Later spellings of the name, in modern times, render it Königß Auen (1601) or Kinzau (1766), the latter of which is preserved to this day in the name for the village used in the local speech, “Kinze”.

Fitting this interpretation would be the Lords of Stein (Steinkallenfels), who exercised jurisdiction as Imperial ministeriales at the high court of Kellenbach.

In 1325, Baldwin, Prince-Archbishop-Elector of Trier, acquired from the knight Sir Friedrich of Steinkallenfels shares of the holdings and rights that he held in Königsau and Schwarzerden and had split off from the landholds owned by Count Johann of Sponheim.

In 1334, the Archbishop bought, among other things, a mill complex in Königsau, with which his successor Bohemond II of Trier enfeoffed Sir Tilmann of Stein – of the same knightly house – who was also the builder of Castle Wartenstein.

The tangle of rights and allegiances to various lords during the time of the old empire was swept aside when, beginning in the years 1792-1794, the Revolutionary French overran the German lands on the Rhine’s left bank and occupied them, eventually placing the region under a central administration in 1798.

The trimount in the lower field symbolizes the hilly landscape in the municipality, while the crown refers to the village’s name, Königsau (König means “king” in German).

After consent by the state archive, the Ministry of the Interior in Mainz granted approval for Kellenbach to bear its own arms on 15 August 1979.