Hainaut

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HAINAUT

Official blazon

Ecartelé, aux 1 et 4 d'or au lion de sable, armé et lampassé de gueules; aux 2 et 3 d'or au lion de gueules, armé et lampassé d'azur; couronne comtale à treize perles dont trois relevées

Origin/meaning

The arms are a combination of the arms of the counties Vlaanderen and Holland.

Hainaut is a county in the southern part of the country and was first mentioned in the 11^th century. The oldest arms of the county show 3 chevrons sable on a shield or. These arms are known since Baldwin V (1171-1195). In the 12th-13th centuries the succession in Hainaut was very complicated. In 1279 Jan I of Vlaanderen inherited Hainaut. He did not use the old arms, but the arms of Vlaanderen instead. His son William I of Hainaut (II of Vlaanderen and Holland) used arms quartered of Vlaanderen and Holland. He did not use separate arms for Hainaut. The quartered arms have been in use ever since.

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  The arms in a 17th century manuscript

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  The arms in the Broodhuis museum, Brussels

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  The arms in the Wapen- en Vlaggenboek van Gerrit Hesman (1708)

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  The arms in the Koffie Hag/Café Hag albums +/- 1930

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  The arms on a tile, 1930s

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  The arms on a police badge (source)

Literature: Vries, H. de : Wapens van de Nederlanden, Amsterdam, 1995.