Classical Heraldry
Stars are comparatively rare in European heraldry during the medieval period. An early reference of dubious historicity is reported by Johannes Letzner, who cites Conradus Fontanus (an otherwise unknown authority) to the effect that one Curt von Meinbrechtshausen, a knight of Saxony, in 1169 after committing a murder lost his rank and arms, described as an eight-pointed star beneath a chevron. Examples of stars in a late medieval heraldry of the Holy Roman Empire include those of Wentz von Niederlanstein (1350), Gemm (attested 1352), Geyer von Osterberg (1370), Enolff Ritter von Leyen (d. 1392).
Under the system of cadency in use in England and Ireland since the late 15th century, a third son bears a mullet (unpierced) as a difference.
Stars become much more popular as heraldic charges in the early modern era, especially in then-recent family coats of arms of burghers and patricians, as well as in coats of arms of cities (e.g. Maastricht, Bozen, Kaufbeuren). The coat of arms of Valais originates in 1613, when six stars representing its six districts were added to the party per pale coat of arms of the Bishop of Sion. Of the higher nobility in Siebmachers Wappenbuch (1605), the landgrave of Hessen and the counts of Waldeck and Erbach have stars in their coats of arms, as do several Swiss knights.
Read more about this topic: Star (heraldry)
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