DENMARK

ESSAY

HERALDRY

Early Arms

The Royal Arms

The Arms of State

The Crest

The Crown

The Greater royal arms

The Royal achievement

The Greater Royal Achievement

ARMED FORCES

The Crowned Arms

Erik VI, Menved

1286-1319

King Erik Menved was buried in St. Bend’s church in Ringsted next to his queen Ingeborg. Over their grave was a brass plate, truly royal ornamented, and  almost three meters in length.

Christopher II

*1276-†1332

1st term 1320-1326

Erik Christoffersen

*1307-†1332

co-regent 1st term 1321-1326

Valdemar III

*~1314-†1364

Duke of Schleswig 1325-1326

King of Denmark 1326-1329

Duke of Schleswig 1330-1364

Seals of Waldemar III

Petersen 32a, 32b, 33

32a Seal of majesty of Waldemar III, 1327

L.: X WALDMA[RVS - D]EI - GRA - DANOR[VM SCLAVOR q' REX]

32b Counterseal of Waldemar III, 1327

Crested helmet: Buffalo’s horns set with four sets of peacock feathers

 L.: [GALEA - WALDEMAR]I-D[EI GRA - DANOR - SCLAVOR q REGIS.

D.: 1327 Okt. 10 O

33 Seal of king Waldemar III

A three-leaved crown

L.: X[SIGNVM :WALDEM]ARI:DANOR' - SCL[AVOR' q'] REGIS.

D.: 1326 Aug. I5

Christopher II

1320-1332

2nd term 1330-1332

Erik Christoffersen

Co-regent 2nd term 1330-1332

Interregnum 1332-1340

Valdemar IV Atterdag

*1320-†1375

King of Denmark 1340

Duke of Estonia 1344-1346

Seal and counterseal 1344

Petersen suppl 1a-b

Suppl. 1a. Woldemarus, Danorum Sclavorumque rex et dux Estoniæ. Kongen med Krone, Scepter and orb, the field srtrewn with roses

L.: .....EMARVS DEI GRA DANOR' SCLAVOR' QVE REX ET DVX ESTO .....

Suppl. 1b. Counterseal: Arms:  Strewn with hearts, three crowned lions passant

Seal and counterseal, 1345-‘52

Petersen 39a-b

39a Woldemare, choning der Denen vnd der Wende..

L.: X WALDEMARVS : DGI : GRACIA : DANORVM :SCLAVORUM Q REGIS ET DUX ESTONIÆ|.

39b Counterseal

Arms: Strewn with hearts, three crowned lions passant

L.: CLIPEVS : WA[LDEMARVS DEI GRA]CIA:DAN[ RVM Q: SCLAVORVM . REGIS : ET : DVCIS : ESTONIÆ]. Date: 1345; 1346; 1347; 1352

Secret Seal of King Albrecht, 1376

Petersen  51

Albrecht was count of Mecklenburg, heir of Denmark, count of Schwerin,  Stargard and Rostock.

Arms: Three crowned lions passant guardant

L.: X S'[A .......... RE]G[IS = ]DACIE ..... OR.

Date: 1376 .02.14

House of Norway

Oluf II (IV)

*1370-†1387

King of Denmark 1376-1387

KIng of Norway 1381-1387

A crown in relation with the arms appears in the end of the 14th century.

Seal and counter seal of Oluf II, 1376

Petersen 47a-b

a Seal of Majesty: The young king, crowned, sitting on his throne

L.: X s olavi dei gracia dano[rum] sclavorum gothorum q regis

b Counter seal: Strewn with hearts three crowned lions passant guardant

L.: X clipeus olavidei gracia danorun sclavorum gothorum q regis

Seal ad causas1377

Petersen 46

Crown crested with cross

L.: X s olavi dei gracia regis danorum ad causas

Seal of Oluf II 1376-1385

Petersen 48

Arms: Strewn with hearts three crowned lions passant guardant

Crown: Of three lilies (as in 1377)

L.: X secretum olavi dei gracia danorun sclavorum gothorum q regis

Coat of arms of King Olaf IV of Norway, Olaf II of Denmark.

Contemporary wall sculpture near his grave. Cloister Church of Sorø, Ringstead, Denmark

Arms: Crowned lion with curved axe

The shield hanging from a nail

Following his death at Falsterbohus, Olaf's mother was proclaimed “all powerful lady and mistress and the Kingdom of Denmark's Regent”. Denmark had at the time no provision that enabled a woman to rule in her own right. The next year Norway proclaimed her Norway's “reigning queen” After the defeat and overthrow of King Albert in 1389 she was proclaimed “all powerful lady of Sweden”. On 13 June 1397, she was able to unite the three Scandinavian kingdoms in a personal union under one crown for her successor Eric of Pomerania by the Kalmar Union.

Margarethe I

*1353-†1412

Queen of Denmark 1387-1396

.

Seal ad causas of Margarethe, 1388

Petersen 54

Square cross charged with a crown

L.:  sigillum regni dacie ad causas.

Date: 1388 01. 21

Seal of Majesty of Margarete, 1388-03-06

Petersen 58

The queen sitting in majesty

L.: [S. MARGARETE. DEI GRACIA. RG]GlNE NORWEGIE: ET : SVECIE AD CAVSAS].

1375-’76 Margaret was the sister of Christoffer.

The arms with the lions are on the seal 1375/76 (Petersen n°  53).

Albrecht, by God’s grace duke of Mecklenburg was heir of Denmark, count of Schwering, and lord of  Stargard and Rostock

I sexbladet Ramme et Skjold, hvori tre gaaende Leoparder uden Hjerter, derover en Tøndehjelm en face med omhængt Klæde og paa Hjelmen et kr.

Tyrehoved en face. S’. ALBERTI – REX’. DACIEAG – l)V(1’- CDAGUOPO’.

1387 Nov. 17

House of Pomerania

Erik VII of Pomerania

*1382-†1459

King of Denmark 1396-1439

His seal used 1399-1436

(Petersen n° 63)

Arms: Cross charged with an escutcheon of three crowned lions passant guardant.

L.: X sigillumerici dei gracia regis danorum ad causas

D.: 1399 Nov.

From: Richental Ulrich Chronik des Konzils zu Konstanz. 1414-1418. Darmstadt 2015

House of the Palatinate

Christoffer III

*1416-†1448

King of Denmark 1440-1448

House of Oldenburg

Christian I

1448-1481

The kings of Frisia, Ireland, Denmark, Majorca and Iceland. ca. 1475

Paris, Bibliothèque Mazari­ne Ms. 3711-1288.

Interregnum

1481-1483

Hans

1483-1513

Christian II

*1481-†1559

1513-1523

King of Sweden 1520-1521

164th knight of the Fleece, Barcelona 1519

deposed 1523

Portrait of King Christian II

By Jan Gossaert, 1529. Coll. Fondation Custodia, Paris

The king surrounded by the arms of the kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden and the terrritories of Wenden, Schleswig, Oldenburg, a Cross, Holstein and Stormarn

Frederick I

1523-1533

Christian III

1534-1559

Petersen 122b 1546

Frederick II

1559-1588

Christian IV

1588-1648

Kirkedørens portal, Frederiksborg

Frederick III

1648-1670

Christian V

1670-1699

Frederick IV

1699-1730

Christian VI

1730-1746

Frederick V

1746-1766

Christian VII

1766-1808

Frederick VI

1808-1839

Frederick VI ,( 28.01.1768 – 03.12.1839) was King of Denmark from 13.-03.1808 to 03 12.1839 and King of Norway from 13.03.1808 to 02. 07.1814, making him the last king of Denmark–Norway. From 1784 until his accession, he served as regent during his father's mental illness and was referred to as the "Crown Prince Regent" (kronprinsregent). For his motto he chose God and the just cause (Danish: Gud og den retfærdige sag) and since the time of his reign, succeeding Danish monarchs have also chosen mottos in the Danish language rather than the formerly customary Latin.

Loss of Norway 1814

Christian VIII

1839-1848

Danish West Indies, 20 skilling 1839-‘48

Christian VII

1848-1863

Danish West Indies, 1 cent, 1859

Denmark became a constitutional monarchy on 5 June 1849.  A new constitution emerged, separating the powers and granting the franchise to all adult males, as well as freedom of the press, religion, and association. The king became head of the executive branch. The legislative branch consisted of two parliamentary chambers; the Folketing, comprising members elected by the general population, and the Landsting (1849-1953), elected by landowners. Denmark also gained an independent judiciary. [1]

Line of Glücksburg

Christian IX

1863-1906

Loss of Schleswig-Holstein at the  Second Schleswig War (1864).

Frederick VIII

1906-1912

Postcard of KIng Frederick VIII and Queen Louise (1907)

Arms of Denmark with mottoes Omnia cum deo nihil sine deo / Dominus mihi adjutor

Christian X

1912-1947

Frederick IX

1947-1972

Until around 1960 Denmark also had a large coat of arms. Both were used by the government. In 1959, the large coat of arms changed status and became the royal coat of arms - that is a coat of arms for the king and the royal family. The large coat of arms is inspired by one which was designed in 1819 and adopted by king Frederik VI.

The large coat of arms comprise symbols representing all parts of the Danish kingdom - or to be precise: only territories that are still part of the Kingdom of Denmark. In the coat of arms shown to the left the upper left part of the shield (the three lions) represents Denmark. In the lower part the three crowns (only two are visible) represents Sweden, this is for historic reasons. The polar bear represents Greenland and the ram represents the Faroe Islands. The two lions in the upper right side represents the principality of Slesvig. Until 1972, it also included other symbols representing principalities in Germany and parts of present-day Sweden that used to be ruled by the Danish king.

Margarethe II

1972-

In 1972 when King Frederik IX died and Margrethe II became queen the coat of arms of the royal family was redesigned, and today it only comprises symbols representing the current parts of the Danish Kingdom. The new arms were adopted by allerhøjete resolution af 5. juli 1972.

See illustration in the head of this article

The smaller arms of Denmark consisting of the shield with the hearts and the lions and crowned with the royal crown, are used by the sovereign and the institutions of state.

Marshalled Arms

After the deah of King Oluf in 1387, the arms of the parts of the personal union of Denmark, Norway and Sweden were displayed together in alliance by Queen Margarethe for a short time. By her successor Eric of Pomerania the arms of the personal union were marshalled  on one single shield.

Æ Greater Royal Arms of Denmark

Folketing

The uncrowned arms are used by the Folketing, the legislative power.

Police

The Danish Police is subordinated to the Ministry of Justice.

Hand and Eye of the Danish Police

Domkirkeplads 5,  Rosensgade Århus (DK)

The Danish police originated in 1682, when King Christian V. appointed a chief of police for Copenhagen to enforce regulations concerning the social order, in the meantime called "the police". From 1683 he was also given authority over the market towns, where townspeople should act as his proxy. In a regulation on the police administration of 1701, this was changed to that townspeople were assigned to the office as police chiefs

Rules on police matters were not included in Christian V’s Danish Law of 15.04.1683, but were collected in a number of regulations that were published in 1686. Denmark's first police officer, Claus Rasch (1639-1705), who was appointed in Copenhagen in 1682, received already 23.06.1683 his first general instruction, after which the police became a special regulatory body that had to supervise and apply physical power to the compliance of the regulations using officers.

Police enforcement of the order originally included religious, moral, health and social issues. Added to this was the task of safety, i.e. protection against crimes, and finally, the police were left to monitor the social peace in order to discourage rebellion.

These police duties existed both under the Danish monarchy and in the constitutional state from 1849, and they are still found in sections 1 and 2 of the Police Act, after which the police must work for security, safety, peace and order in society, including bringing criminal offense to an end. and investigate and pursue offenses.

The criminal police outside Copenhagen became a state police in 1911, and from 1919 the criminal police throughout the country were state police. The police, on the other hand, remained municipal until 1938.

In 1938, the Danish police were organized in a state police, which included police and criminal police.

After 2007, the division between police and criminal police no longer applies.

Approximately approx. 14,000 in the police, including 11,000 police officers (2010). The police office staff is approx. 1700 people, and the legal staff, which mainly handle prosecution, amount to 625. There are another approx. 650 civilian employees and students.

With a reform valid from 2007, the Danish police have been reorganized and modernized. The reform is based on recommendations from the Vision Committee for the future police, and has influence on the police organization, management and governance as well as on establishing 12 new, large police districts instead of the previous 54 circles ... Read more about politikredse and Rigspolitichefen.

Police emblem

The police have since 1687 been provided with ID, from 1701 in the form of a white stick or wooden handle of the 4 inch length, with a hand on the end, and an eye inside the hand, and a crown of the wrist, and clouds at the bottom of the ring on the wooden hand shaft. The eye in the hand, which as a symbol of the police authority first appeared in police officer Claus Rasch's seal from 1691, is probably taken from the Old Testament.

The police hand, which was used at the same time as a coat of arms, served as a badge until the 1890s.

Politihånd

Danish Police Museum, Copenhagen

In 1687, it was decided that police officers as a sign of authority should wear an emblem of tin with the Copenhagen city arms, as they still did not wear a uniform. In 1701, the emblem was replaced by a stick, a single hand at one end

In a police ordinance of 1762, the police sign is described as "a ... stick ... with a hand on the end, and an eye inside the hand, as well as a crown about the wrist, and clouds underneath the ring on the wood-handle ..."

Both the eye - the all-seeing, the watchful - and the hand – protecting, correcing and helping - are old symbols of God. The sign was used by the Moors in the 14th century in connection with the announcement of laws and convictions, Why the hand with the eye became the symbol of the Danish police, we do not know.

The eye in the hand, first appeared in police officer Claus Rasch's seal from 1691, is probably taken from the Old Testament. The police hand, which was used at the same time as charge of the arms, serving as a  badge in the 1890s.

Gorgets (Ringkrave) and police badges,

 beginning 19th – mid 20th century

Date unknown

Seal of Aarhus between two Hand and Eyes of the Law

Seal of Aarhus, 1356

With tierced arms and collar

Coast guard 1848

Loss of Shleswig-Holstein 1864

With achievement of Christian IX (before 1903)

Badges

Copenhagen police badge, obverse and revrse

Police helmet emblem

Beginning 19th – mid 20th century

Cap badge 1900-1950

The present Danish police was formed in 1919. It consists of 12 districts each managed by a director, and two minor districts in Greenland and the Faroe Islands, run by a local chief of police. The district of Copenhagen is somewhat differently organized due to its size and tasks. Besides the regular districts other organizations exist that work outside the general police:

Rigspolitiet - a nationwide police force with specialized tasks such as Budgets and Accounts, Building Surveying Department and the Data Investigating Department (1911/1919)

Politiets Efterretningstjeneste - the national security intelligence agency of Denmark (1939)

Politiets Aktionsstyrke - the special forces unit of the Danish police (1972)

State Police cap badge since 1954

breast badge 1954

Police staff medal 1958 -1994.

Police badge, which the staff was equipped with from 1958.

In 1994, the plastic-laminated identification card was introduced.

State Police

National Security and Intelligence service

Politiets Efterretningstjeneste