Coat of arms of Denmark

Coat of Arms of Denmark
Details
Armiger Kingdom of Denmark
Adopted First documented in the 1190s. Modified 1819
Crest Crown of Christian V
Escutcheon Or, three lions passant in pale Azure crowned and armed Or langued Gules, nine hearts Gules
Relief of the Coat of Arms of Denmark, at the Danish House in Paris.

The national coat of arms of Denmark consists of three pale blue lions passant wearing crowns, accompanied by nine red hearts, all in a golden shield. It is historically the coat of arms of the House of Estridsen, the dynasty which provided the Kings of Denmark between 1047 and 1412. The current design was introduced in 1819, under Frederick VI. Previously, there had been no distinction between the "national" and the "royal" coat of arms. Since 1819, there has been a more complex royal coat of arms of Denmark (kongevåben) separate from the national coat of arms (rigsvåben).

History

The Danish arms in the Gelre Armorial, 14th century. This is the oldest coloured image of the Dannebrog. The crest was used by Danish monarchs from the 13th century until c. 1420.[1] The flag is not part of the crest.

The oldest known depiction of the insignia dates from a seal used by King Canute VI c. 1194. The oldest documentation for the colours dates from c. 1270.[1]

Historically, the lions faced the viewer and the number of hearts was not regulated and could be much higher.The "heart" shapes originally represented waterlily pads; a royal decree of 1972 still specifies these figures as søblade ("sea leaves").

The current design was adopted in 1819 during the reign of King Frederick VI who fixed the number of hearts to nine and decreed that the heraldic beasts were lions, consequently facing forward. A rare version exists from the reign of king Eric of Pomerania in which the three lions jointly hold the Danish banner, in a similar fashion as in the coat of arms of the former South Jutland County. Until c. 1960, Denmark used both a "small" and a "large" coat of arms, similar to the system still used in Sweden. The latter symbol held wide use within the government administration, e.g., by the Foreign Ministry. Since this time, the latter symbol has been classified as the coat of arms of the royal family, leaving Denmark with only one national coat of arms, used for all official purposes.

The crown on the shield is a heraldic construction based on the crown of King Christian V, not to be confused with the crown of King Christian IV. The main difference from the real crown is that the latter is covered with table cut diamonds rather than pearls. Both crowns, and other royal insignia, are located in Rosenborg Castle in Copenhagen.

The blazon in heraldic terms is: Or, three lions passant in pale Azure crowned and armed Or langued Gules, nine hearts Gules.

This insignia is almost identical to the coats of arms of Estonia and Tallinn which can both be traced directly back to King Valdemar II and the Danish rule in northern Estonia 1219-1346. The main differences are as follows: In the Danish coat of arms the lions are crowned, face forward, and accompanied by nine hearts. In the Estonian coat of arms, the "leopards" face the viewer, they are not crowned, and no hearts are present. The coat of arms of Tallinn resembles the Estonian arms, but the leopards in the former arms are crowned with golden crowns[2] similar to the ones in the Danish arms. It shows great similarities with the contemporary insignia of England's Richard the Lionheart and the current arms of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. The Danish coat of arms has also been the inspiration for the coat of arms of the former Duchy of Schleswig, a former Danish province (two blue lions in a golden shield). The hearts of the coat of arms also appear in the coat of arms of the German district of Lüneburg.

Royal Coat of Arms

Royal Coat of Arms
Details
Armiger Margrethe II Queen of Denmark
Adopted Designed 1819. Designated as dynastic arms 1959. Last modified 5 July 1972
Crest Crown of King Christian V of Denmark
Torse tasseled strings Or
Escutcheon A shield quartered by a cross Argent fimbriated Gules, first and fourth quarter Or, three lions passant in pale Azure crowned and armed Or langued Gules, nine hearts Gules (for Denmark); second quarter Or, two lions passant in pale Azure armed Or langued Gules (for Schleswig); third quarter Azure, party per fess, in base per pale; in chief three crowns Or (for the Kalmar Union), in dexter base a ram passant Argent armed and unguled Or (for the Faroe Islands), in sinister base a polar bear rampant Argent (for Greenland). Overall an escutcheon Or two bars Gules (for Oldenburg)
Supporters two wild men armed with clubs Proper
Compartment pedestal
Orders Order of the Dannebrog, and Order of the Elephant

The Royal Coat of Arms is more complex.. The current version was established by royal decree 5 July 1972.[3]

The shield is quartered by a silver cross fimbriated in red, derived from the Danish flag, the Dannebrog. The first and fourth quarters represent Denmark by three crowned lions passant accompanied by nine hearts; the second quarter contains two lions passant representing Schleswig, a former Danish province now divided between Denmark and Germany, the third quarter contains a total of three symbols. The Three Crowns are officially interpreted as a symbol of the former Kalmar Union.[4]

The silver ram on blue represents the Faroe Islands and the similarly coloured polar bear represents Greenland.

The centre escutcheon, two red bars on a golden shield, represents the House of Oldenburg; the former royal dynasty that ruled Denmark and Norway since the middle of the fifteenth century. When the senior branch of this dynasty became extinct in 1863, the crown passed to Prince Christian of the cadet branch Glücksburg, whose descendents have reigned in Denmark ever since. The House of Glücksburg continues the use of the arms of the old Oldenburg dynasty, and the symbol is still officially referred to by its old association.

Two woodwoses (vildmænd) act as supporters, and this element can be traced back to the early reign of the Oldenburg dynasty.[5] Similar supporters were used in the former arms of Prussia. The shield features the insignias of the Order of the Dannebrog and the Order of the Elephant around it.

The shield and supporters are framed by a royal ermine robe, surmounted by a royal crown.

A blazon in heraldic terms is: A shield quartered by a cross Argent fimbriated Gules, first and fourth quarter Or, three lions passant in pale Azure crowned and armed Or langued Gules, nine hearts Gules (for Denmark); second quarter Or, two lions passant in pale Azure armed Or langued Gules (for Schleswig); third quarter Azure, party per fess, in base per pale; in chief three crowns Or (for the Kalmar Union), in dexter base a ram passant Argent armed and unguled Or (for the Faroe Islands), in sinister base a polar bear rampant Argent (for Greenland). Overall an escutcheon Or two bars Gules (for Oldenburg) the whole surrounded by the Collars of the Order of the Dannebrog and the Order of the Elephant. Supporters two woodwoses armed with clubs Proper standing on a pedestal. All surrounded by a mantle Gules doubled Ermine crowned with a royal crown and tied up with tasseled strings Or.

The royal coat of arms has since c. 1960 been reserved exclusively for use by the Monarch, the royal family, the Royal Guards and the royal court according to royal decree. A select number of purveyors to the Danish royal family are also allowed to use the royal insignia.

Historical versions

In late medieval heraldry, coats of arms that used to be associated with noble families became attached to the territories that had been ruled by these families, and coats of arms used by individual rulers were composed of the coats of arms of the territories they ruled. In the case of Denmark, the coat of arms of the House of Estridsen with the extinction of the dynasty became the "coat of arms of Denmark". Olaf II of Denmark (and IV of Norway) succeeded his maternal grandfather Valdemar IV in 1376. He was the first king to rule Norway and Denmark in personal union. Olaf on his seal still displayed the Estridsen (for Denmark) and Sverre (for Norway) coats of arms in two separate shields. The custom of dividing the field arises with Eric of Pomerania at the end of the 14th century.

The modern "royal coat of arms of Denmark" is the continuation of this tradition of the Danish monarch using his or her personal coat of arms after the end of the personal union of Denmark and Norway.

Coat of arms Bearer Description
 • Eric of Pomerania
 King Eric VII of Denmark and III of Norway (ruled in personal union, 1396–1439). The colour of the cross over all, here shown in red, is unattested; Christian I has a silver cross (or cross potent) superimposed on the red cross, later designs seem to favour gold.
 • King Christian I
 The coat of arms of Christian I as used during the late 1450s; introduces the arms of the House of Oldenburg as inescutcheon.
 • King Christian IV
 Coat of arms of Christian IV, BSB cod. icon. 326 (1594)
 • King Frederick IV
 Greater coat of arms of Denmark and Norway used during 1699–1819.
 • King Frederick VI
 • King Christian VIII
 • King Frederick VII
 • King Christian IX		 Greater coat of arms of Denmark used from 1819 to 1903. This was the first Danish arms following the removal of the Norwegian lion.
 • King Christian IX
 • King Frederick VIII
 • King Christian X		 Greater coat of arms of Denmark. This version was used from 1903 to 1948. This was the only version of the Danish arms in which Iceland was represented by a falcon rather than its traditional stockfish arms.
 • King Frederick IX Greater coat of arms of Denmark. This version was used from 1948 to 1972. The falcon of Iceland was removed belatedly after the independence of Iceland from Denmark in 1944. The change was implemented after the death of king Christian X, who used the style "king of Denmark and Iceland" until his death. In 1959, the "three-lions" insignia became the sole national coat of arms, and the previous "greater coat of arms" was designated as the coat of arms of the Danish royal family.[6]
A medieval ship flag captured by forces from Lübeck in the 1420s showed the arms of Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Pomerania. The original flag was destroyed in World War II during a British attack on the city, but a 19th-century copy remains in Frederiksborg Palace, Denmark. The saint accompanying the Virgin Mary and infant Christ is Saint James the Greater, identified by his scallop shell emblem.
The earliest known example of the Danish arms, the seal of Canute VI, 1190s. The only known copy of this insignia was discovered in 1879 in the Grand Ducal archive of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Germany. Note the king's closed crown which differs from the open crowns shown on the seals of his successors, and the shield that is semé of hearts rather than showing only nine.[7]

The current version of the arms, established by royal decree 5 July 1972,[3] is greatly simplified from the previous version which contained seven additional sub-coats representing five territories formerly ruled by the Danish kings and two medieval titles: Holstein, Stormarn, Dithmarschen, Lauenburg, Delmenhorst, and King of the Wends and Goths. A crowned silver stockfish on red was formerly included to represent Iceland, but due to Icelandic opposition, this symbol was replaced in 1903 by a silver falcon on blue. The falcon was in turn removed from the royal arms in 1948 following the death of King Christian X in 1947 and reflecting the 1944 breakup of the Dano-Icelandic union.

The following list is based on the research by Danish heraldist, Erling Svane.[8] Danish names are shown in brackets.

Other members of the Royal Family

Coat of arms from Trinity Church, Copenhagen.
Coat of arms Bearer Description
Prince Henrik, The Prince Consort Prince Henrik, the Prince Consort's shield of arms is quartered between the Danish Royal Arms (1st and 4th quarters) and the Arms of the Counts of de Laborde de Monpezat (2nd and 3rd quarters)- A gold lion rampant on a field of red with three five-pointed stars in the chief. The arms features two golden lions rampant as supporters. The crown is that of a Prince of Denmark.
Crown Prince Frederick Crown Prince Frederick's coat of arms is similar to the Royal Coat of arms except for the heir apparent's Crown and the purple mantle.
Crown Princess Mary The Crown Princess' coat of arms is composed of the shield of arms of her husband impaled with those of her own, granted to her in 2006. The eagle Gules of the clan of MacDonald and a boat Sable (a lymphad) both symbolising her Scottish ancestry is set on a field Or. The chief field is Azure and shows two gold Commonwealth Stars from the Coat of arms of Australia, and a golden rose in between.
Prince Joachim Prince Joachim's coat of arms is similar to the Royal Coat of arms except the inescutcheon, which is divided with the first being that of the House of Oldenburg and second being that of the House of de Laborde de Monpezat. The crown is that of a Prince of Denmark.
Princess Marie Princess Marie's coat of arms is composed of the shield of arms of her husband impaled with those of her own, granted to her in 2010. A horseman, representing her maiden name Cavallier (meaning knight or horseman) is depicted Azure. The secondary charge is a combination of the Danish and French national symbols; a heart and a fleur de lys. Three red hearts (symbolising Denmark) are cut with the fleur de lys (symbolising France).

Gallery

Elements presently used in the arms

Elements formerly used in the arms

Related symbols

Coat of arms of Estonia

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Danish National Archives. "Valdemarernes våben" (in Danish). Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  2. ↑ Official website of Tallinn. "Tallinna täisvapp" (in Estonian). Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  3. 1 2 Official website of the Danish monarchy. "The Royal Coat of Arms". Retrieved 23 July 2007.
  4. ↑ The three crowns design historically predates the Kalmar Union, but they were re-interpreted in this sense under Eric of Pomerania, who used a coat of arms quartered between the coats of arms of Denmark, Norway (House of Sverre) and Sweden (House of Bjelbo) plus the three golden crowns on a blue shield representing the union. Sven Tito Achen (1972). "Sverige". Alverdens heraldik i farver (in Danish). Copenhagen: Politikens forlag. p. 216. ISBN 87-567-1685-0.. Sven Tito Achen (1972). "Sverige". Alverdens heraldik i farver (in Danish). Copenhagen: Politikens forlag. p. 217. ISBN 87-567-1685-0.
  5. ↑ Seal of Christian I (1449).
  6. ↑ Departmental circular concerning the Danish coat of arms, circular no. 216, p. 5, 1959.
  7. ↑ Henry Petersen (1882): Et dansk Flag fra Unionstiden i Maria-Kirken i Lübeck, Copenhagen: C.A. Reitzel, p. 26 (Danish)
  8. ↑ Svane, Erling (1994). Det danske rigsvåben og kongevåben (in Danish). Odense University Press. pp. 169–179.
  9. ↑ Anders Thiset (1893). "Om danske By- og Herredsvaaben". Tidsskrift for Kunstindustri (in Danish) (10th year): 18.
  10. ↑ Betænkning vedrørende det danske rigsvåben (betænkning nr. 216), 1959, page 3 (Danish)
  11. ↑ Svane, Erling (1994). Det danske rigsvåben og kongevåben (in Danish). Odense University Press. p. 177.

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