House of Hohenstaufen - Coat of Arms

Coat of Arms

When Frederick I became Duke of Swabia in 1079, his coat of arms depicted a black lion on a gold shield. Whilst members of the dynasty reigned over monarchies, and, eventually, the whole of the Holy Roman Empire, the Hohenstaufen coat of arms was used as a breast shield on the empire’s coat of arms. Philip of Swabia, elected German king in 1198, changed the coat of arms, and the lion was replaced by three leopards, probably derived from the arms of his Welf rival Otto IV.

Read more about this topic:  House Of Hohenstaufen

Famous quotes containing the words coat of, coat and/or arms:

    “Want is a growing giant whom the coat of Have was never large enough to cover.”
    —Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)

    “Want is a growing giant whom the coat of Have was never large enough to cover.”
    —Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)

    “True. There is
    a beautiful Jesus.
    He is frozen to his bones like a chunk of beef.
    How desperately he wanted to pull his arms in!
    How desperately I touch his vertical and horizontal axes!
    But I can’t. Need is not quite belief.”
    —Anne Sexton (1928–1974)