Ulrich II of Celje’s Coat-of-Arms in Hendrik van Heessel’s Armorial – a Unique Depiction of a Complete Coat-of-Arms in the Historiography of the Counts of Celje

Abstract

Hendrik van Hees- sel’s Armorial with the shelf mark B 89420 is kept at the Hendrik Conscience Heritage Library in Antwerp. Van Heessel was the King of Arms of the Ruwieren, the area bounded by the rivers Rhine and Meuse. His armorial contains a unique depiction of Ulrich II of Celje’s complete coat-of-arms with the heraldic pedigree of the last count of Celje. Apart from contributing greatly to this notable family’s heraldry, the coat-of-arms also provides answers to the im- portant questions of the perception of power and symbolic communication and confirms the significance of visual sources for understanding the Late Middle Ages.