The

coat 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 ...

of Haarlem is the official symbol of the city of Haarlem. The sword and stars can be found as public decorations throughout the city.

Heraldic elements

Escutcheon

The coat of arms of Haarlem consists of a

red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

shield with a

silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...

sword with golden handle under a white

Jerusalem cross The Jerusalem cross (also known as "five-fold Cross", or "cross-and-crosslets") is a heraldic cross and Christian cross variant consisting of a large cross potent surrounded by four smaller Greek crosses, one in each quadrant. It was used as t ...

and flanked by 4 white six-pointed stars. Above the shield is the

Imperial Crown of Austria The Imperial Crown of Austria (german: Österreichische Kaiserkrone) is a crown formerly in use by the monarchs of the Habsburg monarchy. The crown was originally made in 1602 in Prague by Jan Vermeyen as the personal crown of Holy Roman Emperor ...

under barren branches holding two Damiate bells, all held up by two

golden Golden means made of, or relating to gold. Golden may also refer to: Places United Kingdom *Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall * Golden Cap, Dorset *Golden Square, Soho, London *Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucestershi ...

lions The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus '' Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adult ...

standing on the

motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. Mot ...

of Haarlem. Several

heraldic 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 bran ...

elements have their basis in the

history of Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English) is a city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland. Haarlem is situated at the northern edge of the Randstad, one of the most populated metropol ...

. The motto of Haarlem is ''Vicit vim virtus'' (Latin for virtue conquered violence). The barren branches refer to the burned trees in the

Haarlemmerhout The Haarlemmerhout is the oldest public park of the Netherlands. It lies on the south side of Haarlem, on the same old sandy sea wall that is shared by the public park Haagse Bos in The Hague and the Alkmaarderhout in Alkmaar. History On a map ...

, which were burned again and again during various sieges, most notably during the siege by the army of

Jacqueline, Countess of Hainaut Jacqueline ( nl, Jacoba; french: Jacqueline; german: Jakobäa; 15 July 1401 – 8 October 1436), of the House of Wittelsbach, was a noblewoman who ruled the counties of Holland, Zeeland and Hainaut in the Low Countries from 1417 to 1433. She ...

in 1428. Haarlem had taken side with the Cods in the

Hook and Cod wars The Hook and Cod wars ( nl, Hoekse en Kabeljauwse twisten) comprise a series of wars and battles in the County of Holland between 1350 and 1490. Most of these wars were fought over the title of count of Holland, but some have argued that the un ...

, and thus against Jacoba of Bavaria. The bells refer to the

damiaatjes The Damiaatjes (English: Little Damiettas) refer to two bells in the St. Bavochurch of Haarlem that ring every night between nine and nine thirty, to signal the closing of the city's gates and commemorate the conquest of the Egyptian city Damiet ...

. Two bells were given to the city of Haarlem's St. Bavochurch to commemorate the heroic cutting of the harbour chain during the Siege of Damietta (1218) with a "saw ship", a legendary ship equipped with an iron saw fastened along the bow and front keel. This ship sawed through the harbour chain and allowed the fleet to attack the city, which was a success.

Wapenvermeerdering

According to local legend, the original shield of Haarlem contained simply the four stars on a red background. As a result of the heroic deeds in Damietta, the Holy Roman Emperor granted Haarlem the usage of a sword and the Patriarch of Jerusalem granted the use of a cross. This story is known as the "Wapenvermeerdering", or "Addition to the Arms".Deugd boven geweld, p. 100-101. In portrayals of this legend, the emperor is shown with a red beard, since he is supposed to be

Emperor 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 ...

. As Haarlem historians love to point out, Emperor Barbarossa died in 1190 well before the siege of Damietta took place in 1218, so the story shown in the painting is just a Haarlem fantasy of greater knighthood and glory in the

Crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were ...

. During the Hook and Cod wars in the

County of Holland The County of Holland was a State of the Holy Roman Empire and from 1433 part of the Burgundian Netherlands, from 1482 part of the Habsburg Netherlands and from 1581 onward the leading province of the Dutch Republic, of which it remained a par ...

in the 15th century,

Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I (22 March 1459 – 12 January 1519) was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1508 until his death. He was never crowned by the pope, as the journey to Rome was blocked by the Venetians. He proclaimed himself E ...

supported the bourgeoisie in the cities (Cod) in their fight against the

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The character ...

in the countryside (Hook). During these wars Haarlem, like the other cities Dordrecht, Leiden, Amsterdam, and The Hague loaned large amounts of money to Maximilian I. The emperor granted Haarlem and the other cities the right to use his personal imperial

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 ...

in their coat of arms, out of gratitude for these loans. In the coat of arms of Haarlem, the Imperial Crown is positioned on top of the escutcheon. File:Wandtapijt wapenvermeerdering haarlem.jpg, Tapestry ordered at the same time as the painting by De Grebber. This is still installed in the city hall above the mantel in the council chamber File:Capturing Damiate.jpg, Painting commissioned by the Haarlem council by

Cornelis Claesz van Wieringen Cornelis Claesz van Wieringen (c. 1576 – 29 December 1633) was a Dutch Golden Age painter. Biography Van Wieringen was born and died in Haarlem. He was the son of a Haarlem captain, and drew, painted and etched with his friends Hendrick ...

, 1625-1630. The ship breaks the harbour chain at Damietta, the foremost flag on the "Saw-ship" shows the barren branches of the Haarlem coat of arms. File:Damiate-tapestry-1629.JPG, The tapestry ordered at the same time as the painting by Van Wieringen. This is still installed in the city hall on the wall that was built for it (the

Lieven de Key Lieven de Key (1560 – 17 July 1627) was a Dutch renaissance architect in the Netherlands, mostly known today for his works in Haarlem. His style is described by Simon Schama as Mannerist. Biography De Key was born in Ghent, and was already a ...

wing) File:Romeyn de Hooghe - Innemen van Damiaten 1188 en nieuw Stads wapenschild, 1688.jpg,

Romeyn de Hooghe Romeyn de Hooghe (bapt. 10 September 1645 – 10 June 1708) was a late Dutch Baroque painter, sculptor, engraver and caricaturist. Biography He was born in Amsterdam, and was a skilled etcher, draughtsman, painter, sculptor and medalis ...

engraved this scene in 1688 for the Haarlem city map for 500th anniversary of the capture of Damiate. The "Saw-ship" is in the background and in the foreground the Haarlem knights are awarded the sword and cross attributes in Jerusalem.

References

* Deugd boven geweld, Een geschiedenis van Haarlem, 1245-1995, edited by Gineke van der Ree-Scholtens, 1995, {{Dutch coats of arms Culture in Haarlem History of Haarlem Haarlem Haarlem Haarlem Haarlem Haarlem Coats of arms with lions