Styrian family coat of arms: a medieval secret in Jerusalem!

Styrian family coat of arms: a medieval secret in Jerusalem!

In the 15th century, a Styrian land noble scratched his family coat of arms into the wall of the sacrament hall in Jerusalem. This historically significant place, also known as Coenaculum, was built by crusaders and is considered sacred to Jews, Muslims and Christians. Recent research has identified graffiti and medieval “tags” in this historic building on the mountain Zion using modern methods, as Vienna

An international research team, which also includes scientists from the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW), has documented and decoded these centuries -old inscriptions. The analysis shows that over the centuries of memory of those present have been carved into the walls. The scraps not only include inscriptions, but also coat of arms and drawings.

discoveries in the Coenaculum

Most of the discovered inscriptions come from the late Middle Ages when the sacrament hall was part of a Franciscan monastery. One of the remarkable finds includes an inscription in Armenian from 1300, which may provide information about the arrival of the Armenian king Het’um II in Jerusalem. In addition, lettering was discovered by pilgrims from various regions such as Aleppo, Regensburg, Czech Republic and Serbia.

The graffiti prove the geographical diversity and the international pilgrimage movement to Jerusalem in the Middle Ages. Among the pilgrims who traveled to Jerusalem in 1436 was a delegation of around 100 Austrian nobles, including Tristram von Teuffenbach, who was seen as the most likely author of the family coat of arms found in the wall. This throws a new light on the pilgrimage of this time, such as SN

The results of the research were published in the "Liber Annuus", the yearbook of the Biblicum Franciscanum in Jerusalem. The team behind these discoveries identified about 40 graffiti elements, including five heraldic coat of arms, and the decipher and historical classification was implemented by experts such as Ilya Berkovich and Samvel Grigoryan from the ÖAW and Arsen Harutyunyan from Jerewan.

A look back at the Styrian history

Tristram von Teuffenbach, whose coat of arms was found in the Coenaculum, brings the rich history of the Styrian nobility families. According to information from ZVAB War Teuffenbach an important representative of the Styrian country nobility in the 15th century. These finds and the associated travel requests of the time draw a picture of the cultural and spiritual networks that existed in the Middle Ages between Europe and the Holy Land.

The discoveries and the commitment of the research team show how innovative techniques such as multi -spectral photography and reflectance transformation imaging (RTI) can help to further fathom the history of the pilgrims and the cultural connections that existed for centuries. These early evidence are not only important for historical science, but also for understanding the spiritual practices of the time.