Sometimes This Job Is Frustrating

Well, and by "job", I mean my self-imposed work of identifying coats of arms that I, or one or another friend of mine, has photographed.

Sometimes, even many times, I would say that it works out well.

And then there's today's picture.

This is the armorial memorial to Sebastian Reitter von Hallenburg and his wife Maria née Kainen, affixed to the exterior of the cathedral in Munich, Germany.

We know that it is memorializing this couple because we can read the inscription on its face:

A.D.ij den XIIII Maii Anno MDCXX starb der ernueste und wolfürnem Herr Sebastian Reitter von Hallenburg, der loblichen Landschafft in Bairn Zeugwart gewesen. Den IIII. Oct. Anno MDC [Z4] starb die erndreich Frau Maria, ain geborne Kainen, sein eheliche Hausfrau. Deren Sellen Gott genedig und barmherzig sein welle A

In English, it reads:

On the 14th of May in the year 1620, the honorable and highly distinguished Sebastian Reitter von Hallenburg—who had served as Master of Ordnance for the noble Estates of Bavaria—passed away. On the 4th of October in the year 1600, the virtuous Lady Maria née Kainen, his lawful wife—passed away. May God be gracious and merciful to their souls.

So far, so good.

But, for the life of me, I cannot find any additional biographical information anywhere about Herr Reitter or his wife, Maria.

And what's worse (in my not so humble opinion), I cannot find any information about their coats of arms, either! Not in Rietstap's Armorial Général, not in any of the Siebmacher volumes I have access to, not in the other German armorials that I have. Not even in the Neues Allgemeines Deutsches Adels-Lexicon (in 9 volumes), much of which I cannot read, knowing but a little German, but whose blazons generally I can parse. Nothing. Nada. Or, more appropriately for the location of this memorial, nichts.

Leaving me sitting here in a funk, looking at two lovely coats of arms, and not having a clue as to what they are supposed to look like in color.

And not really knowing much of anything at all about the people who bore them.

Which is sad, because I know that they have to have a story behind them, but which story may, at this point, be lost in the mists of time. Or a least the mists of a time some 400 plus years ago.