The coat of arms of

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

has its origins in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

and was derived from the arms of the

Duchy of Limburg The Duchy of Limburg or Limbourg was an imperial estate of the Holy Roman Empire. Much of the area of the duchy is today located within Liège Province of Belgium, with a small portion in the municipality of Voeren, an exclave of the neighbourin ...

, in modern-day

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. In heraldic language, the arms are described as: ''Barry of ten Argent and Azure, a Lion rampant queue forchée Gules crowned, armed and langued Or.''

Versions

There are greater, middle and lesser versions of the coat of arms of Luxembourg. The greater coat of arms has two reguardant and crowned lions as supporters, the Dynastic Order (the

Order of the Oak Crown The Order of the Oak Crown (french: Ordre de la Couronne de chêne, german: Eichenlaubkronenorden, lb, Eechelaafkrounenuerden) is an order of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. History The Order of the Oak Crown was established in 1841 by Grand ...

) and all surrounded by ermine mantling crowned with a heraldic royal crown (the crown used by the

Grand Duke Grand duke (feminine: grand duchess) is a European hereditary title, used either by certain monarchs or by members of certain monarchs' families. In status, a grand duke traditionally ranks in order of precedence below an emperor, as an approx ...

). The middle coat of arms has the supporters and the crown. The lesser coat of arms has the crown and the escutcheon without external ornaments. File:Greater coat of arms of the grand-duchy of Luxembourg.svg, Greater coat of arms (Royal version) File:Middle coat of arms of Luxembourg.svg, Middle coat of arms (State version) File:Lesser CoA luxembourg.svg, Lesser coat of arms File:Muzeo de Historio de la urbo Luksemburgo 19.jpg, variant used on street signs.

Arms of the monarch

The

has a personal coat of arms, the current arms were adopted in 2001: Quarterly: 1 and 4 Luxembourg, 2 and 3 Nassau (Blazon: ''Azure billetty Or, a lion or armed and langued Gules''). The lesser variant of the arms of the monarch has no external ornaments. The middle variant has the supporters and the crown. The greater variant has a dynastic inescutcheon with the arms of the

House of Bourbon-Parma The House of Bourbon-Parma ( it, Casa di Borbone di Parma) is a cadet branch of the Spanish royal family, whose members once ruled as King of Etruria and as Duke of Parma and Piacenza, Guastalla, and Lucca. The House descended from the Fren ...

(Blazon: ''Azure bordure Gules charged with eight escallops Argent, three

fleurs-de-lys The fleur-de-lis, also spelled fleur-de-lys (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a lily (in French, and mean 'flower' and 'lily' respectively) that is used as a decorative design or symbol. The fleur-de-lis has been used in the ...

Or''). The supporters are holding a lance Or, flying the

flag of Luxembourg The national flag of Luxembourg ( lb, Lëtzebuerger Fändel; german: Flagge Luxemburgs; french: Drapeau du Luxembourg) consists of three horizontal stripes, red, white and light blue, and can be in 1:2 or 3:5 ratio. It was first used between 184 ...

, all surrounded by ermine mantling with the crown. File:Greater coat of arms of the Grand Duke of Luxembourg (2000).svg, Greater coat of arms of the Grand Duke File:Middle coat of arms of the grand-duke of Luxembourg(2000).svg, Middle coat of arms of the Grand Duke File:Lesser coat of arms of the grand-duke of Luxembourg(2000).svg, Lesser coat of arms of the Grand Duke

Historical

The coat of arms adopted by

Grand Duke Adolphe Adolphe (Adolf Wilhelm August Karl Friedrich; 24 July 1817 – 17 November 1905) was Grand Duke of Luxembourg from 23 November 1890 to his death on 17 November 1905. The first grand duke from the House of Nassau-Weilburg, he succeeded King Willia ...

in 1898: File:Luxemburg_groot_wapen_1898.svg, Greater Coat of arms of the Grand Duke File:Middle coat of arms of the Grand Dukes of Luxembourg prior to 2000.svg, Middle coat of arms of the Grand Duke File:Lesser coat of arms of the Grand Dukes of Luxembourg prior to 2000.svg, Lesser coat of arms of the Grand Duke These arms were adopted in 1898 by Grand Duke Adolphe and used by him and his successors up until

Grand Duke Jean Jean (Jean Benoît Guillaume Robert Antoine Louis Marie Adolphe Marc d'Aviano; 5 January 1921 – 23 April 2019) was the Grand Duke of Luxembourg from 1964 until his abdication in 2000. He was the first Grand Duke of Luxembourg of French agnatic ...

. Upon acceding to the throne in 1964, Grand Duke Jean used the lesser and medium arms as adopted in 1898. The greater arms featuring the former territorial claims attached to the duchy of Nassau that was annexed by Prussia in 1866 were, however, unreflective of political reality of the time and were not used extensively: They were only used on the Great Seal of Grand Duke Jean. Prior to acceding the throne, Grand Duke Jean made use of the following arms: File:CoA_Jean_de_Luxembourg_(1939-1953).svg, 1939 File:CoA_Jean_de_Luxembourg_(1953-1964).svg, 1953

Arms of the Hereditary Grand Duke

The current greater and lesser coats of arms for the Hereditary Grand Duke are currently prescribed by grand-ducal decree of 31 October 2012 and are similar to that of the Grand Duke's with the addition of a gold

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed ...

on the shield for differencing. In the greater arms, the supporters also do not carry flags. Greater coat of arms of the hereditary grand-duke of Luxembourg(2000).svg, Greater coat of arms of the Hereditary Grand Duke Lesser coat of arms of the Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg (2000).svg, Lesser coat of arms of the Hereditary Grand Duke

The coat of arms of Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1216–1281)

Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (c. 1173–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (121 ...

was the first

Count of Luxembourg The territory of Luxembourg has been ruled successively by counts, dukes and grand dukes. It was part of the medieval Kingdom of Germany, and later the Holy Roman Empire until it became a sovereign state in 1815. Counts of Luxembourg House of Ard ...

to adopt these arms (the "Lion of Luxemburg"). His father, Waleran III,

Duke of Limburg The counts of Limburg ruled a medieval county with its capital at Limbourg-sur-Vesdre, lying between Liège and Aachen. They rose to prominence when one of them was appointed Duke of Lower Lorraine. Though Lorraine was later confiscated, the ...

, bore the arms ''Argent, a lion rampant queue fourchée gules armed langued and crowned or'' (white field bearing a red double tailed

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus '' Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adu ...

with yellow claws, teeth, tongue and crown), generally known as the "Lion of Limburg". Henry V replaced the field ''argent'' (white) with ''barry argent and azure'' (a series of alternate white and blue bars, numbering 8 or 10), to

difference Difference, The Difference, Differences or Differently may refer to: Music * ''Difference'' (album), by Dreamtale, 2005 * ''Differently'' (album), by Cassie Davis, 2009 ** "Differently" (song), by Cassie Davis, 2009 * ''The Difference'' (al ...

his arms from his half-brother Henry IV, Duke of Limburg. It is uncertain what was the origin of this field ''barry argent and azure''. Jean-Claude Loutsch, Luxembourg's most prominent

heraldist Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branch ...

, suggested the theory that the original Luxembourg dynasties may have born a barry banner (colours unknown). Two dynasties closely related to the first Houses of Luxembourg also adopted barry coats of arms during this period, namely the Counts of

Loon Loons ( North American English) or divers ( British / Irish English) are a group of aquatic birds found in much of North America and northern Eurasia. All living species of loons are members of the genus ''Gavia'', family Gaviidae and order ...

and the Counts of Grandpré bore the arms ''Barry of ten or and gules'' (10 yellow and red alternating bars). In such a case, the choice of colour of the bars would have been selected to match the white field and red lion of Limburg. File:Arms of the Duke of Limburg.svg, Coat of arms of Waleran III, Duke of Limburg (Lion of Limburg) File:Loon Arms.svg, Coat of arms of the Counts of Grandpré and Counts of Loon File:Arms of the Count of Luxembourg.svg, Coat of arms of Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (Lion of Luxemburg)

The coat of arms of Henry VI, Count of Luxembourg (1240-1288)

In 1282, after the death of

Waleran IV of Limburg Waleran IV (or Walram IV) (died 1279) was the duke of Limburg from 1247 to his death. He was the son and successor of Henry IV and Ermengarde, countess of Berg. He played a great part in the politics of the Great Interregnum in Germany. He le ...

, Henry VI, count of Luxembourg changed his arms by doubling the lion's tail and passing it in saltire as a claim on the

duchy of Limburg The Duchy of Limburg or Limbourg was an imperial estate of the Holy Roman Empire. Much of the area of the duchy is today located within Liège Province of Belgium, with a small portion in the municipality of Voeren, an exclave of the neighbourin ...

. After Henry VI's death in 1288 at the

Battle of Worringen The Battle of Worringen was fought on 5 June 1288 near the town of Worringen (also spelled Woeringen), which is now the northernmost borough of Cologne. It was the decisive battle of the War of the Limburg Succession, fought for the possession ...

, Henry VII readopted his grandfather Henry V's arms, which remained in use until the extinction of the House of Luxembourg. File:Arms of the Duke of Limburg.svg, Coat of arms of the Dukes of Limburg File:Arms-of-Luxembourg.svg, Coat of arms of Henry VI, Count of Luxembourg between 1282 and 1288 File:Arms of the Count of Luxembourg.svg, Coat of arms of the Counts of Luxembourg after 1288

Lusignan and Stratford

File:Coat of Arms of the House of Lusignan (Kings of Cyprus).svg, The Lusignan coat of arms, granted in the 12th century File:Arms-of-Luxembourg.svg, The Luxembourg coat of arms between 1282 and 1288 (Henry VI) File:Arms of the Count of Luxembourg.svg, The Luxembourg coat of arms after 1288 File:Stratford type B 4.jpeg, The Stratford type B coat of arms, first recorded in 1543 The Luxembourg Coat of Arms bears a striking similarity to both the arms of

Lusignan The House of Lusignan ( ; ) was a royal house of French origin, which at various times ruled several principalities in Europe and the Levant, including the kingdoms of Jerusalem, Cyprus, and Armenia, from the 12th through the 15th centuries duri ...

and of Stratford. The relationship is unknown, if indeed any exists at all although the link between the Lusignan and Luxembourg coat-of-arms is provided in 'Le Roman de Mélusine' by Couldrette whereby a descendant of the legendary founder and faerie queen of Lusignan adopts the burely of 10 argent and azure, adding the lion rampant due to his similarly shaped birthmark. Historians have generated various theories as to the connection between the houses and the arms, none conclusive.Péporté, Pit. "Constructing the Middle Ages: Historiography, Collective Memory and Nation-Building in Luxembourg" pp 80-93. BRILL. (2011)

References

* Armorial du pays de Luxembourg, Dr. Jean-Claude Loutsch, Publications nationales du Ministère des Arts et des Sciences, Luxembourg 1974

External links

A propos... des armoiries de S.A.R le Grand-Duc de Luxembourg
2006 Government Brochure on the Grand Duke's coat of arms {{Luxembourg topics National symbols of Luxembourg