The associated coat of arms for this name are recorded in J.B Rietstaps Armorial General. Illustrated by V & H.V Rolland's. This Monumental work took 23 years to complete and 85,000 coats of Arms are included in this work. The surname of PACHOLSKI is a Polish occupational name for a manservant. The name was derived from the Polish PACHOTEK (servant) + SKI. Other spellings include PACHER, PACHOLL, PACHOLCZYK, PACHOLEK and PACHOLKE. Michael PACHER (circa.1435-98) was the painter and wood-carver, born in the Tyrol, Austria. He was one of the earliest artists to bring Italian Renaissance ideas into northern Europe. He may have travelled to Italy, for his paintings show the influence of Italian artists. His masterpiece was the high altar for the Church of St. Wolfgang on the Abersee (1481) depicting the life of the Virgin Mary and the legend of St. Wolfgang. In the Middle Ages heraldry came into use as a practical matter. It originated in the devices used to distinguish the armoured warriors in tournament and war, and was also placed on seals as marks of identity. As far as records show, true heraldry began in the middle of the 12th century, and appeared almost simultaneously in several countries of Western Europe. The earliest Polish surnames were patronymic. The personal names from which they were derived were mainly Slavonic, but as the Middle Ages progressed, traditional Slavic given names, began to give way to saint's names, mainly of Latin origin. Surnames derived from Slavonic personal names are of early origin, and tend to be borne by aristocratic families. Many Polish people acquired their surnames by reason of former residence in a town or village. There are nearly 600 families bearing the arms of a horseshoe enclosing a cross. Some names were changed by immigrants whilst on the boat heading for America and Australia. These transformations were usually to names thought by the immigrants to be more respected in their native land than the one he bore. Many Poles added 'ski' to their names to attain a higher social status since such names were accorded more respect from people of Polish extraction. Thus a larger proportion of Polish names carried this termination in America and Australia than in Poland.
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NOTE: A Coat of Arms is also sometimes referred to as Heraldry - a Code of Arms - Family Seal - Family Shield - Family Crest - Wappen - Escudo or Crest. Histories Last Name Surname Origin Meaning