The Meyer zum Pfeil was a prosperous
Swiss noble and
patrician
Patrician may refer to:
* Patrician (ancient Rome), the original aristocratic families of ancient Rome, and a synonym for "aristocratic" in modern English usage
* Patrician (post-Roman Europe), the governing elites of cities in parts of medieval ...
family from
Basel
, french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese
, neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...
.
History
It appears in Basel in the 15th century and is one of Basel's oldest patrician families, and dominated the city for several centuries together with a handful of other patrician families. The family were prominent merchants, especially
cloth merchants, and many family members have served as council members and Mayors of Basel. The family name is derived from the
arrow in its
coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...
. Family members used the noble honorific
Junker
Junker ( da, Junker, german: Junker, nl, Jonkheer, en, Yunker, no, Junker, sv, Junker ka, იუნკერი (Iunkeri)) is a noble honorific, derived from Middle High German ''Juncherre'', meaning "young nobleman"Duden; Meaning of Junke ...
already at the time the family appeared in Basel.
[Bernoulli, A. (ed.): "Die Familienchronik der Meyer zum Pfeil, 1533–1656". In: ''Basler Chroniken'' 6 (1902), pp. 379–422.]
Family members include the
renaissance humanist
Renaissance humanism was a revival in the study of classical antiquity, at first in Italy and then spreading across Western Europe in the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries. During the period, the term ''humanist'' ( it, umanista) referred to teache ...
Nikolaus Meyer zum Pfeil, the politician
Adelberg Meyer zum Pfeil and the Basel mayor
Bernhard Meyer zum Pfeil.
File:Wandbehang Meyer zum Pfeil zum Luft linke Seite.jpg
File:Nikolaus Meyer zum Pfeil und Barbara zum Luft Wandbehang.jpg, Memorial for Nikolaus Meyer zum Pfeil and Barbara zum Lufft, with their combined family arms
File:Wandbehang Meyer zum Pfeil zum Luft rechte Seite.jpg
File:Meyer zum Pfeil Wappen I.jpg, Meyer zum Pfeil coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...
File:Jakob Meyer zum Pfeil (+ c. 1515).jpg, Jakob Meyer zum Pfeil son of Nikolaus Meyer zum Pfeil
File:Bernhard Meyer zum Pfeil (1488-1558).jpg, Bernhard Meyer zum Pfeil, mayor of Basel
References
{{Patrician families of Basel
Swiss noble families
History of Basel
Patriciate of Basel
Noble families of the Holy Roman Empire