Belgian noble arms - new publication
Derek Howard
"Adelbrieven verleend door Z M Albert II Koning der Belgen 1993-2000"
also known as "Lettres Patentes de Noblesse octroyées par S M Albert
II, Roi des Belges 1993-2000" (publishers Editions Racine and also
Lannoo, ISBN 90-209-4523-8). It is edited under the auspices of the
Conseil de Noblesse / Raad van Adel by the greffier of the Council and
official in charge of the nobility service of the Foreign Ministry, M.
Paul De Win and contains forwards by the two Presidents of the
Council.
This is the first official publication of arms - previous collections
having been private compilations even if with the help of the Council.
While the royal favour of nobility have been notified in the Moniteur
Belge since 1989 the arms are only granted later in the letters patent
when applied for by the beneficiaries following the publication. So
this volume fills a gap in our knowledge of modern Belgian heraldry.
There are around 125 entries (I haven't counted) - each giving the
date of the patent; the nature of the royal favour - grant of
nobility, of title, whether personal (for life) or hereditary and a
couple of changes to arms; details of the beneficiaries; an
illustration of the arms usually taken from the original patent; and a
blazon of the arms. All of course, as in the patents, in both Flemish
and French, the priority given to the language of the grantee. There
is a list of beneficiaries and an index of mottos. A few beneficiaries
are in twice having been enobled and promoted during the period.
Some of the illustrations are very good and others very disappointing.
It is easy to see why the Council on its reorganisation starting in
1996 dropped one of the artists. They currently work with two good
ones and Fernand Brose's work is generally excellent, bold, bright and
everything good heraldry should be and he rightly has the courage to
sign his illustrations.
A great many of the arms have obvious allusions (but given the
background info provided it may be in retrospect) to the work or
activities (some not so successful - a cargo ship on one), or cants -
a ball in the arms of the widow of August Bal, etc.. A couple of
designs use geometric shapes overelaying circles, triangles and
squares which I do not think are so successful eg for architects - one
of whom has a pyramid crest. And there is a little overuse of the harp
as a musical symbol.
However, these are more than offset by some very inspired modern
designs - Azure a pile inverted Sable overall five barrulets wavy -
for composer chev. Pierre Bartholomée. Or on a pale Gules a clarinet
or between two laurel branches Vert fructed Argent for chev. Walter
Boekens another musician. A stylish conception of leaves and a pen for
chev. Raoul Debroeyer a cartoonist. And baron Paul Buyse has an
elegant Argent a letter Beta in bend ending to dexter in an arrow
aimed at the base and to sinister in a branch with two leaves all
Azure and in a rose bid Gules a bordure of the second.
Perhaps the best known Belgian of the collection is baron Eddy Merckx,
the former cyclist. Using the national coulours he has gyronny of 16
Sable and Gules overall a wheel of 16 spokes Or (the spokes overlying
the junction between the field gyrons).
I quite liked the inclusion of a salamander proper in chev. Emiel
Boulpaep's arms though my personal preference would be against his use
of a microscope as a crest (examning his scalp?).
There is very imaginative use by baron Leon De Meyer of Azure a pile
inverted and stepped Or charged with the Assyrian ideogramme in
cuneiform "dNisaba za-mi" - meaning the 'goddess Nisaba salutes'
Sable. But I challenge any herald to be able to reproduce it though
without copying precisely from the original patent! He also has the
goddess Lama either side as supporters.
Baron D'Hooghe sports Barry of eight Argent and Gules a football
supported by two hands issuing from each side of the shield - which
suprisingly just about works as illustrated.
Chev. Paul Vandenplas includes on his shield Azure three models of
atoms Or in dexter chief of deuterium placed in bend with one of its
two nuclei Argent in sinister chief of tritium placed in bend sinister
with two of its three nuclei Argent and in base of helium with two of
its four nuclei Argent. Heralds are supposed to know without
instruction that helium has two electrons and the others only one.
A couple of crests go against the grain one having a diamond floating
in mid air. For the traditionalist there are plenty of demi-lions and
wings as well as pencils and pens sticking straight out.
Of interest are the occasional grants of hereditary or personal
noblesse without title. Ladies get the lozenge as standard and have no
crest, therefore no crest coronet. Gentlemen on the other hand (for
instance M. Maurice Velge) have helm and crest with crest coronet but
no coronet of rank. Titled ladies have just the coronet of rank.
Titled male nobles have both the coronet of rank above the shield and
the crest coronet on their helm. Except of course the Counts d'Udekem
d'Acoz who have a mantle summiting in the head and shoulders of an old
man. Supporters are only given for baron and above and not for
chevalier or untitled. Another Belgian aspect is that the colour of
the motto scrolls and lettering is varied and specified.
A couple of arms show foreign influence - M Philippe Lodzia-Brodzki
uses his family's traditional eastern European looking arms Gules a
boat Or and inludes plenty of peacock feathers in the crest; and baron
Paul Halter has obvious Swiss influence in his Azure on a rocky mount
Argent (really grey) a falcon between in chief two stars of six points
Or, for crest a six pointed star Or between two elephants trunks
Argent (again grey).
The Jacquet de Haveskercke family en masse have letter patent to
exchange their wreath for a crest coronet, and several members of the
de Hemptinne family were granted permission to quarter ancient (1726)
arms; thereby showing that the king has an heraldic role beyond the
strict granting of titles and nobility.
But even the conventional designs produce some very pleasing results.
all in all a nice selection worth studying and clear evidence that the
design as well as the execution of the art is improving over time and
I cannot wait for the next collection. Pitty I already have the book
otherwise I could wait and see who delivers a copy on 25 December.
Derek Howard
George Lucki
"Derek Howard" <dho...@skynet.be> wrote in message
news:ea734afc.02102...@posting.google.com...
> Another book for Christmas. Published in 2002 and already out:
> "Adelbrieven verleend door Z M Albert II Koning der Belgen 1993-2000"
> also known as "Lettres Patentes de Noblesse octroyées par S M Albert
> II, Roi des Belges 1993-2000" (publishers Editions Racine and also
> Lannoo, ISBN 90-209-4523-8). It is edited under the auspices of the
> Conseil de Noblesse / Raad van Adel by the greffier of the Council and
> official in charge of the nobility service of the Foreign Ministry, M.
> Paul De Win and contains forwards by the two Presidents of the
> Council.
>
> A couple of arms show foreign influence - M Philippe Lodzia-Brodzki
> uses his family's traditional eastern European looking arms Gules a
> boat Or and inludes plenty of peacock feathers in the crest;
These arms not only show foreign influence - they are foreign. The arms you
describe are the ancient Polish 'clan' arms h. Lodzia borne by numerous
Polish noble families including the Brodzki h. Lodzia (or Lodzia-Brodzki)
families which hail from the Nurs and Kosciany counties in Poland. Lodzia is
the proclamtion name of these arms and literally means 'boat'. It is not
uncommon for Poles to continue to wear their arms as a part of their surname
as in the case of M. Philippe Lodzia-Brodzki. Derek, do you know if M.
Brodzki's Polish nobility naturalized in Belgium or did he receive a new
ennoblement there?
Kind regards, George Lucki
Derek Howard
<snip>
> > A couple of arms show foreign influence - M Philippe Lodzia-Brodzki
> > uses his family's traditional eastern European looking arms Gules a
> > boat Or and inludes plenty of peacock feathers in the crest;
>
> These arms not only show foreign influence - they are foreign. The arms you
> describe are the ancient Polish 'clan' arms h. Lodzia borne by numerous
> Polish noble families including the Brodzki h. Lodzia (or Lodzia-Brodzki)
> families which hail from the Nurs and Kosciany counties in Poland. Lodzia is
> the proclamtion name of these arms and literally means 'boat'. It is not
> uncommon for Poles to continue to wear their arms as a part of their surname
> as in the case of M. Philippe Lodzia-Brodzki. Derek, do you know if M.
> Brodzki's Polish nobility naturalized in Belgium or did he receive a new
> ennoblement there?
The Belgian king cannot naturalise non-Belgian nobility. Apart from
recognising some titles granted by former regimes of the territory
(when it was part of the Netherlands, French Empire, Austrian or
Spanish Netherlands) to families who are Belgian (a process pretty
much completed), all titles and enoblements now granted are new
Belgian titles and enoblements.
Derek Howard
Derek Howard
> "George Lucki" <cps...@attglobal.net> wrote in message news:<3dc01...@news1.prserv.net>...
> <snip>
> > Brodzki's Polish nobility naturalized in Belgium or did he receive a new
> > ennoblement there?
> <snip>
>
> The Belgian king cannot naturalise non-Belgian nobility. Apart from
> recognising some titles granted by former regimes of the territory
> (when it was part of the Netherlands, French Empire, Austrian or
> Spanish Netherlands) to families who are Belgian (a process pretty
> much completed), all titles and enoblements now granted are new
> Belgian titles and enoblements.
The nobility was recognised on 10 June 1996 of Philippe Jean Paul
Lodzia-Bridzki, born 22 Oct 1952 at Berchem-Sainte-Agathe, Belgium, a
descendant of Joseph Salezy L-B who was inscribed 21 Nov 1791 in the
register of noblesse of the provinces of Galicia and Bukovina with the
title of chevalier in conformity with the dispositions on noble
matters of Maria Thérèse and the Emperor Joseph II 13 June 1775 and 20
January and 31 May 1782.
As I posted above the Belgian King can only create new Belgian
nobility. So L-B cannot should not be recognised as a Galician and
Bukovinan knight as a chevalier of the Belgian nobility (L-B is in any
case a Belgian national which is also a prerequisite). I must admit to
being suprised at this example of a recognition which nevertheless
stems from well outside the territory - I really have no idea how many
there have been in the past.
Derek Howard
George Lucki
Derek,
I don't know about Belgian nobillary law but speculatively the basis may be
in the Austrian connection with Belgium.
After 1772 (1st partition) the Polish regions of Ruthenia and Little Poland
as well as Bukovina and parts of others became the Kingdom of Galicia and
Lodomeria within the Austrian Empire. This name reflected the prior claim of
the Hungarian crown to these territories centuries earlier. The edicts you
referred to were made by the Austrian Empire to regulate the matter of the
status within Austria of the former Polish nobility of these lands. Polish
nobility had a different structure than that within Austria (no ranks, no
division between higher and lower nobility, etc.). According to the new
Austrian rules Polish nobles had to apply for recognition of their status,
and maybe a third or a half of them (hard to say because Poland had kept no
central registers or lists of nobles prior to 1772) were matriculated into
the Austrian nobility. Those not matriculated were generally treated as free
landowners. Among matriculated nobles those who were in Poland senators or
high state officials could gain entry into the ranks of princes, those with
provincial offices as counts or barons, paying in many cases only a fraction
of the normal passage fees. The others of documented old Polish nobility
were recognized as hereditary knights (Ritter von) in the Austrian system.
Chev. Lodzia-Brodzki's ancestor was one of three family lines of Brodzkis
who entered these ranks. Subsequently Austrian Emperors also ennobled some
unmatriculated Polish nobles (as well as Poles of other estates) as either
untitled nobles or with the ranks of Edler von, Ritter von or various
titles. While I understand that in Austria seperate nobility books were kept
for each territory there was also a functional reciprocity that allowed for
some recognition across lands without further naturalisation. I am aware
that there are a number of other families in Belgium that could establish
the same basis as Chev. Brodzki h. Lodzia.
Kind regards, George Lucki
Francois R. Velde
> I don't know about Belgian nobillary law but speculatively the basis may be
> in the Austrian connection with Belgium.
Perhaps, but from the point of view of Belgian nobiliary law nothing
that precedes 1815 establishes any claim. The family could have been
noble in the Austrian Netherlands, or in other Austrian dominions, or
in any European territory, or not at all. In principle, it doesn't
matter. All Belgian nobility was granted de novo after 1815, and it
is up to the sovereign to grant it.
--
François R. Velde
ve...@nospam.org (replace by "heraldica")
Heraldica Web Site: http://www.heraldica.org/
George Lucki
the recognition of the nobility and rank Chev. of M. Brodzki.
Would it appear then that this would be outside the perogative of the King
of the Belgians?
Kind regards, George Lucki
"Francois R. Velde" <ve...@heraldicaNOTSPAM.invalid> wrote in message
news:ar4f87$2pk$1...@e250.ripco.com...
Francois R. Velde
>the recognition of the nobility and rank Chev. of M. Brodzki.
I'm just as perplexed as Derek.
--
François Velde
ve...@nospam.org (replace by "heraldica")
Heraldry Site: http://www.heraldica.org/