The Gelre Armorial ( nl, Wapenboek Gelre) is a medieval

armorial A roll of arms (or armorial) is a collection of 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 mid-13th centur ...

History

The armorial was compiled before 1396 by one Claes Heinenzoon (or Heynen, fl. 1345−1414) who was a herald in the service of the

Duke of Guelders This article is about the rulers of the historical county and duchy of Guelders. Counts House of Wassenberg * before 1096–about 1129: Gerard I * about 1129–about 1131: Gerard II, son of Gerard I * about 1131–1182: Henry I, son of Gerar ...

and also the creator of the

Beyeren Armorial The Beyeren Armorial is a manuscript roll of arms of the early 15th century, containing 1096 hand-colored coats of arms, with annotations in Middle Dutch. It is held by in the National Library of the Netherlands in The Hague (KB), shelf mark 79 K ...

. The book displays some 1,800 coats-of-arms from all over Europe, in color, and is one of the most important sources for medieval

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, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branch ...

. The Gelre Armorial manuscript is nowadays preserved in the

Royal Library of Belgium The Royal Library of Belgium (french: Bibliothèque royale de Belgique, nl, Koninklijke Bibliotheek van België, abbreviated ''KBR'' and sometimes nicknamed in French or in Dutch) is the national library of Belgium. The library has a history t ...

(signature code ms. 15652-5). A copy from around 1500, produced by Cornelis Enghebrechtsz, is preserved in the library of . This version, however, only contains 1400 arms. From 1880 to 1905, Victor Bouton produced 60 copies with hand-coloured arms.

Earliest known colour depiction of the Danish Flag

The book also contains the oldest known depiction linking the

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

king to the red flag with white cross. On folio page 55v of the armorial, behind the sinister horn is a lance tip with a banner, displaying a white cross on red. The text left of the coat of arms says ''die coninc van denmarke'' ("the king of Denmark"). This is the earliest known coloured image of the ''

Dannebrog Dannebrog (until the mid-20th century often spelled Danebrog) may refer to: Flags and orders * The national Flag of Denmark * Order of the Dannebrog ( da, Dannebrogordenen, links=no), a Royal Danish decoration Places * Dannebrog Island, an i ...

'' (Danish flag).

Bibliography

* Victor Bouton: ''Wapenboeck, ou Armorial de 1334 à 1372 : contenant les noms et armes des princes chrétiens ecclésiastiques et séculiers, suivis de leurs feudataires selon la constitution de l'Europe et particulièrement de l'empire d'Allemagne… / par Gelre, héraut d'armes'', Paris 1897.
Digitalisat 1Digitalisat 2

Gallery

Gelre Folio 55v.jpg, folio page 55v depicting the Dannebrog flag. Wapenboek Heraut van Gelre fol. 88 verso en fol. 89.jpg, The folio pages 88v and 89r
(from left top to right bottom): the arms of Broeckhuysen, Waardenburg,

Ulft Ulft () is a town in Oude IJsselstreek in the Achterhoek area in the province of Gelderland, Netherlands. The town has over 10,000 inhabitants and is the biggest town in the municipality Oude IJsselstreek. Until 1 January 2005, Ulft was part of ...

Eyl Eyl ( it, Eil) is an ancient port town in the northeastern Nugal region of Somalia in the autonomous Puntland region, also serving as the capital of the Eyl District. Eyl, also called Illig, was the capital of the Dervishes from 1905 onwards, unt ...

, Lawick, Homoet, Lackmonde, Groesbeek, Vossem,

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...

, Wickerode, Beynum, Myerlaer, Ubbergen, and Hoemen depicting the arms of noble families in the Duchy of Guelders.

External links

Gelre Armorial
digital viewer on KBR site
Gelre Armorial
in Gallica
Facebook Page on the Gelre Armorial

References

{{Authority control Dutch coats of arms Illuminated heraldic manuscripts Rolls of arms 14th-century manuscripts