Franconian Rake

The Franconian Rake is an heraldic ordinary with a simple zig-zag line of partition that divides the escutcheon or shield into red and silver fields.

The shape of the rake represents the holism of heaven and earth and was thus used by church bodies, such as the Bishopric of Würzburg, as a seal or in their coats of arms.

[2] The Franconian Rake is first recorded in the early 14th century on the grave of the Würzburg Prince-bishop, Wolfram Wolfskeel von Grumbach (d. 1333), and in a seal for the city of Gerolzhofen.

It was however not a symbol for Franconia as a whole, as the former stem duchy had ceased to exist as an administrative entity a long time ago.

Today the emblem is found as part of the coat of arms of many administrative bodies in the Franconian region e.g. the Bavarian provinces of Upper, Middle and Lower Franconia, as well as in adjacent districts covering the territory of the historic East Franconian lands, e.g. Main-Tauber-Kreis in the state of Baden-Württemberg or Hildburghausen in southern Thuringia, and many towns and villages, e.g. in the coat of arms of Volkach or Frankenhardt.