The Meyer zum Pfeil was a prosperous Swiss noble and patrician family from

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

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 merchant In the Middle Ages or 16th and 17th centuries, a cloth merchant was one who owned or ran a cloth (often wool) manufacturing or wholesale import or export business. A cloth merchant might additionally own a number of draper's shops. Cloth was ex ...

s, and many family members have served as council members and Mayors of Basel. The family name is derived from the

arrow An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers c ...

in its

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

. Family members used the noble honorific

Junker Junker (, , , , , , ka, იუნკერი, ) is a noble honorific, derived from Middle High German , meaning 'young nobleman'Duden; Meaning of Junker, in German/ref> or otherwise 'young lord' (derivation of and ). The term is traditionally ...

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 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

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