We have several versions of the family crest in our files. It should probably be first noted that there is no rule of law regarding the use of a coat of arms in the United States. Similarly, the old laws in Germany and France have more recently been modified or done away with although in the olden days this was a very important area of life as the coat of arms was your primary identification, and the shield portion was a copy of what was used in battle until the days of full body armor. Primarily in Britain, there are still strict laws on the usage of a coat of arms. The picture of the crest in the upper left is from John Berkeley, of the Karl Edmund branch through Franz Wilhelm, and he has it registered as his crest in Scotland and it may only be used by him and his heirs under British law.

The version in the upper right was adopted for use in the Familie von Berckefeldt publication of 1978 by Paul and Marie Berckefeldt and has been used in family mailings from the United States since then. I would also note that this is the only one in which the shield is angled and that was not the norm in the older years as most were upright as in the other examples shown. I was unable to determine a reason for the angled depiction other than that is how it was shown in a book titled “Genealogishes Handbuch der Adeligen Hauser” published in Germany in 1977.

The crest in the stained glass window, lower left, is a picture of one of the two crests from the convent in Barsinghausen where several of our family members lived for many years. The name in the window is that of Luise von Berckefeldt. The picture on the right is of an embroidered patch used by Bodo von Berckefeldt and his family of the Alexander branch of the family in northern California.

From these examples, you can see the only common point is the shield and the dog. The other parts of the full depiction (flourishes, helmet, mantling, etc.) are somewhat up to the family member’s discretion, from what we understand, and somewhat indicated the family’s position in the hierarchy. The shield was also often used as the form of the “seal” when a document was sealed with wax in earlier days. As mentioned in the History section of this website, the inclusion of the red shield with seven Byzantine coins (roundels) and the striding Bracke hound are defined from old German literature. The Byzantine coins reflect the family’s involvement in the Crusades against the Byzantine empire, although not necessarily the number of persons or number of crusades.

In addition, the inclusion of the creed “Ich Wahre Treu” translated from the German as “I remain faithful” is also included in some presentations, although not consistently throughout the years.

There are many small differences you might note (such as the type of crown used) and those are too numerous to go into here. If you have an interest in heraldry, there are many websites that discuss this area of history.