Coat of Arms & Family Crests Store
 Shuster Coat of Arms / Shuster Family CrestThe German surname of SHUSTER was an occupational name for a turner, originally derived from the Middle German word SCHUSSEL, meaning a small wooden bowl. The name was also adopted by Ashkenazic Jews. Many of the modern family names throughout Europe reflect the profession or occupation of their forbears in the Middle Ages and derive from the position held by their ancestors in the village, noble household or religious community in which they lived and worked. The addition of their profession to their birth name made it easier to identify individual tradesmen and craftsmen. As generations passed and families moved around, so the original identifying names developed into the corrupted but simpler versions that we recognise today. The name is also spelt SCHOTTE, SCHOTTLER, SCHUSSEL and SCHOTELDREYER. The first hereditary surnames on German soil are found in the second half of the 12th century, slightly later than in England and France. However, it was not until the 16th century that they became stabilized. The practice of adopting hereditary surnames began in the southern areas of Germany, and gradually spread northwards during the Middle Ages. A notable member of the name was Sir Arthur SCHUSTER (1851-1934) the British physicist, born in Frankfurt of Jewish parents. He studied at Heidelberg and Cambridge, and became professor of applied mathematics (1881) and physics (1888-1907) at Manchester. He carried out important pioneer work in spectroscopy and terrestrial magnetism. The word Heraldry is derived from the German HEER, (a host, an army) and HELD, (champion): the term BLASON, by which the science is denoted in French, English, Italian and German, has most probably its origin in the German word 'BLAZEN' (to blow the horn). Whenever a new knight appeared at a Tournament, the herald sounded the trumpet, and as competitors attended with closed vizors, it was his duty to explain the bearing of the shield or coat-armour belonging to each. Thus, the knowledge of the various devices and symbols was called 'Heraldry'. The Germans transmitted the word to the French, and it reached England after the Norman Conquest of 1066. |
