Coat of arms of the Hohenstaufen family

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Coat of arms of the Hohenstaufen family

Overview
The Hohenstaufen (Staufen) dynasty shows a long story of heraldry. Their arms changed as the family rose to power and expanded from Swabia (in today’s southwest Germany) to the Holy Roman Empire and the Kingdom of Sicily. The best-known symbols are the three lions of Swabia and the imperial eagle that later became the empire’s emblem. In Sicily and Aragon, the arms developed in a blended form that helped represent the rulers there as well.

Arms of Swabia (the original symbol)
- The classic Swabian arms were a shield on or field charged with three lions passant (walking) in black. This simple three-figure design became the Swabian emblem and tied the Hohenstaufen to the Swabian duchy.
- Early versions sometimes showed variations, including a shield argent (silver) with three lions passant gules (red), or a gold field with three red lions. Some depictions even used different lion poses or colors.

How the eagle became the imperial emblem
- After the Hohenstaufen became Holy Roman Emperors, the eagle replaced the lions as the main symbol in many versions of the family’s arms. The eagle stood for imperial authority and the unity of the Roman Empire with the German empire.
- The eagle was often shown sable (black) on a field of or (gold) or argent (silver/white). In Sicily, the eagle appeared on fields that signified royal dignity, sometimes leading to a Swabia-Sicily set of arms.

Arms that joined Swabia and Sicily
- When Henry VI became King of Sicily (1194), the Swabian arms began to be used together with Sicilian elements. One common form was argent (silver) with a sable (black) eagle, representing Swabia-Sicily. The idea was to show imperial authority over both lands.
- Later rulers of Sicily sometimes used a crowned, displayed eagle (with wings spread) on a field of argent or or. This reflected royal symbolism and the connection to the empire.

Arms of Aragon-Sicily
- After Constance of Hauteville (Henry VI’s wife) connected the Sicilian line to the Aragonese royal family, the Aragon bars (four red and five gold) were added to the Swabia-Sicily eagle. This created the Aragon-Sicily arms, a heraldic blend that signified claims and dynastic ties between Aragon and Sicily.
- The Aragon-Sicily arms were used in Sicily’s heraldry and, later, influenced the royal and imperial coats of arms in Europe.

Other branches and cadet arms
- The Swabian-Lamagna (Waldburg) and Württemberg lines kept parts of the Hohenstaufen arms, sometimes adding their own crowns or emblems to show cadet status.
- In some cases, ancient Swabia or Franconia elements (such as a chief or red and silver fields) appeared in arms associated with Hohenstaufen cadet branches.

Double-headed eagle and Crusader connections
- Some later or non-contemporary reproductions show a double-headed eagle as a symbol of imperial power. In medieval sources, the single-headed eagle is more common for the Hohenstaufen, with the double-headed version appearing in later copies or in connections with broader imperial imagery.
- The dynasty also used Crusader crosses and other heraldic devices in certain depictions, linking their imperial role with Christian military campaigns.

Origin debates and coins
- Scholars disagree about who first introduced the eagle as the Hohenstaufen’s main symbol. Many tie the eagle’s prominence to Frederick Barbarossa and his successors, while others point to different emperors or later developments.
- Coinage, miniatures, and manuscripts from the 12th and 13th centuries offer clues but not conclusive answers. Some coins show an eagle, sometimes with a crown or other symbols; other images mix imperial and Sicilian elements.

Legacy in modern heraldry
- Today, the three Swabian lions remain a historic symbol of Swabia, especially in Baden-Württemberg and parts of Bavaria. The imperial eagle imagery also persists in various German and Austrian heraldic contexts as a reminder of the empire’s medieval heritage.
- The mixed Aragon-Sicily arms helped shape the heraldic tradition of the Sicilian kingdom and crossed into broader European royal heraldry.

In short
The Hohenstaufen coat of arms tells a story of power and reach: starting with three lions for Swabia, shifting to the imperial eagle as the dynasty rose to empire, and later combining with Sicilian and Aragonese symbols to reflect their far-reaching rule. Across centuries, the eagle became the defining emblem of the dynasty and a lasting symbol in European heraldry.