The Leo Belgicus (

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

, ' Belgic Lion') was used in both

heraldry 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, Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and genealo ...

and map design to symbolize the former

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 ...

(current day

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

and a small part of northern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

) with the shape of a lion. When not in map form, the Leo Belgicus often accompanies the Dutch Maiden, the

national personification A national personification is an anthropomorphic personification of a state or the people(s) it inhabits. It may appear in political cartoons and propaganda. In the first personifications in the Western World, warrior deities or figures symboliz ...

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 ...

. Often both sit in a circular fenced enclosure, the " Garden of Holland". Europa regina, showing

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

as a queen, was a comparable schematic. The Leo Belgicus is also the name of the Belgian lion or the Brabantian lion, this lion is seen on the coat of arms of Belgium and the flag of the provinces of Flemish and Walloon Brabant.

Terminology

The names derived from the

Belgae The Belgae ( , ) were a large confederation of tribes living in northern Gaul, between the English Channel, the west bank of the Rhine, and the northern bank of the river Seine, from at least the third century BC. They were discussed in depth b ...

(and thus including ''

Belgica Gallia Belgica ("Belgic Gaul") was a Roman province, province of the Roman Empire located in the north-eastern part of Roman Gaul, in what is today primarily northern France, Belgium, and Luxembourg, along with parts of the Netherlands and German ...

'') are now mostly identified with the country

; yet before the division of the Low Countries into a southern and a northern half in the 16th century, it was a common name for the entire

, and was the usual Latin translation of the Netherlands (which at that point covered the current territory of Belgium, Luxembourg, Belgium and a part of The Netherlands and northern France).

History

The earliest Leo Belgicus was drawn by the

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

cartographer Cartography (; from , 'papyrus, sheet of paper, map'; and , 'write') is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an imagined reality) can ...

Michaël Eytzinger Michaël Eytzinger (Freiherr Michael von Aitzing, Aitzinger, Eyzinger, or Eitzing) (born ca. 1530 in Obereitzing - died 1598 in Bonn), was an Austrian nobleman, diplomat, historian, and publicist, who wrote and published several works, includi ...

in 1583, when the Netherlands were fighting 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 ...

for independence. The motif was inspired by the heraldic figure of the lion, occurring in the coats of arms of several of the Netherlands, namely: Brabant,

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

Frisia Frisia () is a Cross-border region, cross-border Cultural area, cultural region in Northwestern Europe. Stretching along the Wadden Sea, it encompasses the north of the Netherlands and parts of northwestern Germany. Wider definitions of "Frisia" ...

Guelders The Duchy of Guelders (; ; ) is a historical duchy, previously county, of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the Low Countries. Geography The duchy was named after the town of Geldern (''Gelder'') in present-day Germany. Though the present pr ...

, Hainaut,

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...

, Limburg,

Namur Namur (; ; ) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is the capital both of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration. Namur stands at the confl ...

and

Zeeland Zeeland (; ), historically known in English by the Endonym and exonym, exonym Zealand, is the westernmost and least populous province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the southwest of the country, borders North Brabant to the east ...

, as well as in those of William of Orange. Eytzinger's map was the first of many. There were three different designs. In the most common one, the lion's head was located in the northeast of the country and the tail in the southeast. The most famous version is that of Claes Janszoon Visscher, which was published in 1609 on the occasion of the

Twelve Years' Truce The Twelve Years' Truce was a ceasefire during the Eighty Years' War between Habsburg Spain, Spain and the Dutch Republic, agreed in Antwerp on 9 April 1609 and ended on 9 April 1621. While European powers like Kingdom of France, France began tre ...

. A less common design reversed the position of the lion, as shown in the ''Leo Belgicus'' by Jodocus Hondius. The third version was published in the later stages of the war, and after the independence of the

was confirmed in the

Peace of Westphalia The Peace of Westphalia (, ) is the collective name for two 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 Roman Empire ...

(1648). It is called the ''Leo Hollandicus'', the Holland Lion, and shows only the province of Holland. One of the earliest versions was published by Visscher around 1625.

Maps of the Leo Belgicus

File:1583 Leo Belgicus Hogenberg.jpg, ''Leo Belgicus'' by Aitsinger/ Hogenberg, 1583 File:Sitting Leo Belgicus - Visscher.jpg, ''Leo Belgicus'' by Claes Janszoon Visscher, 1611 File:Leo Belgicus.jpg, ''Leo Belgicus'' by Jodocus Hondius, 1611 File:1617 Leo Belgicus Kaerius.jpg, ''Leo Belgicus'' by Kaerius (vd Keere), 1617 File:Antique map of Leo Belgicus by Visscher C.J. - Gerritsz 1630.jpg, ''Leo Belgicus'' by Hondius & Gerritsz, 1630 File:Leo Hollandicus (Comitatus Hollandiae denuo forma Leonis) CJ Visscher 1648.jpg, ''Leonis Hollandiae'' by Visscher 1648 File:Leo Belgicus - C.J. Visscher (1650), 6 - BL.jpg, ''Leo'' by Visscher, 1650 File:1748 Leo Schenk.jpg, ''Leo'' by Schenk 1707 File:Strada, Leo Belgicus, 1648, Cornell, CUL PJM 1011 01.jpg, ''A Leo Belgicus map'' by Famiano Strada, 1648

References

External links

Several versions of the map, Leiden University

See : Leo Belgicus maps in Antique Map Price and high resolution image source by Swaen.com.
{{National personifications Historic maps of Europe Maps of the Netherlands Historical geography of Belgium Images of Belgium Maps of the history of Europe Lions in heraldry Cartography in the Dutch Republic Early modern Netherlandish cartography History of lions in Europe

Terminology

History

Maps of the Leo Belgicus

See also

References

External links