This page shows the

coats of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its wh ...

, heraldic achievements, and

heraldic flag In heraldry and vexillology, a heraldic flag is a flag containing coats of arms, heraldic badges, or other devices used for personal identification. Heraldic flags include banners, standards, pennons and their variants, gonfalons, guidons, ...

s of the

House of Nassau The House of Nassau is a diversified aristocratic dynasty in Europe. It is named after the lordship associated with Nassau Castle, located in present-day Nassau, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The lords of Nassau were originally titled "Count o ...

. Also included in the royal family section are the

flags of the Dutch royal family The flags of the Dutch royal family are a set of flags used to identify a member of the royal family. The current system of flags for the Dutch monarch, princes, and princesses was introduced in 1908. Background The current system of personal f ...

. While not strictly a

or a

banner of arms A banner of arms is a type of heraldic flag which has the same image as a coat of arms, ''i.e.'' the shield of a full achievement (heraldry), heraldic achievement, rendered in a square or rectangular shape of the flag. The term is derived from t ...

, they are heavily influenced by heraldry. Flags of those born into the royal family feature a Nassau-blue cross on an orange field, while the colors are reversed for those who marry into the family. The males have near-square flags while those of females are swallowtailed. Elements of an individual's family coat of arms are also incorporated into the flags.

Overview of Nassau arms

Background and origins

The ancestral coat of arms of the Ottonian line of the

house of Nassau The House of Nassau is a diversified aristocratic dynasty in Europe. It is named after the lordship associated with Nassau Castle, located in present-day Nassau, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The lords of Nassau were originally titled "Count o ...

is shown below. Their distant cousins of the Walramian line added a red coronet to distinguish them. There is no documentation on how and why these arms came to be. As a symbol of nobility, the lion was always a popular in western culture going all the way back to

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

. Using the heraldic insignia of a dominant power was a way, and still is a way, to show loyalty to that power. Not using that insignia is a way to show independence. The Netherlands, as territories bordering on the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

with its Roman eagle and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

with its

Fleur-de-lis The fleur-de-lis, also spelled fleur-de-lys (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a lily (in French, and mean 'flower' and 'lily' respectively) that is used as a decorative design or symbol. The fleur-de-lis has been used in the ...

, had many examples of this. The lion was so heavily used in the Netherlands for various provinces and families (see

Leo Belgicus The Leo Belgicus (Latin for ''wikt:Belgic, Belgic Lion'') was used in both heraldry and map design to symbolize the former Low Countries (current day Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium and a small part of northern France) with the shape of a lion. W ...

) that it became the national arms of the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...

, its successor states

the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, and

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

. Blue, because of its nearness to purple, which in the northern climes tended to fade (red was the other choice), was also a popular color for those with royal aspirations. The billets could have been anything from blocks of wood to abstractions of the reinforcements holding the shield together. The fact that these were arms were very similar to those of the

counts of Burgundy This is a list of the counts of Burgundy, i.e., of the region known as Franche-Comté, not to be confused with the Duchy of Burgundy, from 982 to 1678. House of Ivrea (982–1190) House of Hohenstaufen (1190–1231) House of Andechs (12 ...

(Franche-Comté) did not seem to cause too much confusion. It also held with one of the basic tenets of heraldry, that arms could not be repeated within a kingdom, but Nassau was considered to be in the Kingdom of Germany, while Franche-Comté was in the kingdom of Burgundy (see also

Scrope v Grosvenor ''Scrope v Grosvenor'' (1389) was an early intellectual property lawsuit, specifically regarding the law of arms. One of the earliest heraldic cases brought in England, the case resulted from two different knights in King Richard II's servi ...

). Coats of arms of sovereignty also show the territories that the dynasty claims to rule over. The principle ones are depicted below, i.e. *The

Principality of Orange The Principality of Orange (french: la Principauté d'Orange; oc, Principat d'Aurenja) was, from 1163 to 1713, a feudal state in Provence, in the south of modern-day France, on the east bank of the river Rhone, north of the city of Avignon, an ...

, which gave them their major title and claim to equal status with all the other sovereign rulers of the world,

Prince of Orange Prince of Orange (or Princess of Orange if the holder is female) is a title originally associated with the sovereign Principality of Orange, in what is now southern France and subsequently held by sovereigns in the Netherlands. The title ...

. Then, *The Lordship of Chalons and Arlay, a large set of lands in the Franche-Comté *The

County of Geneva The County of Geneva, largely corresponding to the later Genevois province, originated in the tenth century, in the Burgundian Kingdom of Arles (Arelat) which fell to the Holy Roman Empire in 1032. History Several nobles had held the title of a ...

And in Germany, *

County of Katzenelnbogen The County of Katzenelnbogen was an immediate state of the Holy Roman Empire. Chatti Melibokus is a very old tribe who stayed on a high hill in the Bergstraße region of Hesse (the part that lies south), in Germany. It existed between 109 ...

a large set of lands near the

County of Nassau The County of Nassau was a German state within the Holy Roman Empire and later part of the German Confederation. Its ruling dynasty, the male line of which is now extinct, was the House of Nassau. Origins Nassau, originally a county, developed ...

*The County of

Dietz Dietz is a surname, and may refer to: * Albrecht Dietz (1926–2012), German entrepreneur and scientist * August Dietz (1869–1963), a philatelist, editor and publisher * Bernard Dietz (born 1948), German football player and manager * Cyrus E. ...

, also near the

* County of Meurs, bordering on the northeastern Netherlands Finally, in the Netherlands, the real base of their wealth and power: *

County of Vianden The Counts of Vianden, ancestors of the House of Orange-Nassau, were associated with the castle of Vianden (Vianden Castle) in Luxembourg. In the 12th to 15th centuries the counts of Vianden were the mightiest lords of the area between the riv ...

, in the southern Netherlands along the river Meuse. * Marquisate of Vlissingen (Flushing) and KampenVeere, which sat along the mouth of the Rhine and the trade routes across the North Sea and the world beyond. *

County of Buren The Buren County was a territory situated in what is now the Dutch province of Gelderland. It was an independent county until the establishment of the Batavian Republic in 1795. Although it was not formally part of the United Provinces, in pr ...

, also long the delta of the Rhine, but further inland.

Arms of branches

Counts of Nassau

Walramian line

Comtes de Nassau-Wiesbaden-Idstein

Counts of Nassau-Weilburg

Branches of Nassau-Weilburg

Branche cadette de Nassau-Weilburg

Princes of Nassau-Weilburg

In 1816, the princes of Nassau-Weilburg had inherited all the other Walramian Nassau territories by the family compact and by the Congress of Vienna became

dukes of Nassau Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

Dukes of Nassau

= House of Nassau-Weilburg, Grand Dukes of Luxembourg

= House of Nassau-Weilburg, princes of Bourbon-Parma

Ottonian Line

Counts of Nassau-Dillenburg

Henry III of Nassau-Breda came to the Netherlands in 1499 as heir to his uncle, Engelbrecht II of Nassau-Breda. His and his uncle's arms are shown below. When Philbert, prince of Orange died in 1530, his sister's son René of Breda inherited the Princedom of Orange on condition that he used the name and coat of arms of the Châlon-Orange family. History knows him therefore as René of Châlon instead of as "René of Nassau-Breda." The 1st and 4th grand quarters show the arms of the Chalons-Arlay (the gold bend) princes of Orange (the bugle). The blue and gold cross is the arms of Jeanne of Geneva, who married one of the Chalons princes. The 2nd and 3rd show the quarterings of Brittany and Luxembourg-St. Pol. The inescutcheon overall is his paternal arms quartered of Nassau and Breda.

William the Silent William the Silent (24 April 153310 July 1584), also known as William the Taciturn (translated from nl, Willem de Zwijger), or, more commonly in the Netherlands, William of Orange ( nl, Willem van Oranje), was the main leader of the Dutch Re ...

's father, William the Rich, was rich only in children. He bore the arms shown below. Clockwise from upper left they displayed the arms of Nassau (1st quarter), Katzenelenbogen (3rd quarter), Dietz (2nd quarter), Vianden (4th quarter).

The Great Princes of Orange, House of Orange-Nassau

As the kingdom of Burgundy fragmented in the early Middle Ages, the Holy Roman Emperor

Frederick I Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (german: link=no, Friedrich I, it, Federico I), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death 35 years later. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt o ...

elevated the lordship of Orange to a principality in 1163 to shore up his supporters in Burgundy against the Pope and the King of France. As the Empire's boundaries retreated from those of the principality, the prince acceded to the sovereign rights that the Emperor formerly exercised. As

wrote in his marriage proposal to the uncle of his second wife, the Elector August of Saxony, he held Orange as "my own free property", not as a

fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an Lord, overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a for ...

of any

suzerain Suzerainty () is the rights and obligations of a person, state or other polity who controls the foreign policy and relations of a tributary state, while allowing the tributary state to have internal autonomy. While the subordinate party is calle ...

; neither the Pope, nor the Kings of Spain or France. On becoming prince of Orange, William placed the Châlon-Arlay arms in the center ("as an inescutcheon") of his father's arms. He used these arms until 1582 when he purchased the

marquisate of Veere Marquis of Veere and Flushing ( nl, Markies van Veere en Vlissingen) is one of the titles of the kings and queens of the Netherlands. It was originally a Dutch title of nobility referring to the cities of Veere and Vlissingen, in the southwester ...

and Vlissingen. It had been the property of Philip II since 1567, but had fallen into arrears to the province. In 1580 the Court of Holland ordered it sold. William bought it as it gave him two more votes in the States of Zeeland. He owned the government of the two towns, and so could appoint their magistrates. He already had one as First Noble for Philip William, who had inherited Maartensdijk. This made William the predominant member of the States of Zeeland. It was a smaller version of the countship of Zeeland (& Holland) promised to William, and was a potent political base for his descendants. William then added the shield of Veere and Buren to his arms as shown in the arms of Frederick Henry, William II and

William III William III or William the Third may refer to: Kings * William III of Sicily (c. 1186–c. 1198) * William III of England and Ireland or William III of Orange or William II of Scotland (1650–1702) * William III of the Netherlands and Luxembourg ...

with the arms of the marquisate in the top center, and the arms of the county of Buren in the bottom center. William also started the tradition of keeping the number of billets in the upper left quarter for Nassau at 17 to symbolize the original 17 provinces of the Burgundian/Habsburg Netherlands, which he always hoped would form one united nation. As sovereign Princes, the princes of Orange used an independent prince's

crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

or the

princely hat A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

. Sometimes, only the coronet part was used (

see See or SEE may refer to: * Sight - seeing Arts, entertainment, and media * Music: ** ''See'' (album), studio album by rock band The Rascals *** "See", song by The Rascals, on the album ''See'' ** "See" (Tycho song), song by Tycho * Television * ...

here Here is an adverb that means "in, on, or at this place". It may also refer to: Software * Here Technologies, a mapping company * Here WeGo (formerly Here Maps), a mobile app and map website by Here Television * Here TV (formerly "here!"), a TV ...

and

). After the establishment of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and as the

principality of Orange The Principality of Orange (french: la Principauté d'Orange; oc, Principat d'Aurenja) was, from 1163 to 1713, a feudal state in Provence, in the south of modern-day France, on the east bank of the river Rhone, north of the city of Avignon, an ...

had been incorporated into France by Louis XIV, they used the Dutch Royal Crowns. The full coats of arms of the princes of Orange, later Kings of the Netherlands, incorporated the arms above, the crown, 2 lions as supporters and the motto "Je maintiendrai" ("I will maintain"), the latter taken from the Chalons princes of Orange, who used "Je maintiendrai Chalons".

Illegitimate Lines of Orange-Nassau

King of England, Scotland, and Ireland

Princes of Nassau-Dillenbourg and princes of Nassau-Siegen

1739 Events January–March * January 1 – Bouvet Island is discovered by French explorer Jean-Baptiste Charles Bouvet de Lozier, in the South Atlantic Ocean. * January 3: A 7.6 earthquake shakes the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region ...

the

House of Orange-Nassau The House of Orange-Nassau (Dutch: ''Huis van Oranje-Nassau'', ) is the current reigning house of the Netherlands. A branch of the European House of Nassau, the house has played a central role in the politics and government of the Netherlands ...

inherited the possessions of the Nassau-Dillenbourg line.

Counts of Nassau-Siegen, protestant branch

Nassau-Dietz

In 1606 the Nassau-Dillenburg branch partitioned also into Nassau-Dietz and Nassau-Siegen.

Princes of Orange-Nassau(-Dietz)

In 1702, the line of Nassau-Dietz inherited the principality of Orange according to the will of William III, and became the line of Orange-Nassau-Dietz. However, France disputed this and occupied the principality. When

John William Friso John William Friso ( nl, Johan Willem Friso; 14 August 1687 – 14 July 1711) became the (titular) Prince of Orange in 1702. He was the Stadtholder of Friesland and Groningen in the Dutch Republic until his death by accidental drowning in the ...

became Prince of Orange, he used the arms below. However, he was never recognized outside of Holland and areas friendly to Holland as Prince of Orange. His son,

William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded h ...

, recognized as Prince of Orange, seems to have used the original arms of

. When the princes of Orange fled the Netherlands during the Batavian Republic and the Kingdom of Holland, and when France occupied the Netherlands, they were compensated by Napoleon with the

Principality of Nassau-Orange-Fulda Nassau-Orange-Fulda (sometimes also named ''Fulda and Corvey'') was a short-lived principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1803 to 1806. It was created for William Frederick, the son and heir of William V, Prince of Orange, the ousted stadthol ...

. These principalities were confiscated when Napoleon invaded Germany (1806) and William VI supported his Prussian relatives. He succeeded his father as Prince of Orange later that year, after William V's death. The house of Orange-Nassau also had several illegitimate lines (see below) who based their arms on the arms of Nassau-Dillenburg. In 1814, the Congress of Vienna reached a concord that awarded the whole county of Nassau, raised to a duchy, to the Walramian branch (Nassau-Weilburg). In compensation, the Ottonian Branch (princes of Orange), and then raised to

King of the Netherlands King of The Netherlands (Dutch language, Dutch: ''Koning der Nederlanden'') is the title of the Dutch head of state. The king serves as the Head of state, head of state of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which includes the constituent nations of ...

, were awarded the

Grand Duchy of Luxemburg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small land ...

as their personal dominion. So, when Belgium became independent, Luxemburg remained with the house of Orange-Nassau in personal union with the Dutch monarch. In 1890, with the death of

William III of the Netherlands William III (Dutch: ''Willem Alexander Paul Frederik Lodewijk''; English: ''William Alexander Paul Frederick Louis''; 19 February 1817 – 23 November 1890) was King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg from 1849 until his death in 18 ...

, Luxemburg was inherited by the Walramian branch as part of this compact.

Counts and Princes of Nassau-
Schaumburg Schaumburg is a district (''Landkreis'') of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (clockwise from the north) the districts of Nienburg, Hanover and Hamelin-Pyrmont, and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (districts of Lippe and Minden-Lübbe ...

Kings of the Netherlands (House of Orange-Nassau)

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 Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...

(1st and 4th quarter) with the "Châlon-Orange" arms (2nd and 3rd quarter), which had come to symbolize Orange (see above). As an in escutcheon he placed his ancestral arms of Nassau. When he became King in 1815, he combined the

Dutch Republic Lion The Dutch Republic Lion (also known as States Lion) was the badge of the Union of Utrecht, the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands, and a precursor of the current coat of arms of the Kingdom the Netherlands. Background There are three ...

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. Wilhelmina further decreed that in perpetuity her descendants should be styled "princes and princesses of Orange-Nassau" and that the name of the house would be "Orange-Nassau" (in Dutch "Oranje-Nassau"). Only those members of the members of the Dutch Royal Family that are designated to the smaller "Royal House" can use the title of prince or princess of the Netherlands (according to the Membership to the Royal House Act which was revised in 2002.) Since then, individual members of the House of Orange-Nassau are also given their own arms by the reigning monarch, similar to the United Kingdom. This is usually the royal arms, quartered with the arms of the principality of Orange, and an in escutcheon of their paternal arms. The

Royal House of the Netherlands The House of Orange-Nassau (Dutch: ''Huis van Oranje-Nassau'', ) is the current reigning house of the Netherlands. A branch of the European House of Nassau, the house has played a central role in the politics and government of the Netherlands ...

tends to use

Heraldic flag In heraldry and vexillology, a heraldic flag is a flag containing coats of arms, heraldic badges, or other devices used for personal identification. Heraldic flags include banners, standards, pennons and their variants, gonfalons, guidons, ...

s more extensively than their arms. So these are also shown here.

House of Orange-Nassau, princess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

House of Orange-Nassau, princess of Lippe-Biesterfeld

House of Orange-Nassau, Jonkheere van Amsberg ''(van Orange-Nassau van Amsberg)''

Notes and references

External Links and sources

Johannes Rietstap Johannes Baptista Rietstap (12 May 1828–24 December 1891) was a Dutch heraldist and genealogist. He is most well known for his publication of the ''Armorial Général''. This monumental work contains the blazons of the coats of arms of more ...

: *

: * *

John Pinches John Harvey Pinches (9 April 1916 – 2 July 2007) was an English rower, Royal Engineers officer, medallist and author. Pinches was born at Chelsea, London, the son of John Robert Pinches and Irene Inchbold. His father was a medallist in the fam ...

: *

Herbert H. Rowen Herbert Harvey Rowen (22 October 1916 in Brooklyn, New York – 31 March 1999 in Newtown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania), was a noted American historian of Early Modern Europe and "arguably the most important English-speaking historian of the Dut ...

, ''The princes of Orange: the stadholders in the Dutch Republic''. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1988. *

, ''The princes of Orange: the stadholders in the Dutch Republic''. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003. *

Pieter Geyl Pieter Catharinus Arie Geyl (15 December 1887, Dordrecht – 31 December 1966, Utrecht) was a Dutch historian, well known for his studies in early modern Dutch history and in historiography. Background Geyl was born in Dordrecht and graduated ...

, "Orange and Stuart, 1641–1672". Scribner, 1970. * * * *Browse this armorial on the website of the KB nationale bibliotheek: *
Background information about this armorial in Dutch
on the website of the KB. ** This armorial was presumably commissioned by Engelbrecht II of Nassau (1451–1504). After him it was possibly owned by William I, Prince of Orange (William the Silent) (1533–1584) and Jacques Wijts (ca. 1579–1643). In 1898 the manuscripts is known to be in the library of the German graphical artist

Otto Hupp Hermann Joseph Otto Hubert August Constantin Hupp (May 21, 1859 – January 31, 1949) was a German graphical artist. His main working area was heraldry, yet he also worked as a typeface designer, creating commercial symbols and metal works. Life a ...

(" O.H. 1898" in the bottom right corner of the binding). ** The original limp parchment binding is from circa 1500. Inside it shows the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

of William of Orange and an annotation from the 17th century stating '' Ick hoir toe den capitain Vits''.
À propos… des armoiries de S.A.R. le Grand-Duc de Luxembourg sur le site gouvernemental luxembourgeois

Nassau sur heraldique-europeenne.org
* * * {{Cite web, language=French, access-date=18 March 2013, url=http://web.genealogie.free.fr/Les_dynasties/Les_dynasties_celebres/Benelux/Dynastie_de_Nassau.htm, title=web.genealogie.free.fr, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070923024049/http://web.genealogie.free.fr/Les_dynasties/Les_dynasties_celebres/Benelux/Dynastie_de_Nassau.htm, archive-date=23 September 2007, url-status=dead, * *

Nassau Nassau may refer to: Places Bahamas *Nassau, Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas, on the island of New Providence Canada *Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upper Canada from 1788 to 1792 *Nassau Street (Winnipeg), ...