Leo Belgicus

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Bello Belgico by Stradæ, 1647

The Leo Belgicus (Latin for Belgic Lion) was used in both heraldry and map design to symbolize the former Low Countries (current day Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium and a small part of northern France) with the shape of a lion.

When not in map form, the Leo Belgicus often accompanies the

Garden of Holland
".

Europa regina, showing Europe as a queen, was a comparable schematic.

Terminology

The names derived from the

Latin
as Nova Belgica or Novum Belgium.

History

The earliest Leo Belgicus was drawn by the

Hainaut, Holland, Limburg, Luxembourg, Namur and Zeeland, as well as in those of William of Orange
.

Eytzinger's map was the first of many. There were three different designs. In the most common one, the lion's head was located in the northeast of the country and the tail in the southeast. The most famous version is that of

Claes Janszoon Visscher, which was published in 1609 on the occasion of the Twelve Years' Truce. A less common design reversed the position of the lion, as shown in the Leo Belgicus by Jodocus Hondius
.

The third version was published in the later stages of the war, and after the independence of the Dutch Republic was confirmed in the Peace of Westphalia (1648). It is called the Leo Hollandicus, the Holland Lion, and shows only the province of Holland. One of the earliest versions was published by Visscher around 1625.

Gallery

See also

References

  1. Matthaeus Seutter, from 1745,which show the current Netherlands. Archived 2012-08-25 at the Wayback Machine

External links

Media related to Leo Belgicus at Wikimedia Commons

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