Royal Family

The name Cornielje, of wich there are many variations, goes back to the Roman noble family of the Cornelians. The meaning of the name is not entirely sure but for certain is that the Latin word 'Cornus' stands for 'Horn'. This is the reason that many scholars believe that the meaning of the name is 'powerful horn'.

The name became quite frequent during the Middle Ages because of the popularity of St. Cornelius. The name spread all over Western Europe and the Latin version of the name was adapted according to the respective language of the country where it came in use. Cornelius, son of Castinus Cornelio, was a Roman priest and became bishop of Rome in the year 251. When in the year 253 Gallus Ceasar started a new wave of violence against the Christians, he banned Cornelius to Centrum Cellae (now Civitavecchia) where he died.

The 'Legenda Aurea' describes the suffering of Cornelius because he refused to pray to Mars. He was beaten up with slabs of lead, so the legend goes. On his way to be judged and sentenced to death, he healed the wife of a Roman Centurion, both his wife as well as the Centurion converted to Christianity and were decapitated because of this. Cornelius' body was buried in the catacombs of the Callistus in Rome. Cornelius' attribute, the horn,  is actually the claw of a griffin. The griffin gave this claw to him as a gift, because Cornelius' prayers had healed him. Cornelius used this claw hence forward as a drinking cup. In the ancient 'Reichsabtei', nowadays called the 'Probsteikirche' in a suburb of Aachen, named 'Kornelimünster', several relics of Pope Cornelius are kept. Also Saint Corneille in Compiègne and Saint Severin in Cologne have relics of Cornelius. Cornelius is the patron of farmers, cows and is supposed to protect from epilepsy, cramps, ear problems and problems of the nervous system. There is a legend in the Rheinland making Cornelius also the patron of the lovers. It is said that once the Burgherr of Selikum - nowadays Neuss am Rhein - hired a young artist to decorate his Cornelius chapel. When the daughter of the Burgherr and the artist fell in love with each other and wanted to get married, the Burgherr was enraged and said that only if the Pope personally would come to bless their wedding he would give his permission. So it happened: the statue of Pope Cornelius bend down to the lovers and blessed them. The wedding was celebrated with holy wine! The town of Kornelimünster still  has in its coat of arms a horn as a reference to Pope Cornelius. Arms of The House Of Cornielje Shield: Sable between two wings displayed a rose Argent seeded Or barbed Vert between the primary feathers a coronet Or of twelve points each adorned with a pearl and in base a mullet of six points Argent. Crest: A demi lion Gules grasping a lyre of five strings the outer being paint brushes the central being a snake Argent charged on the soundbox with five mullets Sable. Mantling: Dexter Sable doubled Argent and sinister Gules doubled Or. Torse: Sable Argent Gules Or Sable.

Meaning of the charges and symbols in the shield and crest of the Arms.

SHIELD The shield is sable and shows 2 wings Argent combined with 3 other charges. Above a Freiherrenkrone, in the centre a rose Argent seeded Or and barbed vert and in base a mullet argent. The colour sable stands for modesty and for the acceptance of something higher, something perhaps unreachable. Sable also stands for being strong and honorable. Two virtues the Family much appreciates.

The Freiherrenkrone represents the family on maternal side, it also hints to the noble past of the family on paternal side: two ancestors were ennobled and one of his ancestors stems from the family Le Pesant de Bois-Guilbert a noble family from Rouen.

The two wings Argent are ‚speaking parts’  Saxen are in German parts of eagles wings.Part of the family on the maternal side stem from Sachsony and Bohemia.

The rose Argent represents the house of York. It points to the origins on maternal side of the sons of Fürst von Rheinbergen: their mother, Claire Elisabeth Daniels, comes from York.

The mullet argent represents the Naomi, the wife of Fürst von Rheinbergen. Naomi was born in Israel. The star also symbolizes the planet Venus andwith that it symbolizes love. As a catholic family, the star is also seen as asymbol for the birth of Jezus Christ.

CREST - The crest of the Cornielje arms shows a reddemi-lion rampant holding a lyra argent, the outer string replaced by paintbrushes, the middel one by a snake. In the bow of the Lyra are 5 mullets sable.

The lion is a reference to several different arms: The arms of Pierre Corneille, a direct ancestor of The House Of Cornielje. The arms of Castle Bergh. The arms of the family Le Pesant de Bois-Guilbert. The arms of the town s-Heerenberg. The arms oft he municipality of Montferland. The arms oft he municipality of Bergh.

The lyra represents musik and art, two very important subjects in the history of the Family. The paintbrushes in the lyra represent this as well. The families motto - Audentes Fortuna Iuvat - was used by Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix of the Roman Cornelian Family. It is also the motto of the Yorkshire Regiment. The white rose of York is one of the charges in the coat of arms. It means: 'Fortune Favors The Brave'. Something the Cornielje Family also nowadays strongly believe in!