Dutch heraldry

The study of Dutch heraldry focuses on the use of coats of arms and other insignia in the country of the Netherlands. Dutch heraldry is characterised by its simple and rather sober style, and in this sense, is closer to its medieval origins than the elaborate styles which developed in other heraldic traditions.

The Netherlands, and more generally the Low Countries, was an area significant to heraldic development in medieval times. One of the famous armorials is the Gelre Armorial, written between 1370 and 1414. Coats of arms in the Netherlands were not controlled by an official heraldic system like the two in the United Kingdom, nor were they used solely by noble families. Any person could develop and use a coat of arms if they wished to do so, provided they did not usurp someone else's arms, and historically, this right was enshrined in Roman Dutch law. As a result, many merchant families had coats of arms even though they were not members of the nobility. These are sometimes referred to as burgher arms, and it is thought that most arms of this type were adopted while the Netherlands was a republic (1581-1806). This heraldic tradition was also exported to the erstwhile Dutch colonies, such as South Africa, where it influenced South African heraldry.

Dutch civic heraldry is regulated by the High Council of Nobility (Dutch: Hoge Raad van Adel), which grants the arms of provinces, municipalities, water boards, Roman Catholic dioceses and Roman Catholic basilicas.

Most Dutch civic arms were originally recorded and confirmed in the years following the establishment of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1815, when mayors were asked to send in the coat of arms traditionally used. Some coats of arms recorded at that time were based on seals. In instances where the original tincture of the arms was unknown or unclear, the arms were blazoned in the ‘national tinctures’ or and azure, the colours of the royal arms. In the twentieth century, the faulty blazon of a number of these arms was subsequently corrected, when historical colours became clear or charges turned out to be misinterpreted.

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