The Dutch Republic Lion (also known as States Lion) was the badge of the

Union of Utrecht The Union of Utrecht () was an alliance based on an agreement concluded on 23 January 1579 between a number of Habsburg Netherlands, Dutch provinces and cities, to reach a joint commitment against the king, Philip II of Spain. By joining forces ...

, the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands, and a precursor of the current coat of arms of the Kingdom the Netherlands.

Background

When the county of Flanders was inherited by the

Dukes of Burgundy Duke of Burgundy () was a title used by the rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy, from its establishment in 843 to its annexation by the Crown lands of France, French crown in 1477, and later by members of the House of Habsburg, including Holy Roman E ...

in 1405, the Flemish lion (black on gold) was placed on an escutcheon in their dynastic arms (see Armorial of the French Royal House or Armorial of Dukes of Burgundy). The same happened with the duchy of Brabant (and its dependent duchy of Limburg) in 1430 (gold lion on black for Brabant, red lion on white for Limburg), but oddly not the county of Holland (red lion on gold shield) in 1432 or the duchy of Luxembourg (red lion on blue and white bars). These passed with the rest of the Burgundian inheritance to the

House of Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful Dynasty, dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout ...

in 1482. Their descendants, the

Kings of Spain This is a list of monarchs of Spain, a dominion started with the dynastic union of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile. The regnal numbers follow those of the rulers of Asturias, León, and Castile. ...

bear the title of the county of Flanders (Holland was renounced in 1648 with the

Treaty of Westphalia The Peace of Westphalia (, ) is the collective name for two Peace treaty, peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought peace to the Holy R ...

) and the duchy of Brabant to this day, and the arms were continually used until the abolition of the King

Alfonso XIII Alfonso XIII (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Alfonso León Fernando María Jaime Isidro Pascual Antonio de Borbón y Habsburgo-Lorena''; French language, French: ''Alphonse Léon Ferdinand Marie Jacques Isidore Pascal Antoine de Bourbon''; 17 May ...

in 1931 (see Coat of arms of the King of Spain and List of titles and honours of the Spanish Crown). File:Arms of Jean Sans Peur.svg, Arms of the Duke of Burgundy (1404-1430) File:Arms of Philippe le Bon.svg, Arms of the Duke of Burgundy since 1430 File:Arms of Charles II of Spain (1668-1700).svg, Royal arms of Habsburg Spain File:Greater Royal Arms of Spain (1761-1868 and 1874-1931) - Shape Variant.svg, Royal arms of Bourbon Spain until 1931 The lion, as representing the

Burgundian Netherlands The Burgundian Netherlands were those parts of the Low Countries ruled by the Dukes of Burgundy during the Burgundian Age between 1384 and 1482. Within their Burgundian State, which itself belonged partly to the Holy Roman Empire and partly t ...

, first appears as a crest on the tomb of Philip the Handsome. Later Charles V added the sword. The arrows were used, on coins etc., since the early 16th century to represent the

Seventeen Provinces The Seventeen Provinces were the Imperial states of the Habsburg Netherlands in the 16th century. They roughly covered the Low Countries, i.e., what is now the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and most of the France, French Departments of Franc ...

in the

Low Countries The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...

under control of Charles V. In 1578, during the

Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (; 1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish Empire, Spanish government. The Origins of the Eighty Years' War, causes of the w ...

, the States General ordered a new great seal representing the lion, the sword and the 17 arrows combined. Although only seven provinces remained free from Spain, this seal stayed in use until 1795.

New States Lion

After the completion of its forming in 1584 the Republic of the Seven United Provinces used as its arms: Or a crowned lion Gules armed and langued Azure, holding in his dexter paw a sword and in the sinister paw seven arrows tight together Azure. The colours of this version where derived from the most important of the seven provinces, the county of Holland (its arms are still in use since being adopted by the counts of Holland c. 1198). The

sovereignty Sovereignty can generally be defined as supreme authority. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within a state as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the person, body or institution that has the ultimate au ...

of the federal union was emphasized by the title of the States General "their Noble Mightinesses, the Lords States-General of the United Provinces of the Netherlands" or, in Dutch, "Den Heeren Hoog-Mogenden, Den Heeren Staten-Generaal der Verenigde Provinciën der Nederlanden"). and by a crown on the lion in their arms. File:Heckspiegel De Zeven Provincien1.jpg, Coat of arms of the republic of the united Netherlands (c. 1665). Sternpiece of the Zeven Provincien. File:Kruithuis schouw.jpg, Coat of arms of the republic of the united Netherlands (after 1665). Fireplace of the Kruithuis (Delft). File:Belgick-lion Benthien kazerne Dordrecht.jpg, Arms of the "Republic of the Seven United Provinces" (the Netherlands between 1665 - 1795). Relief in Dordrecht File:Arms of the Dutch Republic.svg, Arms of the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...

. The number of arrows changed over time. At first there were 17, despite the fact that the Union of Utrecht counted 11 districts after the Fall of Antwerp in 1585. It was hoped by

William the Silent William the Silent or William the Taciturn (; 24 April 153310 July 1584), more commonly known in the Netherlands as William of Orange (), was the leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish Habsburg Netherlands, Habsburgs that set off the ...

that all the

of the Netherlands would eventually be united. However, this was not to be, and so it was eventually changed to 11, and with the Reduction of Groningen to 7. The number of arrows on the arms fixed at 7 in 1606, but the seal still remained with 17 arrows until 1795.

Duke of Anjou

At the time of the Dutch declaration of independence the territory under nominal States-General control was steadily shrinking. Parma made steady progress. Orange had already been convinced that the only way to avert total defeat was to regain support of the moderates, alienated by Calvinist radicalism; reassure the still-loyal Catholics in the South; and retain the trust of the German Lutheran princes and the king of France. To attain these objectives he now persuaded the States-General to offer sovereignty over the Netherlands to the younger brother of

Henry III of France Henry III (; ; ; 19 September 1551 – 2 August 1589) was King of France from 1574 until his assassination in 1589, as well as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1573 to 1575. As the fourth son of King Henry II of France, he ...

, François, Duke of Anjou, who in 1578 had already intervened on behalf of the States-General. The latter arrived in Antwerp in January 1581, where he took an oath to in effect govern as a "constitutional monarch", and was acclaimed by the States-General as Protector of the Netherlands. Unfortunately, Orange's attempt to paper over the disunity within the States-General by bringing in Anjou did not succeed. Holland and Zeeland acknowledged him perfunctorily, but mainly ignored him, and of the other members of the Union of Utrecht Overijssel, Gelderland and Utrecht never even recognised him.Israel (1995), p. 212 At the time of his sovereignty, Anjou replaced the Generality Lion by arms that he himself designed incorporating all the arms of the, at that time, nine Dutch rebellious provinces with France. Anjou himself was dissatisfied with his limited power, and decided to take the Flemish cities of

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

Bruges Bruges ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders, in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is in the northwest of the country, and is the sixth most populous city in the country. The area of the whole city amoun ...

Dunkirk Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...

, and

Ostend Ostend ( ; ; ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke, Raversijde, Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the la ...

by force. He decided personally to lead the attack on Antwerp on 18 January 1583. In an attempt to fool the citizens of Antwerp, Anjou asked to be permitted to make a " Joyous Entry" into the city in order to honour them with a parade. As soon as his troopers entered, the gates of Antwerp were slammed shut behind them and the citizen militia attacked them. Anjou barely escaped with his life and nearly his entire army perished, an affair known as the French Fury. After that the States-General re-established the previous arms.

Batavian Republic

The

Batavian Republic The Batavian Republic (; ) was the Succession of states, successor state to the Dutch Republic, Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. It was proclaimed on 19 January 1795 after the Batavian Revolution and ended on 5 June 1806, with the acce ...

founded in 1795 used in its first year the arms of the

, i.e. the Dutch lion or lion with crown, sheaf of arrows and swords. But on May 4, 1796, the Dutch Lion badge was replaced by a free drawing of the Netherlands Maiden around an altar with an anchor, and the States Lion with her. The substitution in 1801 of the Batavian Republic by the Batavian Commonwealth, whose main feature was a stronger Grand Pensionary acting the part locally of the First Counsul Bonaparte also had its impact on heraldry. On April 12, 1802, it was decided that the new badge of the Commonwealth would be a golden lion on a red field again. The number of arrows that bears the lion in the leg was not established. This remained in use until the Kingdom of Holland was formed in 1806 for

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

's brother, installed as King Louis I of Holland. File:Grootzegel van de Bataafse Republiek (1796).svg, Seal of the Batavian Republic, 1796–1802 File:Grootzegel van de Bataafse Republiek (1802).svg, Seal of the Batavian Commonwealth, 1802–1806 File:Seal of the Navy of the Batavian Republic with coat of arms.jpg, Seal of the Batavian Republic Navy

Kingdom of Holland

Napoleon's brother

Louis Bonaparte Louis Bonaparte (born Luigi Buonaparte; 2 September 1778 – 25 July 1846) was a younger brother of Napoleon, Napoleon I, Emperor of the French. He was a monarch in his own right from 1806 to 1810, ruling over the Kingdom of Holland (a French c ...

was installed as King of Holland on 5 June 1806. Originally the arms of the new kingdom were to be like those of the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...

: an

eagle Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

bearing a

shield A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry like spears or long ranged projectiles suc ...

, with the arms of the United Netherlands, the

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...

, now royally crowned. In December 1806, A. Renodi in Paris designed arms quartering the Napoleonic eagle with the lion of the United Netherlands. Around the shield was the French Order of the Grand Aigle. Behind the shield are crossed

sceptre A sceptre (or scepter in American English) is a Staff of office, staff or wand held in the hand by a ruling monarch as an item of regalia, royal or imperial insignia, signifying Sovereignty, sovereign authority. Antiquity Ancient Egypt and M ...

s, typical for Napoleonic heraldry, and above the shield, Napoleon's star. A few months later, on 20 May 1807, King Louis (now called "Lodewijk") altered these arms, adding a helmet, leaving out his brother’s star and replacing the Grand Aigle with his own Dutch

Order of the Union The Order of the Union () was a chivalric order established in 1806 by Louis Bonaparte, younger brother of Napoleon I, for the Kingdom of Holland. The order was abolished in 1811 when the French Empire absorbed the Kingdom of Holland. It was ...

and the old Dutch devise '' Eendracht maakt macht'' ("Unity makes strength") around the shield. Exemplary for the innovation in Napoleon's heraldry are the two hands coming out of clouds from behind the shield holding swords, designating King Louis as ''Connétable de France''. File:Lodewijk Napoleon Bonaparte 1807.svg, Coat of arms of Holland (1806). File:Wapen van het Koninkrijk Holland en Lodewijk Bonaparte (1808).svg, Coat of arms of Holland (1808).

Kingdom of the Netherlands

When William VI of Orange returned to the Netherlands in 1813 and was proclaimed Sovereign Prince of the Netherlands, he quartered the former Arms of the Dutch Republic (1st and 4th quarter) with the "Châlon-Orange" arms (2nd and 3rd quarter), which had come to symbolize Orange. As an in escutcheon he placed his ancestral arms of Nassau. (See

House of Orange-Nassau The House of Orange-Nassau (, ), also known as the House of Orange because of the prestige of the princely title of Orange, also referred to as the Fourth House of Orange in comparison with the other noble houses that held the Principality of Or ...

) When he became King in 1815, he combined the Dutch Republic Lion with the billets of the Nassau arms and added a royal crown to form the

Coat of arms of the Netherlands The coat of arms of the Kingdom of the Netherlands was originally adopted in 1815 and later modified in 1907. The arms are a composite of the arms of the former Dutch Republic and the arms of the House of Nassau, it features a checkered shield wit ...

. In 1907, Queen Wilhelmina replaced the royal crown on the lion and the shield bearers of the arms with a coronet and had the phallus of the lion removed. File:Arms of the Dutch Republic.svg, Arms of the States-General of the Dutch Republic. The sword symbolizes the determination to defend the nation, and the bundle of 7 arrows the unity of the 7 United Provinces of the Dutch Republic. File:Arms of Nassau.svg, Arms of the House of Nassau, of which the Princes of Orange were a cadet (the Ottonian) branch. File:Arms of Sovereign Prince William I of Orange.svg, Arms of William VI as sovereign prince of the Netherlands. File:Royal Arms of the Netherlands (1815-1907).svg, First arms of the Kingdom and Kings of the Netherlands from 1815 to 1907. File:Royal Arms of the Netherlands.svg, Arms of the Kingdom and Kings of the Netherlands since 1907. File:Coat of Arms of Sovereign Prince William I of Orange.svg, Coat of Arms of the Sovereign Principality and William VI of Orange 1813-1815. File:Royal_coat_of_arms_of_the_Netherlands_(1815-1907).svg, Coat of Arms of the Netherlands and the Dutch Monarch 1815-1907. File:Royal coat of arms of the Netherlands.svg, Coat of Arms of the Netherlands and the Dutch Monarch after 1907.

References

Sources

*Gelderen, M. van (2002), ''The Political Thought of the Dutch Revolt 1555–1590'', Cambridge University Press, . *Glete, J. (2002),''War and the State in Early Modern Europe. Spain, the Dutch Republic and Sweden as Fiscal-Military States, 1500–1660'', Routledge, . * Israel, Jonathan (1989), ''Dutch Primacy in World Trade, 1585–1740'', Clarendon Press, . *Israel, Jonathan (1990), ''Empires and Entrepôts: The Dutch, the Spanish Monarchy, and the Jews, 1585–1713'', Continuum International Publishing Group, . *Israel, Jonathan (1995), ''The Dutch Republic: Its Rise, Greatness, and Fall 1477–1806'', Clarendon Press, Oxford, . * Motley, John Lothrop (1855). The Rise of the Dutch Republic. Harper & Brothers. * Rowen, Herbert H. (1978). John de Witt, grand pensionary of Holland, 1625–1672. Princeton University Press.

External links

Heraldry of the World
{{Dutch coats of arms Badges Dutch coats of arms Monarchy of the Netherlands Dutch Republic Dutch heraldry Lions in heraldry

National symbols of the Netherlands