The Beyeren Armorial is a manuscript
roll of arms
A roll of arms (or armorial) is a collection of coat of arms, coats of arms, usually consisting of rows of painted pictures of shields, each shield accompanied by the name of the person bearing the arms.
The oldest extant armorials date to the m ...
of the early 15th century, containing 1096 hand-colored
coats of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic ac ...
, with annotations in
Middle Dutch
Middle Dutch is a collective name for a number of closely related West Germanic dialects whose ancestor was Old Dutch. It was spoken and written between 1150 and 1500. Until the advent of Modern Dutch after 1500 or , there was no overarching sta ...
. It is held by in the
National Library of the Netherlands in The Hague (KB), shelf mark 79 K 21.
Description of the Beyeren Armorial in the catalogue of the KB
/ref>
]
History
The manuscript was compiled at the court of Holland and was completed on 23 June 1405 by Claes Heynenzoon (c.1345−1414). He was Ruwieren King of Arms, the chief herald of the Netherlands around 1400. He is also the creator of the Gelre (Guelders) Armorial, for which he has also been referred to as the "Gelre Herald".
Contents
The manuscripts is divided into 5 series or chapters
* I (fol. 1r–8v, 18r–28v): 337 coats of arms from participants in a tournament in Compiègne
Compiègne (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Oise Departments of France, department of northern France. It is located on the river Oise (river), Oise, and its inhabitants are called ''Compiégnois'' ().
Administration
Compiègne is t ...
, "February 1238" ccxxxviii the indicated date is likely in error (as many of the coats of arms would be anachronistic), perhaps 1278 cclxxviiiis intended (the coat of arms of the king of Sicily
The monarchs of Sicily ruled from the establishment of the Kingdom of Sicily in 1130 until the "perfect fusion" in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1816.
The origins of the Sicilian monarchy lie in the Norman conquest of southern Italy which oc ...
is that of Anjou, for Charles I, r. 1266–1285); the Luxembourg lion for "Henry of Luxembourg" would then be in reference to Henry VI (1240–1288), father of emperor Henry VII.
* II (fol. 28v–35v, 49r–52v): 191 coats of arms from participants in a tournament in Mons; 1310
* III (fol. 52v–57v, 36r–48v, 9r–13r): 404 coats of arms from participants in a raid against the Frisians in Kuinre; 1396
* IV (fol. 13r–17v, 58r–60r): 122 coats of arms from participants in the siege of Gorinchem; 1402
* V (fol. 60r–62v): 14 series of ''The Three Best'', by given name ("the three best Johns", "the three best Williams", etc. )
Fol. 64v has a doodle of heart symbols pierced by arrows with the maxim ''Wacht u, dool ich'' ("you wake, I sleep").
References
*Beelaerts van Blokland, W.A. (1933) ''Beyeren quondam Gelre armorum rex de Ruyris. Eene historisch-heraldische studie'', (The Hague)
*Anrooij, W. van (1990) ''Spiegel van ridderschap. Heraut Gelre en zijn ereredes.'' (Amsterdam, Prometheus)
*Verbij-Schillings, Jeanne (1995) ''Beeldvorming in Holland. Heraut Beyeren en de historiografie omstreeks 1400'' (Amsterdam, Prometheus)
*Verbij-Schillings, Jeanne (1999)
Het Haagsche handschrift van heraut Beyeren
Hs. Den Haag, Koninklijke Bibliotheek, 131 G 37'' (Hilversum, Verloren)
External links
on the website of the KB (consulted 6 September 2016)
Description of the Beyeren Armorial
on the World Digital Library (consulted 6 September 2016)
Dutch coats of arms
Illuminated heraldic manuscripts
{{Heraldry-stub