Coat of arms of Luxembourg

Coat of arms of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
Details
Armiger	Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg
Escutcheon	Barry of ten Argent and Azure, a Lion rampant queue forchée Gules crowned, armed and langued Or.
Supporters	Two lions reguardant queue forchée crowned Or, armed and langued Gules
Orders	Order of the Oak Crown
Other elements	The whole resting on a Mantle Gules lined Ermine, fringed and tasseled Or, summoned to the Grand-Ducal Crown

The coat of arms of Luxembourg has its origins in the Middle Ages, and was derived from that of the Duchy of Limburg, in modern-day Belgium and the Netherlands. In heraldic language, the arms are described: 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 Dinastic Order and all surrounded by hermine mantling crowned with a heraldic royal crown (the crown used by the Grand Duke). The middle coat of arms has the supporters, the order and the crown. The lesser coat of arms has the crown and the escutcheon without external ornaments.

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  Greater coat of arms (Royal Version)

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  Middle coat of arms (State Version)

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  Lesser coat of arms

Arms of the Monarch

The Grand Duke has a personal arms:

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, the order and the crown.

The greater variant has a dinastic inescutcheon with the arms of the House of Bourbon-Parma (Blazon: Azure bordure Gules charged with eight escallops Argent, three fleurs-de-lys Or). The supporters are holding a lance Or, flying the flag of Luxembourg, all surrounded by hermine mantling with the crown.

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  Greater Coat of arms of the Grand Duke

• Coat of arms Henri I of Luxembourg (Middle).svg

  Middle Coat of arms of the Grand Duke

• Coat of arms Henri I of Luxembourg (Lesser).svg

  Lesser Coat of arms of the Grand Duke

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  The Arms for use by the Grand Duke as seen on his Standard

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

Henry V was the first Count of Luxembourg to adopt a primitive form of these arms. His father, Waleran III, Duke of Limburg, bore the arms, argent a lion rampant queue fourché gules armed, langued and crowned or (white field bearing a red double tailed lion with yellow claws, teeth, tongue and crown). Henry V replaced the white field by a series of white and blue stripes (burely of 10 argent and azure) to differentiate from his half-brother Henry IV, Duke of Limburg.

It is yet uncertain where the origins of this burely of 10 argent and azure are. Jean-Claude Loutsch, Luxembourg's most prominent heraldist, authored the theory that the original Luxembourg dynasties may have born a striped banner (colours unknown). Two dynasties closely related to the first Houses of Luxembourg also adopted striped coats of arms during this period. Both the Counts of Loon and Counts of Grandpré bore the arms burely of 10 or and gules (yellow and red alternating stripes). In such a case, the choice of colour of the stripes would have been determined to match the white field and red lion of Limburg.

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  Coat of arms of Waleran III, Duke of Limburg

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  Coat of arms of the Counts of Grandpré and Counts of Loon

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  Coat of arms of Henry V, Count of Luxembourg

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

In 1282, after the death of Waleran IV of Limburg, 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. After Henry VI’s death in 1288 at the Battle of Worringen, Henry VII readopted his grandfather Henry V’s arms, which remained in use until the extinction of the House of Luxembourg.

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  Coat of arms of the Dukes of Limburg

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  Coat of arms of Henry VI, Count of Luxembourg between 1282 and 1288

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  Coat of arms of the Counts of Luxembourg after 1288

Lusignan and Stratford

Main articles: House of Lusignan and Stratford family § Stratford Coats of Arms

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  The Lusignan Coat of Arms, granted 12th Century

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  The Luxembourg Coat of Arms between 1282 and 1288 (Henry VI)

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  The Luxembourg Coat of Arms after 1288

• Stratford type B 4.jpeg

  The Stratford Type B Coat of Arms, first recorded 1543

The Luxembourg Coat of Arms bears a striking similarity to both the arms of Lusignan and of Stratford. The relationship is unknown, if indeed any exists at all. Historians have generated various theories as to the connection between the houses and the arms, none conclusive.

References

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

See also

• Flag of Luxembourg