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The Dutch Republic Lion (also known as States Lion) was the badge of the Union of Utrecht, the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands and is a precursor of the current coat of arms of the Kingdom the Netherlands. ==Origin== Lions are a constant in the heraldic symbology of the Netherlands, so much so that maps of the Netherlands in the past have been shaped as lions with a common nickname "Leo Belgicus". There are three main heraldic motifs of the Netherlandish lion. The black lion on gold of Flanders (see Coat of arms of Flanders), its inverse the gold lion on black of Brabant, and the red lion on gold of Holland. There is one more lion of note, the red lion on blue and white bars of Luxembourg, as their ruling family sat on the imperial throne as Holy Roman Emperors: The Flemish lion derives from the arms of the Counts of Flanders. Their first appearance is on a seal of Count Philip of Alsace,count of Flanders from 1168 to 1191, dating from 1163. As such they constitute the oldest of the many territorial arms bearing a lion in the Low Countries. It is said that Philip of Alsace brought the lion flag with him from the Holy land, where in 1177 he supposedly conquered it from a Saracen knight, but this is a myth. However, Count Philip was not the first of his line to bear a lion, for his cousin, William of Ypres, already used a seal with a lion passant in 1158. The simple fact that the lion appeared on his personal seal since 1163, when he had not yet set one step in the Levant, disproves it. In reality Philip was following a West-European trend. In the same period lions also appeared in the arms of Brabant, Luxembourg, Holland, Limburg and other territories, most importantly England. It is curious that the lion as a heraldic symbol was mostly used in border territories and neighbouring countries of the Holy Roman Empire and France. It was in all likelihood a way of showing independence from the emperor, who used an eagle in his personal arms and the King of France, who used the famous Fleur-de-lis. In Europe the lion had been a well-known figure since Roman times, through works such as the fables of Aesop. In the story about the Guldensporenslag, the arms and its corresponding battlecry ''Vlaendr'n den leeuw'' ("Flanders, the Lion!") plays a crucial role in the forming of a Flemish consciousness, which was popularised in recent times by the book ''De Leeuw van Vlaanderen'' by Hendrik Conscience. As a result, the arms of the county live on as arms of the Flemish Community. The Arms of Brabant were first used probably by Count Lambert I of Louvain, the lion is also documented in a 1306 town's seal of Kerpen, together with the red lion of Limburg. Today these arms are usedby the Kings of the Belgians. File:Arms of Flanders.svg|Arms of the counts of Flanders File:Wapenschild van Brabant.svg|Arms of the dukes of Brabant, now used by the Kings of the Belgians File:Counts of Holland Arms.svg|Arms of the counts of Holland File:Arms of the Counts of Luxembourg.svg|Arms of the dukes of Luxembourg These lions are repeated in many arms in the Netherlands, of various noble houses (see Armorial of the Seventeen Provinces of the Netherlands (fr)) and in the arms of other provinces: File:Gelre Gulik coat of arms.svg|Arms of the Dukes of Gelderland showing the arms of Gelre and Jülich. File:Hainaut Modern Arms.svg|Arms of the Counts of Hainaut quartering Flanders and Holland. File:Arms of Namur.svg|Arms of the Counts of Namur based on the arms of Flanders. File:Coat of arms of Zeeland.svg|Arms of the Counts of Zeeland based on the arms of Holland. File:Limburg New Arms.svg|Arms of the Dukes of Limburg based on the arms of Luxemburg. File:Small coat of arms of Overijssel.svg|Arms of Overijssel, based on the arms of Holland. When the county of Flanders was inherited by the Dukes of Burgundy in 1405, the Flemish lion was placed on an escutcheon in their dynastic arms (seeArmorial of the French Royal House or Armorial of Dukes of Burgundy). The same happened with the duchy of Brabant in 1430, and the county of Holland in 1432. These passed with the rest of the Burgundian inheritance to the House of Habsburg in 1482. Their descendants, the Kings of Spain (see Monarchy of Spain bear the title and arms of the county of Flanders (Holland was renounced in 1648 with the Treaty of Westphalia) and the duchy of Brabant to this day (see Coat of arms of the King of Spain and List of titles and honours of the Spanish Crown). File:Arms of the Duke of Burgundy (1404-1430).svg|Arms of the Duke of Burgundy (1404-1430) File:Arms of the Duke of Burgundy since 1430.svg|Arms of the Duke of Burgundy since 1430 File:Arms of Charles II of Spain (1668-1700).svg|Arms of the Spanish Habsburgs (see House of Habsburg) File:Greater Royal Arms of Spain (1931).svg|Greater Royal Arms of Spain (see Coat of arms of the King of Spain ) The new state created in 1579 with the Union of Utrecht during Eighty Years War did not have its own badge initially. For the first month the States General used the badge of the Duchy of Brabant, because Brabant was the leading region in the Habsburg Netherlands, since it was the most populous one, contained the economic and commercial center of Antwerp of the Netherlands, and the seat of government was there, Brussels. But, the new Governor-General and Generalissimo of the Spanish forces, Alexander Farnese then just prince of Parma, began in 1579 a campaign against the rebellious provinces known as (Parma's Nine Years). While capturing rapidly several cities of Brabant ('s-Hertogenbosch on July 1, 1579, see Schermer Riot) and Leuven and Diest, Antwerp was still the head of the Dutch Revolt. But, this chaos caused Brabant to lose its hegemony in the Netherlands, and the primacy was returned to Holland and Zeeland. At this point, the seal and arms of the state needed another symbol, Dutch Republic Lion. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Dutch Republic Lion」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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