The Hause Coat of Arms

Hausen
Hausler
   The practice of heraldry arose in Western Europe in the middle of the twelfth century. It comprises the use on a shield of patterns which are definable, recognizable and hereditary. There were two causes for this development. In the first place, helmets were covering more and more of the wearer's face making his identification in battle difficult. Secondly, increasing employment of documents called for a visual means of identification; in an age when literacy was almost confined to the clergy, a seal was more use than a signature. To reproduce on the seal the same pattern as that on the shield was commonplace.
   Then, during the Crusades, warfare in the heat of Palestine encouraged the wearing of a linen covering or surcoat over the chainmail of the day; it was an easy and an obvious step to repeat on this the pattern from the shield; and from this is derived the English phrase 'coat-of-arms'. Each generation of the family adapts their coat of arms to differentiate jobs, accomplishments, and each person's place in the family. Two royal lines of the "Haus" family are displayed here, the first being the Hausler line, at left, featuring a fleur-de-lis (denoting French Royalty, or the conquerer of French Royalty), and the blue version at right, a blue shield with three silver sicles, handles gold, was originally registered in the Reitstap's "Armorial General" to the Hausen Barons of Saxony.
   The first known Hause coat-of-arms was documented in a Reitstap Armorial in 1637, under "Elsaessische" ("Alsatians"). The description of the family arms (shield) in the Reitstap Armorial General is as follows:

"De gu, a la fasce d'arg; A trois cotices du meme, br. Sur le tout."

   When translated, the blazon describes the original colors of the Hause Arms as: "Red: A silver middle third behind three narrow silver diagonal bands." (The language in heraldic blazon texts is Norman-French, as they controlled much of Europe at the time, and English and other languages didn't evolve locally until the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. But the language of heraldry remained very French-influenced after that, anyway.
   Above the shield and helmet is the crest, which is described as: "A pyramidal cap of red with a silver brim, topped with three ostrich plumes; one silver between two red." The fesse is a military belt or girdle of honor; it represents readiness to serve.
   The red color in the family crest celebrates distinguished military service, while the argent (white or silver) symbolizes peace and sincerity. The panache of peacock feathers on top of the helmet signifies willing obedience and serenity, and the closed helmet denotes an esquire or private gentleman.
   Johan Christian Haus' arms are displayed in the book, The House Family of the Mohawk. The argent is still present, but the military red has been replaced by sable (black—the color that symbolizes grief and mourning), and the pine cone shape of the feathers stands for re-birth:

Johan Christian Haus' Coat of Arms, as displayed in the book, "The House Family of the Mohawk," by Melvin Rhodes Shaver:

HERALDIC DESCRIPTION:
   Arms: Argent (silver or white)—a fesse sable (black—in engraving it is represented by perpendicular and horizontal lines crossed).
   Crest: A plume of feathers in the form of a pine-cone, charged with the arms (colors) of the shield.

SYMBOLIC DESCRIPTION:
   The shield is silver. In heraldry this denotes purity, justice and peace.  The fesse represents the girdle worn over the armor by officials of rank at certain important court functions. It symbolizes solidity and strength.
   The feathers of the crest indicate the idea of will to bend but not break; "No force can alter the armsbearer's decision, the same as the feather, which cannot be shaken into disorder by the wind." (Governor Hunter would agree.) A pine-cone (called a pineapple in heraldry) is symbolic of the inexhaustible abundance of life in nature.
   The family jewel is the pearl. (Although I don't think Johan owned a lot of pearls.)

   According to research by Charles Hause, now in possession of Bob and Shirley Hause of Kansas, the family of Johann Christian Hauss was Armigerous (entitled to use a coat of arms), and the Heraldic Bearing was an Argent Shield with Sable Fesse; the Crest a Plume of feathers tinctured as the shield and in the form of a pine cone; this surmounting a Peer of the Realm Crown borne by a dexter facing Argent and Sable Helm. These Arms are in Reitstap's "Armorial General" and are attributed to Haus-Alsace. An earlier version of the same shield, dating back to 1185, is in Die Wappen Rolle de Zurich (a roster of the Heraldry by the Antiquarian Society of Zurich). The family again is listed as Alsatian and is given several spellings: known in Switzerland as Von Hus, in Italy as de Domo, in France as de la Maison, and in Germany as von Hauss or Vom Haus; these names were derived from the Burgen (Castles or Strongholds) of Isenheim in the District of Gebweiler; Wittenheim (District of Mulhouse); and Wassenburg (District of Kolmar). Alsace is in the Haut Rhin of France, north-northwest of Mulhouse. Interestingly, the Dukes of Solm held territory less than fifty miles from the Haus holdings in Alsace. Charles Hause believed that Johann Christian Hauss fled Alsace after it was conquered by the armies of Louis XIV, and found refuge in the Duchy of Solm.

Read an explanation of Heraldry here.