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 centu ...

History

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

herald A herald, or a herald of arms, is an officer of arms, ranking between pursuivant and king of arms. The title is commonly applied more broadly to all officers of arms. Heralds were originally messengers sent by monarchs or noblemen to ...

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 Gera ...

and also the creator of the Beyeren Armorial. 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. The Gelre Armorial manuscript is nowadays preserved in the Royal Library of Belgium (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 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'' (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 Waardenburg is a village in the Dutch province of Gelderland. It is a part of the municipality of West Betuwe, and is located about 13 km west of Tiel. Waardenburg was a separate municipality until 1978, when it was merged with Neerijnen. ...

, Ulft, Eyl, Lawick, Homoet, Lackmonde,

Groesbeek Groesbeek () is a town and former municipality in the province of Gelderland, the Netherlands. In January 2015 the former municipality merged with Millingen aan de Rijn and Ubbergen. The larger area was known as Groesbeek until January 2016, when ...

, 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 i ...

Wickerode Wickerode is a village and a former municipality in the Mansfeld-Südharz district, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 September 2010, it is part of the municipality Südharz Südharz (literally "South Harz") is a municipality in the Mansfeld-S� ...

, Beynum, Myerlaer,

Ubbergen Ubbergen () is village and former municipality in the eastern Netherlands, in the province of Gelderland. The village is part of the municipality of Berg en Dal (formerly known as Groesbeek). Notable people Notable people who were born in Ubberge ...

, and Hoemen depicting the arms of noble families in the

Duchy of Guelders The Duchy of Guelders ( nl, Gelre, french: Gueldre, german: Geldern) is a historical duchy, previously county, of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the Low Countries. Geography The duchy was named after the town of Geldern (''Gelder'') in p ...

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