The Greater Coat of Arms of Denmark

One of the things I find both interesting and enjoyable is seeing the history of a country displayed in its streets and on its buildings by way of its coat of arms. This is especially true for me in the Scandinavian countries, and especially Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, who at various times have been ruled over by the king of one of the others. And some of this history shows up in the greater coat of arms of Denmark, as I was able to find them in our stay in Copenhagen.

Denmark also has a lesser coat of arms, and we'll take a look at the versions of that shield in the next post.

And for those of you who would like to know more about Denmark's greater coat of arms and its iterations over the years, I can do no better than to recommend the "Coat of arms of Denmark" article on Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coat_of_arms_of_Denmark), which details them with illustrations and explanations.

For now, though, let me share with you the different versions that I saw and photographed over the few days we stayed in Copenhagen. See how many different versions you can pick out. (As always, feel free to click on an image to see a larger, more detailed photograph where the arms may be seen more clearly.)

In the image above, the arms of Denmark are in the cartouche next to the supporter on the right holding the caduceus.

In the image above, the stone-carved arms above the arch, rather than the crowned and gilded baroque shield beneath it (flanked below that by the two gilded elephants!).

Taken altogether, what a wonderful display of heraldry!