Burgher arms

Burgher arms are coats of arms borne by persons of the burgher social class of continental Europe (usually called bourgeois in English) since the Middle Ages. By definition, the term is alien to British heraldry.

Although the term burgher arms refers to the bourgeoisie, it is often extended also to arms of (Protestant) clergy and even to arms of peasants. In several European countries, the use of armorial bearings was restricted to a particular social class, e.g. the use of supporters in Great Britain, tinctures in Portugal or coronets in Sweden. In other countries, every individual, family and community has been free to adopt arms and use it as they please, provided they have not wrongfully assumed the arms of another.

Use of coats of arms by burghers and artisans began during the 13th century and in the 14th century some peasants took to using arms. The arms of burghers bore a far wider variety of charges than the arms of nobility like everyday objects, in particular, tools. In burgher arms are met sometimes also house marks which are not met in arms of nobility. Most widespread burgher heraldry was and still is in Switzerland and in the Netherlands. In the Netherlands only a small percentage of the existing arms belong to the nobility.

Crest-coronets in burgher arms are correct only if the arms were granted by a sovereign and the coronet is explicitly mentioned in the grant.

Although assumption of arms always remained free, the emperors of the Holy Roman Empire since Charles IV began to grant arms without raising people to nobiliary status. In the 15th century the authority to grant arms was delegated to “Counts Palatine of the Imperial Court” (German: ), who from then on also granted arms to burghers. This was regarded as luxury everyone was not able to afford.

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