Johannes Baptista Rietstap (12 May 1828 – 24 December 1891) was a Dutch

heraldist Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and genealo ...

and

genealogist Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their Lineage (anthropology), lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family ...

. He is most well known for his publication of the ''Armorial Général''. This monumental work contains the

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...

s of the

coats of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic ac ...

of more than 130,000

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an families. It is still one of the most complete works of its kind.

Personal life

Rietstap was born in 1828 in Rotterdam to Elizabeth Hermina Remmert. His father, Willem Hendrick Rietstap, was an accountant and insurance agent. His first job was at a bookstore, and he was then shortly assigned to a position on the

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

''Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant''. While working there, Rietstap became interested in the history and theory of

heraldry Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and genealo ...

. At age 25 Rietstap decided that he would learn

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

. When the commissioners of his newspaper told him that they wanted one of the editors to know

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

, he mastered this language, as well. Rietstap did not stay long in the editorial offices. In November 1850 he accepted a position with the Stenographical Department of the Chambers of the

Staten-Generaal The States General of the Netherlands ( ) is the supreme bicameral legislature of the Netherlands consisting of the Senate () and the House of Representatives (). Both chambers meet at the Binnenhof in The Hague. The States General originated in ...

which had been formed the year before and this position became full-time and permanent in 1852. Shortly after this, Rietstap married Johanna Maria de Haas on 16 September 1857. The couple were childless.

Publishing career

Rietstap's first publications mainly stemmed from his multilingual abilities. He translated works of non-fiction, historical and romantic

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

s, and travel journals in

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

. He continued to work as a translator into the early 1870s. His greatest contributions in the world of publishing related to his hobby of heraldry, though. He focused mostly on personal heraldry of families, and much less on civic heraldry. During this period he published the ''Handboek der Wapenkunde'' (Manual of Heraldry) which was an important addition to the body of work on Dutch heraldry. It has been expanded and updated and remains a standard work on the subject. In 1861, Rietstap first published his ''Armorial général, contenant la description des armoiries des familles nobles et patriciennes de l'Europe, précédé d'un dictionnaire des termes du blason''. This work contained the blazons of almost 50,000 noble families in Europe. They were organized alphabetically by

surname In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...

. He made extensive use of heraldic sources in a variety of languages to compile the ''Armorial''. As word spread of the publication, he made more heraldic contacts around Europe and was able to expand the work to two volumes in 1884 and 1887. In 1871, European interest in heraldry was growing, thanks in part to Rietstap's work. Capitalizing on this, he was able to begin publication of a heraldic magazine. Specifically, he hoped that the ''Heraldieke Bibliotheek'' (Heraldic Library) would expose Dutch readers to the wider heraldic world. In 1872, he went to press with the subtitle "Magazine for Heraldry, Genealogy, Seals and Medals." The magazine would be published until 1882, and was mostly filled with articles written by Rietstap himself. In the 1880s Rietstap also published two studies of the genealogy and coats of arms of the Dutch nobility, the ''Wapenboek der Nederlandschen Adel'' (Armory of the Dutch Nobility) which became available between 1880 and 1887 and ''De Wapens van den Tegenwoordigen en den Vroegeren Nederlandschen Adel met Genealogische en Heraldische Aanteekeningen'' (The Arms of Present and Past Dutch Nobility with Genealogical and Heraldic Annotations) published in 1890. In the prologue of this work, Rietstap continued his critique of the development of spelling in the Dutch language and heraldic blazon.

Legacy

Throughout his years publishing career, Rietstap had continued his in his position with the Stenographical Department. He had made quite a career for himself and from January 1887 held the position of First Stenographer. Three and a half years later he resigned from this honored post, and one year later he died on Christmas Eve of 1891. Rietstap is often considered the founder of modern heraldry in the Netherlands. He established a theoretical foundation for heraldry, especially by creating an understanding for Dutch terms. He brought the development of European heraldry within reach of the Dutch language through translations and editorials.

External links

Online Biography
(Archived)

(In French)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rietstap, Johannes 1828 births 1891 deaths Dutch heraldists Dutch genealogists Writers from Rotterdam