Norwegian heraldry

Av Harald Nissen

Because Norway lies on the northern periphery of Europe, cultural currents tend to reach it late. This applied to heraldry, too. Norway was not on the regular route for troubadours and wandering knights, who were always able to disseminate changing fashions. On the other hand, it was easier for opinions on style to become more established and only adapt to national traits.



During the reign of King Håkon Håkonson (1217-1263), contact with European, and especially French, culture increased. Influence was exerted on the visual arts and the first signs appeared that the interest of Norwegians was being awakened by the flourishing heraldry.



The king adopted the princely symbol that was common to the rest of Europe, the lion, this being subsequently armed with a battle-axe. St Olav or King Olav Haraldson had fallen at the Battle of Stiklestad in Norway in 1030, being in part killed by blows from an axe. The lion with the battle-axe therefore symbolises St Olav or the immortal King of Norway, as he was later called.



The first coloured reproduction of the Norwegian royal coat-of-arms is in the Wijnbergen roll of arms (about 1265-1288) and depicts gules a lion rampant armed with a battle-axe, all or. In the Gelre roll of arms (about 1369-1395), the rampant lion wears a crown and has a battle-axe argent; the author knew nothing of other Norwegian arms. Nowadays, the crowned lion has an axe with a handle or and an axe head argent.



The first armorial seal known from Norway that did not belong to the Royal House post-dates the earliest of those known from Denmark and Sweden (which then included Finland). This is the seal of a knight named Basse Gudthormson, and was reproduced in 1286 (Dipl. Norv. V, 16). It was on a document on which he testifies that he was present when Arnbjørn of Heimnes made his last will and testament.



The number of armorial seals and reproductions in colour, such as church decorations, enamel objects and drinking horns increased during the 14th century. French and Scottish heraldry influenced the arms of some important noblemen. One of these was a baron named Audun Hugleikson who had an equestrian seal (1295) and a privy seal (1295) depicting a rose with double tressure flory-counterflory. Another nobleman, Nikulas Halsteinson, had a seal bearing a coat-of-arms comprised of three legs (Dipl. Norv. X, 51), a motif resembling the arms of the Isle of Man.



In Norway, as in Denmark and Sweden, the 14th century showed the appearance of arms depicting a leg with a spur, as is found now in the arms of various families in several countries. Several Skanke families in Norway now have arms with one leg, but no connection between the Skanke families and Medieval armigerous families has been proved.



A contemporary Norwegian family of noble origin, the Galtung family, claims to trace its ancestors back to the Middle Ages and now uses as its arms argent a boar sable.



The Black Death, which reached its peak in Norway in 1349, debilitated the country both economically and politically. Of the seals that are known today, only 10 originated in 1349 and 3 in 1350, whereas there were 40 new ones in 1348. A number of years passed before more than 30 new seals are known to have appeared in a single year.



Norway was in personal union with Sweden from 1319, and later with Denmark, too, King Håkon VI having married Margrethe, a daughter of the Danish king, Valdemar Atterdag. Their son Olav, who died at the age of 17, became King of Norway and was also elected King of Denmark. In 1389, a union was established between Denmark, Norway and Sweden (the Kalmar Union). Sweden left in 1521, but the union between Denmark and Norway lasted until 1814 when Norway was united with Sweden. This lasted until 1905 when the Danish prince, Carl, was elected King of Norway. He took the name Haakon VII and was the great-grandfather of the present king, Harald V.



During the union with Denmark, the king and his court lived in Denmark and seldom visited Norway. The few high Norwegian nobility died out and the gentry had little political power. The few noble daughters who inherited large estates were married to Danish noblemen, and Norway obtained a number of noble families of foreign origin in the period prior to the Reformation in 1536.



It is not known whether there was any heraldic institution in Norway. Danish heralds are mentioned in connection with tournaments during the reign of the Danish hing, Erik Menved (1286-1319). Heralds are also mentioned during the reigns of Valdemar Atterdag and Erik of Pommerania, who succeeded Queen Margrethe in 1412 as King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. An heraldic institution was created during the reign of Christian I (who reigned from 1448 to 1481) and was maintained by his successors; this presumably took place in connection with the establishment of the Elephant Order in Denmark. References are made to the King of Arms Denmark, the herald Sealand and the pursuivant Lolland. Archduchess Margrethe of Austria (ruler of the Netherlands) writes in a letter to the Danish King of Arms Norway, dated 23rd June 1508, that she is willing to help the citizens of Hamburg with their outstanding account with the Dutch States General. There were certainly two Kings of Arms, one named Denmark and the other Norway, from the end of the 16th century.



The heralds of the Danish-Norwegian kings seem to have been used on ceremonial occasions and for political missions, but nothing is known of visitations, and when letters patent were ennobled with the new arms of the ennobled person, the signature and seal were those of the king.



After absolutism was introduced in 1660, the heralds became less prominent, only being used when a new king was proclaimed or the Supreme Court was opened.



Tournaments have taken place in Scandinavia, among them several in Copenhagen, and others in Kalmar (1337), Lund (1406) and Stockholm (1438). Tournaments took place in Trondheim in 1449 (the coronation of Karl Knutson Bonde) and 1450 (the coronation of Christian I) where, respectively, 15 and 22 noblemen were knighted. It is not known whether the combatants in the Scandinavian tournaments used heraldic shields, crests, horse trappings, etc., but evidence from Medieval tombstones and equestrian seals shows that such equipment was known in Norway.



The oldest arms in Norway are assumed arms. The granting of arms in connection with ennobling is known from the reign of Erik of Pommerania (1397-1439), but the practice may be older in both Denmark and Norway.



The king was not the only one to grant arms. The Norwegian archbishop, Erik Walkendorff, who resided in Trondheim, granted arms on 3rd May 1517 to one of his bailiffs, Simon Svensson, for faithful and willing service, for himself and his descendants for eternity. He and his wife were simultaneously enfeoffed with some estates from the archdiocese for their lifetime. The original letter no longer exists, but the text in Dipl. Norv. (X, 315) shows that the coat-of-arms granted to Simon Svensson was azure a demi stag or and as a crest a pair of attires or.



Another letters patent known to have been granted presumably had a similar content. It is only known through the "absolutely truthful pronouncement" of 20th July 1543 by the Lord Lieutenant of Bergen, Christopher Huitfeldt, that he had seen it (Dipl. Norw. X, 718). This letter from Archbishop Erik Walkendorff enfeoffed his bailiff, Oluf Mogensson, with estates, but the letter was destroyed in a fire in the archbishop's castle on Steinvikholmen.



Christopher Huitfeldt gives no information about arms. However, a lexicon of noble families in Denmark, Norway and the Duchies, dated 1787, states that Oluf Mogensson bore arms per fess with a cross of passion in each field. It says nothing about the tinctures of this coat-of-arms.



Following the Reformation in 1536, the last archbishop of Norway sailed to the Netherlands in April 1537, but Simon Svensson and Oluf Mogensson had retained their estates and become aldermen in Trondheim, the latter becoming High Court Judge in Trondheim in 1538.



Norwegian trade increased in the 16th and 17th centuries. Peasants bought farms on former Crown land confiscated from the Catholic Church, and ship-borne trade was promoted. This society that offered enhancing opportunities attracted people from various social classes from the frequently war-torn Europe. The Danish-Norwegian kings welcomed foreigners as officers of the Crown, and they were also recruited into the

business community. Some of these people originated from armigerous families, and others assumed arms after settling in Norway. A few were ennobled by the king, but it is not possible to distinguish such a class in the group of higher Crown officers and landowning merchant lords because the new noblemen were drawn from that group. When ennoblement took place, new coats-of-arms were granted.



Following the introduction of absolute monarchy in 1660, Royal Decrees were issued concerning the kinds of crowns and coronets to be used by the Royal House, the aristocracy (including counts and barons) and untitled nobility.



Some officials born as commoners were given the same privileges as the untitled nobility of noble birth. They were regarded as noblemen for their lifetime, as were their wives and children. They were therefore permitted to use an open helmet turned half dexter with four visible bars. If they rose to become higher officers (for instance, colonel or higher rank in the army, bishop or lord lieutenant), their rank in the nobility became heritable. Today, there are no regulations in Norway concerning the use of an open or closed helmet. Present-day descendants of officials from the period of absolutism often use an open helmet with bars.



During the 17th and 18th centuries, there were still a few descendants in Norway of Danish noblemen who had married ladies from Norwegian families and inherited their estates. It was important for these to show their seize quartiers. A very rare example is the coat-of-arms around the gate of the manor house of Austraat beside Trondheimsfjord. This manor, widely known through the play, "Lady Inger", by Henrik Ibsen, was built by Ove Bielke in 1654-1656. A 13th century church was incorporated in the manor house and is now represented by the great hall and the manor chapel beneath it. The Bielke arms, argent two bars azure, are flanked by the arms of his first and second wives, Maren Juel bearing a star or and three bars wavy argent, and Regitze Gedde an azure a pike (Esox lucius) in bend argent. But the figure shows that the pike has mistakenly become per bend sinister. At the top is the sacred monogram, IHS (Greek for Jesus) and the inscription STIRPEM SERVORUM SERVA DEUS ALME TUORUM (Gracious God, protect the descendants of your servants). Below the coat-of-arms of Ove Bielke and his two spouses are the arms of his father Jens Bielke and his mother Sophie Brockenhuus, per pale argent and gules three roses in pale azure. Further down on the left side of the gate are the arms of the ancestral mothers on the paternal side, and on the right those on the maternal side. Using modern spelling the names are as follows:



LEFT SIDE (PATERNAL MOTHERS) RIGHT SIDE (MATERNAL MOTHERS)



Bielke 1 Brockenhuus

Thott 2 Juel

Gyldenløve 3 Gyldenhorn

Krabbe 4 Lunge

Bing 5 Bild

Rømer 6 Flemming

Rønnow 7 Gris

Rosenkrantz 8 Friis

Bølle 9 Rønnow

Passou 10 Glaab

Kane 11 Nielsen

Lunge 12 Lunge

Splid 13 Sehested

Flemming 14 Biørn

Strutz 15 Kane

Thott 16 Lunge





Jens Bielke is succeeded below by Thott, quarterly gules and or, the arms of his paternal grandmother Margrethe Thott. Then there are the arms of the two great-grandmothers, Lucie Gyldenløve (Golden Lion) per fess or with a crowned lion gules and lozengy or and gules (as a token of courtesy, the lion is turned to face the arms on the right side of the gate), and Vibeke Krabbe gules a fess argent. Then there are the arms of 4 great-great-grandmothers and finally 8 great-great-great-grandmothers. Incidentally, number 6, Rømer, per bend argent and sable, represents Inger Ottesdatter Rømer who was the model for Ibsen's play, "Lady Inger", although the play is not historically correct even though this was a very dramatic period in Norwegian history.



The same system of arms is found on the right side of the gate, and is as follows:



1 9 5 13 3 11 7 15 2 10 6 14 4 12 8 16

1 5 3 7 2 6 4 8

1 3 2 4

1 2

1



This system has been discussed by Galbreath (1977, pp. 326, 269-270) and Sir Thomas Innes of Learney (1978, pp. 99-101). In Scandinavia, the system has been most thoroughly discussed by the Danish heraldist Knud Prange (1982, 1985) who also mentioned it in his lecture at the 20th International Genealogical and Heraldic Congress in Uppsala 9-13 August 1992. The system has been used in Denmark and Norway and must have originated in Germany.



The genealogical table of the Austraat arms illustrates the family connections between the noble families in Scandinavia during the late Middle Ages and the first years after the Reformation in 1536. Gyldenløve (Golden lion), Gyldenhorn (Golden horn), azure a hunting horn gules), Kane (azure a bend gules over a bend sinister argent between four roses argent), Nielsen (azure a fess sable between three demi fleur-de-lys or) and Strutz (argent an ostrich with a horseshoe in its beak all sable and a sun in the dexter canton and a rose in the dexter base) are Norwegian families.



Bielke, Bing and Thott are from Scania, which was Danish before 1658 when it was surrendered to Sweden. Rønnow is from Holstein, and Flemming and Moltke are from Germany. All the others are from Denmark.



Juel, Krabbe, Moltke and Sehested are present-day nobility in Denmark, and Thott is a noble family in Sweden, whereas Rosenkrantz is a noble family in both Denmark and Sweden.



Most of the Danish-Norwegian nobility used no hereditary titles. However, after the introduction of absolutism in 1660, 28 counties (estates for counts) and 32 baronies were established between 1671 and 1848. Two of these counties and one barony were in Norway. The Norwegian parliament abolished all hereditary noble titles and privileges in 1821, but those who had been born before the Act was passed were able to retain their titles and privileges until they died. Of these three counties and baronies, only the county of Jarlsberg now exists as an entailed estate for the Wedel Jarlsberg family which has been in residence since 1684.



There are still 19 families living in Norway that are included in the Danish nobility and registered in the Adels Aarbog (the Danish Yearbook of Nobility).



In 1969, the Norwegian heraldist, Hans Cappelen, published Norske slektsvåpen (Norwegian coats-of-arms). This book lists families that have been using the same arms, starting no later than 100 years ago. Additional conditions were that the families had had some influence in Norwegian social life for three generations or more, and members of the family had to be living in Norway in 1969. The book gives information about 355 families, including drawings and blazons of their arms.



In addition to families that have their roots in Norway, the book illustrates the immigration to Norway of foreign families during the 17th and 18th centuries. Excluding 12 families whose origins are uncertain, there are 100 Norwegian families, 89 from Denmark, 73 from Germany, 29 from Schleswig-Holstein, 12 from the Netherlands, 10 from France, 7 from England, 7 from Switzerland, 6 from Sweden, 4 from Scotland, 4 from the Baltic States, 1 from Poland and 1 from Austria. They come from a variety of social classes, nobility, landed gentry, burgher families, artisans and peasantry. Some of the families had arms before they came to Norway, others assumed them after settling in Norway.



The Norwegian private heraldry now leads a humble existence, perhaps a bookplate or a signet ring. On the other hand, Norway has a very visible official heraldry. Cities such as Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim and Tønsberg use their medieval seals as arms. Some towns were granted arms by Royal Decree during the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. Some private individuals during the 19th century also attempted to create arms for towns, and some arms were used by the local authorities.



In the years before and especially after the Second World War, the Norwegian heraldist, Hallvard Trätteberg (1898-1987) worked on Norwegian official heraldry. He was a deputy archivist in the National Archive Office in Oslo and adviser for the Government on heraldic questions. He also provided rules for municipal heraldry. He designed simple arms with distinctive charges, one metal and one colour. External supporters, compartments, etc. were omitted. Local authorities and counties use their arms to mark road signs and properties.



To acquire approval by Royal Decree, a local authority has to apply to the Ministry of Local Government, through the county governor. The Ministry consults the National Archive Office, which has experts on heraldry. If an heraldic proposal is not satisfactory and is not recommended by the National Archive Office, the proposal of arms will not attain approval by a Council presided over by the King.



Other official institutions use arms or badges, too. The Norwegian Church uses the arms of the Norwegian archdiocese, dating from before the Reformation.



The Norwegian Army, Navy and Air Force also use heraldry. Major-general Torbjørn Bergersen, an excellent heraldic artist, has designed the arms of all the units in the Norwegian Army. The arms and badges of the Norwegian Air Force are in the same style as those in the RAF, a tradition from the Second World War when a new Norwegian Air Force had to be built up in Great Britain and Canada (Little Norway).



Norway has an heraldic association with about 150 members. The most active members are also members of Societas Heraldica Scandinavica, and some also belong to the Heraldry Society of London and the Heraldry Society of Canada.