Coats of arms of noble families in lower styria in the first century of habsburg supremacy

Pozno srednjeveška družba je v duhu viteštva in križarskih pohodov pričela razvijati rodbinske simbole, ki so se odražali kot poslikava na ščitih in jih imenujemo grbi. Sprva so grbe uporabljale le rodbine, ki so bile najvišje na družbeni lestvici, kasneje pa so grbe pričele uporabljati tudi nižje plemiške rodbine. Posledično so se razvila stroga pravila, ki so plemičem velevala, kakšna sme biti podoba grba. Konec 13. stoletja so imele več ali manj vse rodbine že svoj grb, ki jih danes lahko rekonstruiramo preko pečatov. Pečati so namreč temeljno izhodišče za prepoznavanje rodbinskih grbov. Rodbina je rodbinski simbol, se pravi grb, prenašala iz roda v rod in ga spreminjala le v redkih primerih. Grb je bil za plemiče orodje za potrjevanje lastnikove identitete in statusnega simbola, ki ga je imel v družbi. Na Spodnjem Štajerskem je v 14. stoletju bilo prisotnih ogromno število plemiških rodbin, ki so na heraldičnem polju uporabljali razgibano paleto različnih motivov, med katerimi prevladujejo predvsem živali in geometrijske oblike. Med rodbinami izstopajo predvsem Aufensteinski, Kunšperški, Lichtensteinski, Mariborski, Pfanberški, Ptujski, Stubenberški, Viltuški, Vovbrški, Vuzeniški, Walseejski in Žovneški, ki spadajo med posestno in politično najmočnejše rodbine na Spodnjem Štajerskem v prvem stoletju habsburške nadoblasti.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\u27s 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