Gelre Armorial

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Page 55 verso in the Gelre Armorial, displaying the earliest known undisputed coloured image of the Dannebrog (Danish flag)

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The Gelre Armorial (Dutch: Wapenboek Gelre) is a Dutch armorial, written between 1370 and 1414. Most historians claim that the book was written by the herold Claes Heinenszoon. The book displays some 1,700 coats-of-arms from all over Europe, in colour. It is now located at the Royal Library of Brussels (the "Bibliothèque royale Albert Ier").

The book is especially important as a source for history. For instance the Danish history. The armorial gives the first known undisputed colour rendering of the Dannebrog - Denmark's flag, whose precise origin is shrouded in mystery and myth (see Dannebrog).

On page 55 verso we find the Danish coat-of-arms surmounted by a helmet with horns. Behind the sinister horn is a lance tip with a banner, displaying a white cross on red (see image). The text left of the coat of arms says "die coninc van denmarke" (The King of Denmark). This is the earliest known undisputed colour rendering of the Dannebrog.