Duke Dress and Heraldry

[click the images for enlarged views]


This combined 'hofkleiderbuch' and 'wappenbuch' (Court dress and coats of arms book) was produced in 16th century Bavaria (sometime after 1588, judging by a date visible on one of the manuscript pages).

The (paper) book depicts members of the nobility and heraldic insignia from the Royal Courts of William IV (Wilhelm) and Albert V (Albrecht), 16th century Bavarian Dukes from the House of Wittelsbach.

'Hofkleiderbuch (Abbildung und Beschreibung der Hof-Livreen) des Herzogs Wilhelm IV. und Albrecht V. 1508-1551. Wappen mit Reimsprüchen des Holland. Abbildungen bayerischer Regenten' was recently uploaded by the Bavarian State Library. [click on 'Miniaturansicht']

There is a small amount of information on this translated page about the restoration of the book earlier this year.

Just prior to posting this entry I discovered a related but much longer book, also at the Bavarian State Library, and almost identically titled to the present 'Hofkleiderbuch'. I had a quick scan (and will return to it sometime in the future: update: done!) and it contains exclusively full page watercolour images of the same Royal Court members - it would no doubt be a good resource for period costumes.

• Heraldica - FAQ, glossary, visual map and articles relating to armorial bearings (coats of arms).
• Previously related: Bavarian Wappenbuch.