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
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