Genealogie de la maison d´Holstein, ses differentes branches, ses titres, ses armes, et ses alliances

Title

Genealogie de la maison d´Holstein, ses differentes branches, ses titres, ses armes, et ses alliances

Description

Representation of the royal- dukal genealogical tree Holstein with titels,coat of arms and relevants from 1133 - 1704.

ca. 1720

Artist

Chatelain (1684-1743)

Henri Abraham Chatelain (1684 - 1743) was a Huguenot pastor of Parisian origins. He lived consecutively in Paris, St. Martins, London (c. 1710), The Hague (c. 1721) and Amsterdam (c. 1728). He is best known as a Dutch cartographer and more specifically for his cartographic contribution in the seminal seven volume Atlas Historique, published in Amsterdam between 1705 and 1720. Innovative for its time, the Atlas Historique combined fine engraving and artwork with scholarly studies of geography, history, ethnology, heraldry, and cosmography. Some scholarship suggests that the Atlas Historique was not exclusively compiled by Henri Chatelain, as is commonly believed, but rather was a family enterprise involving Henri, his father Zacharie and his brother, also Zacharie.

Historical Description

The history of heraldry is divided into three main periods. The time from around the 11th to the 13th century when the shield with the image represents the actual coat of arms. Then the period from about the 13th to the 15th century, the heyday of heraldry, in which helmets and jewelry (such as wings, feathers, horns, hats, hulls) are added to the shield. This was followed by the period since the 16th century, when the shield was no longer used as a weapon, but only as a badge of honor and more and more insignificant ingredients were added. It was customary for the warriors and especially the military leaders of the peoples of Babylon, Persia and China to put various symbols and figures on their shields and flags. Various animals such as lions, horses, dogs, boars and birds can also be found on the shields of the ancient Greeks. Furthermore, the legions and cohorts of Rome also had their own symbols and insignia. With the rise of feudalism in the Middle Ages, the ruling houses chose their own symbols. During the great campaigns, dozens of noble houses were able to move out together, and their armor had increasingly fewer design differences. The colors and symbols on the shields became increasingly important, and several colors were combined in simple geometric shapes. Another reason for showing coats of arms was provided by knight tournaments, which were both a weapon exercise and an exhibition. Those who were defeated in a duel often lost their horse and armor, which was very expensive at the time. The knights could hardly be recognized under the full armor of the early 12th century, so the tournament participants wore their own coat of arms or that of their liege lord on the shields. The importance of knight tournaments waned with the burgeoning renaissance, and the rapid spread of firearms in the 16th century quickly put an end to the confrontation with shield, lance, armor and sword. In the meantime, however, the coats of arms also had a sovereign function. Most of the knights of the Middle Ages were illiterate, but knowing the symbols of the coat of arms allowed them to assign documents. The heraldic elements lost their intrinsic value and were partly used again purely for decorative purposes as a mere filling of lavishly designed cartouches.