Knighthoods are still awarded although they are no longer hereditary. A coat of arms has to be unique so the designs became more complicated. The older the family the simpler the coat of arms. The portrayal of an animal, bird or tree and the use of only two colours, such as in the v. Pressentin coat of arms, is a good example.
In 1814 Gustav v. Rautter fell in the war against Napoleon. In 1833 his only child Auguste married Otto Bernhard II v. Pressentin. The family v. Rautter were Prussian they petitioned the King of Prussia to allow them to bear a new family name "v. Pressentin genannt v. Rautter" (similar to a hyphenated name) so that the name Rautter did not die out and a new coat of arms was granted for the name.
In 1913, on the 100th anniversary of the war against Napoleon, it was Kaiser Wilhelm II who granted Christoph v. Pressentin genannt v. Rautter the title Graf v. Rautter Wilkamm. His estate was "Willkamm" hence the title Count v. Rautter of Willkamm. This title was hereditary and would then pass to his eldest son and a new coat of arms was awarded. The other sons and daughters continued to carry the name v. Pressentin genannt v. Rautter.
v. Pressentin genannt v. Rautter
Count v. Rautter of Willkamm
The coat of arms awarded to the branch v.Pressentin genannt v. Rautter combines the features of both families, the griffin's claw and a symbol representing a tree trunk with three sawn off branches. It is an example of the coat of arms of "newer families" as is that of Graf v. Rautter Willkamm which includes now a coronet.
