In the statutes of both the Order of the Elephant and the Order of Dannebrog from 1693, it is stipulated that knights of the two orders must hand over a drawing of their coats of arms to be painted on a shield, which is hung in Chapel of the Royal Danish Orders of Chivalry, and to be painted in the armourial books of the orders.  With the expansion of the Order of Dannebrog in 1808, the obligation was extended to those on whom the Grand Cross of the Order of Dannebrog is conferred.

In the statutes of 1 December 1693 for both the Order of the Elephant and the Order of Dannebrog, knights were ordered to deliver a coloured image of their coat of arms as well as their ¨symbolum¨ (motto) for inclusion in the armorials of the orders and for painting on a stall plate to hang in the Chapel of the Orders in the church of Frederiksborg Palace. Both traditions still exist. Denmark, Great Britain and Sweden are the only countries that have a living heraldic tradition in which the coats of arms of knights are displayed in a dedicated chapel.

The Chapel of the Orders was established in 1694 during the reign of Christian V, and earlier statutes for the Order of the Elephant dating back to 1679 had already required knights to send their coats of arms to the order’s secretary. The first volume of the armorial for the Order of the Elephant was created in 1690, and probably a few years earlier the first volume of the armorial for the Order of Dannebrog had been created. A heraldic painter responsible for painting the coats of arms in the armorials and on the stall plates has been affiliated with the royal orders of chivalry since that time.

Since 1808, when the Order of Dannebrog was expanded, it has been the coats of arms for holders of the Grand Cross that have been painted in the order’s armorial and displayed in the Chapel of the Orders. Since 1961, with very few exceptions, that has occurred only for Danish recipients of the Grand Cross. 

The Chapel of the Royal Danish Orders of Chivalry in Frederiksborg Palace church is a pearl of cultural history. It displays coats of arms hung continuously over 300 years to honour knights belonging to the two royal Danish orders of chivalry. It is a unique collection and is open for the public as the chapel is part of the National History Museum at Frederiksborg.

The Order of the Elephant’s armourial book was created in 1690 and now comprises four volumes, of which three volumes are accessible online. The volumes include approximately 800 Knights of the Order of the Elephant.

The Order of Dannebrog’s armourial book was created in the mid-1680s and now comprises 11 volumes, of which 10 volumes are accessible online. The volumes include more than 3000 knights and, since 1808, the Grand Cross of the Order of Dannebrog. Since 1961, with very few exceptions, it has been exclusively Danish recipients of the Grand Cross who have had their coats of arms hung in The Chapel of the Royal Danish Orders of Chivalry and painted in the armourial book.

The two current armourial books, which are in active use, are not accessible online at the present time.

At the back of each volume, there is an index of names. To find a specific person’s coat of arms, one must know when the person concerned became a Knight of the Order of the Elephant or the Grand Cross of the Order of Dannebrog (until 1808, Knight of the Order of Dannebrog).

The vast majority of the knights are represented with a coat of arms. However, there are instances in which knights have not submitted a coat of arms, and thus no coat of arms for them has been painted in the armourial books.

The armourial books have been preserved as a complete series and have thus evaded the flames of the Christianborg fire. Several of the oldest shields in The Chapel of the Royal Danish Orders of Chivalry at Frederiksborg Palace Church, especially for the oldest Knights of the Order of the Elephant, were destroyed in the Frederiskborg fire in 1859, but, nevertheless, the coat of arms drawings have been preserved in the armourial books.

With the series of armourial books, there are two additional folios, “Vincents Lerches protocol” and “Herman von Hams kopibog”. Vincents Lerche was appointed as Secretary of the Orders in 1690 and then created a folio that was continued by his successors until 1808. “Herman von Hams kopibog” contains a large number of coat of arms drawings, which are copies of the drawings in the armourial books, made by royal armourist Herman von Ham and his successor until 1725.

Downloading of the individual images for private study is permitted. If you want to use an image from the armourial books for other purposes, you can request permission for this by writing to the Chapter of the Orders via this e-mail address: ordenskapitlet@kongehuset.dk.