Kloosterman Coat of Arms

Do We Have a Coat of Arms?

Do we have a Coat of Arms? That is one of the most frequently asked questions by people who are investigating our family tree. It comes immediately after the most common question of all: How many years have you gone back already?

Although my documented Kloosterman ancestry can be traced back to the sixteenth century, with earlier fifteenth-century sources providing possible historical antecedents, I have never found evidence of an ancestral Kloosterman Coat of Arms. In the Netherlands, however, anyone is entitled to bear a coat of arms, whether old or newly designed, in his or her own right. Special permission from an official heraldic college or institute is not required. This does not mean, however, that one is free simply to adopt and bear any existing coat of arms.

Coats of Arms in the Netherlands

It is a good heraldic custom not to bear another family’s coat of arms. The coats of arms of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, its provinces and municipalities, as well as those of the Dutch nobility, are legally protected. They are conferred or confirmed by Royal Decree and registered by the High Council of Nobility (Hoge Raad van Adel).

Since 1971, the Dutch Central Bureau for Genealogy (Centraal Bureau voor Genealogie, CBG) in The Hague has offered, under certain conditions, the possibility of registering coats of arms of families originating in the Netherlands or of Dutch families living abroad. Although such registration does not in itself provide legal protection, registration and publication help to protect a family coat of arms against inappropriate use by others, both in the Netherlands and abroad. In Dutch heraldic tradition, a coat of arms belongs to a particular family lineage and not simply to everyone who happens to bear the same surname.

So, a Kloosterman Coat of Arms?

So, a Kloosterman Coat of Arms? No! And yet — yes. Looking through the history of my ancestors, it became clear to me that there was no tradition of nobility. They were predominantly farmers, craftsmen and working people. They stood firmly on the working side of life and, as far as the records show, were never particularly wealthy. It was therefore hardly surprising that I found no historical family crest.

But the absence of an old coat of arms does not mean that a family cannot create one of its own. In 2005, I therefore decided to design a Coat of Arms for my own Kloosterman family, based not on imaginary noble origins but on our actual family history.

Designing the Kloosterman Coat of Arms

In designing the Coat of Arms, I received advice and assistance on the heraldic aspects from H. K. Nagtegaal, one of the Netherlands’ heraldic experts and at that time head of the heraldic department of the Central Bureau of Genealogy. The design was created according to the traditional rules and conventions of heraldry, so that although it was a newly designed family coat of arms, it would be heraldically correct.

For me, that was important. The Coat of Arms was not intended to suggest a noble ancestry that never existed, but rather to provide a heraldic symbol for the history and continuity of our own family — a family whose story can be followed through generations of farmers, craftsmen and working people in Zeeland and, later, elsewhere in the Netherlands and abroad.

Official Registration in 2005

The Kloosterman Coat of Arms strictly follows the traditional heraldic rules and conventions. It was officially registered with the heraldic department of the Dutch Central Bureau of Genealogy (CBG) under certificate no. 945. The certificate was issued by the Director of the CBG on 8 August 2005.

Thus, the answer to the original question remains a slightly paradoxical one. Did the Kloosterman family historically possess a Coat of Arms? No. Does our branch of the Kloosterman family have one today? Yes — a modern family Coat of Arms, designed in accordance with heraldic tradition and officially registered in 2005.

The Origin of the Kloosterman Name

The history behind the name takes us much further back. In 1246 Wolfaard van Maelstede founded the Augustinian nunnery of Jerusalem at Biezelinge, in Zeeland in the south-western Netherlands. The convent was established on land that would remain associated with the monastery for centuries. During the religious upheavals of the sixteenth century, the nunnery was destroyed in 1572, probably by the Geuzen, the Dutch Protestant rebels, under the command of Jérôme Tseraerts. In 1578, after receiving permission from her Vicar-General, the prioress Cathelina Meskens sold the remaining property, after which the land was leased out.

The parcels associated with the former convent continued to be known as het Clooster — “the Cloister” or “the Monastery”. It is in this landscape around Kapelle and Biezelinge that the earliest history of the family name must be sought.

The earliest individuals associated with the later family history include Claes and his son Jan Claesz., who lived and worked in the Kapelle-Biezelinge area during the second half of the sixteenth century. In 1583 Jan Claesz. is associated with the place, and in 1618 we encounter the particularly significant designation Cornelis Jansz. op ’t Clooster — literally, “Cornelis, son of Jan, at the Cloister”. There was probably a farm in the immediate vicinity of the former monastery lands.

From “Op ’t Clooster” to Kloosterman

This geographical designation gradually developed into a hereditary family name. Descendants came to be known as Cloosterman, literally a man associated with or living by the cloister, and eventually the modern spelling Kloosterman became established. By around the eighteenth century, the spelling with a K had become increasingly customary.

The name therefore appears to preserve something very tangible from the landscape in which our ancestors lived. What began as an indication of where a man lived or worked — op ’t Clooster — gradually became the surname carried by his descendants. Long after the medieval nunnery itself had disappeared, its memory survived in the name of the land and, ultimately, in the name of the family.

That makes the Kloosterman Coat of Arms designed in 2005 more than merely a decorative heraldic emblem. It represents a family whose origins were not found in castles or noble houses, but among the people who lived and worked on the land of Zeeland. From het Clooster at Biezelinge, through Cornelis Jansz. op ’t Clooster, to the generations who eventually carried the name Kloosterman, the Coat of Arms has become a modern symbol of that long family continuity.

Symbolism of the Kloosterman Coat of Arms

The crest is the rising lion of Zeeland, because the roots of the Kloosterman family are in Zeeland.
The horizontally undulating bar on the Chief is Gules (red) because the Jerusalem Nunnery was destroyed during 16th-century iconoclastic fury by fire and sword probably by the Geuzen “Dutch protestant rebels” under command of Jerome Seraerts.

The Jerusalem Cross Or (gold) on the left stands for the foundation of the Jerusalem Nunnery in 1246 by Wolfaard van Maelstede and the Jerusalem Cross Or (gold) on the right symbolizes the Victorin nuns and the destruction of the cloister.

The Scallop Shell Or (gold) in the middle is a link to me, because I am living in a house called “Het Pelgrimshuys” (The House of the Pilgrims) and have traveled to far away places. The Pelgrimshuys was also called St. Jacobs House and was a hospice that gave shelter to the pilgrims during the journey to Santiago de Compostela in the Middle ages. St. Jacob was the patron and protector of all pilgrims and travelers, the shell is an emblem of safe travel and is found on the shields of many families during the time of the crusades. The Scallop Shell symbolizes also all the members of the Kloosterman family who emigrated like “the Pilgrim fathers” before them to America and protected them on their long journey. And last the Scallop Shell is also a symbol for loyalty which I find very important in live.

On the Barry wavy of six Argent and Sable (six black and and silver horizontally undulating bars). The black and and silver undulating bars symbolizes the sea and waves and the ongoing threat and struggle of the people of Zeeland against the water.

Below the shield the family motto “Sic Transit Gloria Mundi” meaning “So the glory of the world passes” because nothing in this world and live is permanent.

In this way the shield symbolizes the history of the Kloosterman family though the ages and leads back to the present and me, the 14e generation Kloosterman and binds me to the family members abroad.

Used Symbols:

Jerusalem Cross
This sign is also known as the Crutch Cross, the Jerusalem Cross, or the Crusader’s Cross. This complex form is composed of a central cross made of four Tau crosses representing the Old Testament law. The Tau Cross (in the shape of the Greek letter “T”), was an implement of deadly torture used by the Romans in Palestine during the 1st century. This style of cross is believed to be the type used to crucify Jesus. The four small crosses are symbolic of the four Gospels proclaimed to the four corners of the earth, beginning in Jerusalem; the large cross symbolizes the person of Christ. Others have interpreted it to represent the missionary work of the church – spreading the gospel to the four corners of the earth. Still others have acknowledged the five crosses to represent the five wounds of Christ on the cross (hands, feet and side).

The Jerusalem Cross was first used as a coat of arms for the Latin Kingdom in Jerusalem. During the Crusades, it was referred to as the “Crusaders Cross.” This is the cross that was on the papal banner given to the crusaders by Pope Urban II in the middle ages. The Kingdom of Jerusalem was established in 1098, when the members of the First Crusade captured Jerusalem and elected Godfrey of Bouillon, duke of Lower-Lorraine, as king of Jerusalem. The city was taken back by the Muslims in 1291.

The Scallop shell
The scallop shell is one of the most widely used heraldic symbols in all countries. Before the days of heraldry the symbol was the emblem of St. James, the patron saint of pilgrims and consequently the escallop became a badge worn by all pilgrims attached to hook or hat. The scallop shell symbol found its way into as a badge of those who had been on the pilgrimage to Compostela.

The origin of the scallop shell as the badge of the pilgrim to Compostella is open to more than one explanation. Found in abundance along northern Spanish beaches, the scallop shell has become closely intertwined with the Camino de Santiago. The shell is carved into the walls and fittings of this parish and adorns the church’s stationary. Practical observers argue that the shell was adopted merely as a device for sipping water from streams along the way. If this is so, it quickly took on greater meaning even to the earliest pilgrims.

The scallop design symbolizes the many European starting points from which medieval pilgrims began their journey, all drawn to a single point at the base of the shell, Santiago de Compostela.
The escallop was introduced into armory to signify a soldier who had made long journeys or voyages to far countries, borne considerable naval command, or gained great victories. It is an emblem of safe travel and is found on the shields of many families during the time of the crusades. Because its shells, once separated, can never be rejoined, the escallop is also an emblem of fidelity.

Designed:
Designed in june 2005 for every name bearer from the descendants of Claes, Jan Claesz en Cornelis Jansz op `t Clooster from Zeeland.

Designer:
The shield is designed by Cees Kloosterman with advice and help on the heraldic and aesthetic aspect by H.K. Nagtegaal. who also designed the crest, helmet and mantle.

Registration:
Number CBG: No. 945
Date registration: 8 August 2005