About the Riedmann Crest

The crest you see at the top of this page is a crest that Lou (or is it Uncle Lou, or Grandpa Lou, or Great Uncle Lou, or Great-Great Uncle Lou, or ... oh, nevermind) requested several years back. Below is an explanation of the what the colors in the crest symbolize. This crest was put on the t-shirts given out at the 1992 reunion.

However, this is not the only crest in existence. Renie (or is it Aunt Renie, or Grandma Renie, or... oh, forget it) also has a crest that she found. I have displayed it below. You can decide for yourself which you like better.

Lou's Crest:
The dragon is symbolic of defense of treasure. The small inner shield (Escutcheon) is emblematic of a victory over an opponent.
Red - represents fortitude and creative power.
Gold - denotes generosity, valor and perseverance.
Black - (the crossed lines) represent repentance and vengeance.
The middle of crest may be intended to be silver, not black, which represents serenity and nobility.

The colors of the German flag are Red, Black and Gold which probably explains why the crest has these colors.

Renie's Crest:
Below is the Crest from Renie Van Moorleghem received. She said she was ordering a copy of the Van Moorleghem crest and asked the company if they had any information on a crest for the Riedmann Family. This is what she received. (She likes this one better.) The colors have the same meaning as described above.

Aunt Renie's "Leaping Hound" Crest

Of course, the crest that Lou received came with a disclaimer from the company that made it. It is intended to represent what their researchers feel our name means. So for this reason I have considered creating a new crest with the following images placed in each quadrant of Lou's crest.

- A mug to honor the our grandfather and great-grandfather who were both brewmasters.
- Bundle of grain for our agrarian roots. Also for our great-great-grandmothers family. They were grain millers and bakers by trade.
- A crucifix for the family's roots in Catholicism.
- The fourth quadrant would either remain the R currently used, or some symbol for success, business or entrepreneurship as we can say our family has been very industrious and successful over the years.

Let the debate begin!