The coat of arms of Dalmatia is the heraldic symbol used for the historical region of Dalmatia on the eastern coast of Adriatic Sea. It is also featured on the crest of the coat of arms of Croatia. The arms have three golden lion heads, facing front, with golden crowns and red tongues, on a blue shield. The blazon, or formal heraldic description, isazure, with three crowned golden leopards' heads affrontés caboshed Or, langued in gules. The Lions' heads affrontés were historically referred to as leopards, but this refers to their pose rather than species.

History

Earliest depiction of Dalmatian coat of arms are from 13th century. Armorial Vermandois (L'Armorial du Héraut Vermandois) from the year 1285 is showing variation showing one Lion head on shield with description "Le Roy Danit" archaic French for King of Dalmatia. Another 13th century depiction of Dalmatian coat of arms is from Lord Marshals' Roll from the year 1295 showing three silver heads on blue shield with description "Le Roy de Esclevoni", the King of Schiavoni (Dalmatians). Modern arms, three golden crowned lions on blue shield, first appeared in 14th century Gelre Armorial (pre-1396) representing Kingdom of Croatia and Dalmatia (Regnum Croatiae et Dalmatiae) as part of the coat of arms of King Louis I (1342-1382). Until 1526 these arms were used to represent Croatia in general as can be seen from coat of arms of several kings: Louis I, Mary, Matthias Corvinus and Louis II. It is also found on the great seals of Sigismund of Luxembourg, Albert II, John Zápolya, Ferdinand I, and from then on, on various seals and arms of the Habsburgs. Historically there are two main variants of these arms:

Arms charge

From a strictly heraldic point of view the charges on the arms are not lions but heraldic leopards. The heraldic leopard differs from the real-life leopard (Panthera pardus). It does not have any spots and often has a mane. Therefore, in heraldry, the leopard is generally similar, and is often referred to as a lion (Panthera leo). The reason for this lies in the fact that in the Middle Ages leopards were thought to be a crossbreed between a lion and a pard.

Gallery