The format for registering both accession to the nobility and registering of Coats of Arms has been consistent in Sweden since the early 17th century and was based on the system that had prevailed in the middle ages in its general principles. There is no evidence of Coats of Arms being granted to non-nobles in Sweden, except in the case of the Knights of the Order of Seraphim. However, since their knighthood made them of noble rank, although not hereditary nobles, the granting of Coats of Arms in such cases rather than being an exception was a confirmation of the rule. The Knights were unable to pass their Arms to their descendants. Not only does this make it clear that...
Sweden, Coats of Arms of each province above, is one of the European countries where an heraldic administration has been maintained , side by side with a democratic system of monarchical government. In Sweden heraldry was, until the mid 20th century, under the Riksheraldiker or King of Arms. The chief heraldic official is now known as the Statsheraldiker. The Riksheraldiker of Sweden registered the Coats of Arms for persons who were being made Barons, Counts or other nobles and the Coats of Arms so registered were incorporated in the patents issued by the Crown. The granting of arms and entry into the nobility were thus synchronized. In Sweden, as in England, Coats of Arms of burghers or citizens were unknown...
In Switzerland and the Low Countries there have been non-nobles or peasants with Coats of Arms since the Middle Ages. The word peasant in this case does not mean agricultural laborers but rather small freeholders, owners of small plots of land. In other words it refers to yeomanry in the correct use of that term. The caste structure that arose in Europe following the conquests of the Germanic tribes resulted in leaders becoming the nobility and their followers becoming freeholders of yeomanry status. In most countries the yeomanry were recognized as belonging to the frank or free classes, although over time the upper and lower freeman divided, so that in the end the noble did not intermarry with the yeoman....
LUXEMBOURG ARMS Luxembourg is officially known as the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and is situated between Belgium France and Germany. It has a population of 500,000 and an area of approximately 1,000 square miles. Luxembourg lies on the cultural divide between Germanic Europe and Romantic Europe, the official languages are French, German, and Luxembourgish. Siegfried, Count of Ardennes seized Luxembourg Castle around 963, and around this Castle the town of Luxembourg gradually developed. In the 12th century Henry the Blind, Count of Namur, ruled Luxembourg. When Henry died in 1196 the lands ruled by him were split amongst his children, and his daughter Ermesinde inherited Luxembourg. In the year 1214 Ermesinde married Walram III of Limburg, he changed the lion...
ANDORRA NATIONAL COAT OF ARMS According to legend, in the year 784, Charlemagne guaranteed that the people of Andorra could live in freedom forever. In 843 Emperor Charles II appointed the Count of Urgel to be the overlord of Andorra. From this family the rights passed, through inheritance, to the French Comte de Foix, with whom, by the Pareage of 1278, the Catalan Bishop of Urgel was made joint suzerain or feudal lord. The rights of the count passed via the House of Albret to King Henri IV of France and from the monarchs to the French Presidents after the French Revolution. Andorra is located in the Eastern Pyrenees between France and Spain. Its population is less than 100,000 and...
