Duke of Halland


This lists those feudal magnates who have held Halland as fief, or its southern or northern part, as a substantive title.

Earl in Halland

The first known coat of arms of Halland consisted of a crowned heraldic leopard over 10 hearts and was used by Niels II and James I and most likely also by Niels I although no examples are preserved from the latter's reign. The colours of this first symbol are uncertain. In 1305, James used a seal showing a lion and 20 hearts. Knud Porse used his family's arms depicting three red sea leaves in a gold shield. One of the seals used by Duchess Ingeborg of Sweden, Halland, and Samsø represents Halland by an arms party per fess, with an unspecified colour in chief and a leopard in the larger lower base. This seal dates from 1336, and the figure was repeated in her seal used 1340–1352. A fresco in Søborg Castle, Denmark, dates from her stay there 1331–36 and shows the arms of Halland as a crowned upstanding silver lion on blue. This insignia Azure, a lion rampant Argent crowned Argent is closely related to the current arms of the province although the current lion is no longer crowned but has two tails.
From 1449–1972 a modified version Halland's first arms was represented in the coat of arms of Denmark now symbolizing the monarch's title King of the Goths. This title referred to the possession of the island Gotland. Occasionally, Gotland was represented in the Danish arms with an additional arms as well, an Agnus Dei.
Duke Benedict's personal escutcheon, from his family, depicted a lion of the Bjelbo dynasty.