Öland is a

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

and, like many of Sweden's provinces, was granted a

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 ...

in preparation for the funeral of

Gustav Vasa Gustav I, born Gustav Eriksson of the Vasa noble family and later known as Gustav Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560), was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560, previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm ('' Riksföre ...

in 1560. Confusion arose between Öland's arms with one deer and Åland's arms with two deer and nine roses, resulting in Öland bearing the wrong coat of arms from the 1880s until an audit in 1944.

A confusing error

The coat of arms originally granted for the island province of

Öland Öland (, ; ; sometimes written ''Øland'' in other Scandinavian languages, and often ''Oland'' internationally; la, Oelandia) is the second-largest Swedish island and the smallest of the traditional provinces of Sweden. Öland has an area ...

in 1560 displayed a golden

red deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of wes ...

on a blue field and generally resembled Öland's present arms but lacked the deer's red collar and red

antlers Antlers are extensions of an animal's skull found in members of the Cervidae (deer) family. Antlers are a single structure composed of bone, cartilage, fibrous tissue, skin, nerves, and blood vessels. They are generally found only on male ...

. In 1569, the island province of

Åland Åland ( fi, Ahvenanmaa: ; ; ) is an Federacy, autonomous and Demilitarized zone, demilitarised region of Finland since 1920 by a decision of the League of Nations. It is the smallest region of Finland by area and population, with a size of 1 ...

had been given to the

queen dowager A queen dowager or dowager queen (compare: princess dowager or dowager princess) is a title or status generally held by the widow of a king. In the case of the widow of an emperor, the title of empress dowager is used. Its full meaning is clear ...

Katarina Stenbock Catherine Stenbock (Swedish: ''Katarina Gustavsdotter Stenbock''; 22 July 1535 at Torpa, Tranemo Municipality, Västergötland – 13 December 1621 at Strömsholm, Västmanland) was Queen of Sweden from 1552 to 1560 as the third and last wife of ...

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 ...

and was awarded a coat of arms displaying two

roe deer The roe deer (''Capreolus capreolus''), also known as the roe, western roe deer, or European roe, is a species of deer. The male of the species is sometimes referred to as a roebuck. The roe is a small deer, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapt ...

on a field strewn with nine roses. The arms of these two similar-sounding provinces became confused early on, and in the 1880s Öland's arms were recorded as two roe deer with nine roses. During a heraldic revision in 1944, the office of the Swedish Herald of the Realm (''Riksheraldikerämbetet'') discovered that a mistake had been committed. It was then decided the Öland deer should have a collar, something which had sometimes occurred before and had been considered for

Djurgården Djurgården ( or ) or, more officially, ''Kungliga Djurgården'' (), is an island in central Stockholm, Sweden. Djurgården is home to historical buildings and monuments, museums, galleries, the amusement park Gröna Lund, the open-air museum ...

. So in 1944 the arms of Öland were reverted to the single golden red deer, which at this time was granted the distinction of a collar, marking it as the royal game. Heraldic authorities in Finland had long since granted

(which Sweden had ceded to Russia in 1809 along with the rest of Finland) arms bearing a single golden red deer on a blue field. In 1944 they were notified of the error but ultimately decided not make any changes and not to adopt the coat of arms originally intended for Åland with the roe deer and the nine Finnish roses. This decision made it necessary for Swedish heralds to once again alter the coat of arms for Öland, to avoid further confusion. This change included the introduction of a red collar and red antlers and hooves. File:Åland vapen.svg, Arms granted to Öland in 1560 and used there prior to the 1569 transfer of Åland, subsequently used there until present day File:Öland-Åland vapen.svg, Arms designed for Åland in the 16th century but instead used by Öland (officially 1880s–1944, but also used earlier) File:Öland vapen.svg, Arms granted to Öland in 1944, with the red collar added and the attire changed to red to distinguish it from Åland

Öland's arms 1944-present

Official blazon (in Swedish): "''I blått fält en gående hjort av guld med rött halsband och röd beväring, därest sådan skall komma till användning.''" (In a blue field a walking deer of gold with red collar and red arms, when such shall come to use.) The arms are displayed with a ducal coronet. The province was originally ranked as an earldom but following a decision by the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

on January 18, 1884 gave all Provinces the right of use to a ducal coronet for their arms.

Related arms

Åland

Åland is today an autonomous province of Finland. The arms of Öland and Åland had been confused, leading Öland to adopt the arms intended for Åland, featuring two golden deer on a blue field strewn with nine white roses. Åland, meanwhile, retained the arms which had originally been granted to Öland in 1560 (a golden deer on a blue field). The arms of Åland are displayed with a comital coronet. Blazon (in Swedish): "''I blått fält en gående hjort av guld."'' ("Azure, a hart passant Or".) Blazon (in Finnish): "''Sinisessä kentässä on kävelevä kultainen saksanhirvi.''"

Kalmar County

The

Kalmar County Kalmar County () is a county or '' län'' in southern Sweden. It borders the counties of Kronoberg, Jönköping, Blekinge and Östergötland. To the east in the Baltic Sea is the island Gotland. The counties are mainly administrative units. Geo ...

includes the eastern part of

Småland Småland () is a historical province () in southern Sweden. Småland borders Blekinge, Scania, Halland, Västergötland, Östergötland and the island Öland in the Baltic Sea. The name Småland literally means ''Small Lands''. The Latinized fo ...

and the island province of

. The arms are a combination of the arms of Småland and Öland. The arms are displayed with a royal crown, representing the

County Administrative Board A county administrative board ( sv, länsstyrelse) is a Swedish Government Agency in each of the counties of Sweden, led by a vice-regal governor ( sv, landshövding) appointed by the government for a term of six years. The lists of gubernatorial o ...

. Blazon (in Swedish): "''Sköld kvadrerad av Smålands och Ölands vapen.''" ("Quartered, the arms of Småland and Öland.")

References