Three Crowns And Fleur De Lis

It is an age-old mystery of where this symbol originated. On the subject of Scandinavia, I have reason to believe that it was with the Vikings.

A well-known symbol of Sweden is the Three Crowns. Three images from the Wikipedia article by that name.

But this symbol goes beyond Sweden and it is a mystery as to how and where it originated. Use of the symbol was actually part of the cause of a conflict once between Sweden and Denmark. Sweden insisted that it was strictly a Swedish symbol but Denmark claimed the right to use it also.

I used to think that the symbol came from the former Tre Kroner (Three Crowns) Castle in Stockholm that was on the site of the present Royal Palace. But the symbol came before the castle, which was named for it.

Denmark also has a fortress called Tre Kroner.

Some believe that the Three Crowns represent the three nations that have had various periods of unity, Sweden, Denmark and, Norway, with Finland having been a part of Sweden.

But the Three Crowns go beyond Scandinavia. The eastern region of England that is closest to Scandinavia is East Anglia, and the Three Crowns appear on it's flag. Image from the Wikipedia article "East Anglia".

The Three Crowns are the symbol of Oxford University. Image from the Wikipedia article "University of Oxford".

But there is no agreement on where this old and widespread symbol could have originated.

My conclusion is that the geographical distribution of the symbol is what provides the only logical answer. The Three Crowns are also the symbol of Munster, in Ireland. Ireland is divided into quadrants as regions and Munster is the southwestern quadrant. Image from the Wikipedia article "Munster".

There is only one logical group of people that settled Scandinavia, England and, Ireland, and that is the Vikings. The symbol may be missing from Norway because it became regarded as a symbol of past Swedish or Danish rule.

Now, let's move on to France. We know that the Normans settled on the coast of northern France. The French king ceded some land to them, in return for leaving the rest of France alone and protection from further Viking raids. That land became known as Normandy.

At that time the ruling dynasty of France was the House of Capet. Their coat of arms was the French royal symbol, the fleur-de-lis, on the deep blue background that was the heraldic color of France. The following image is from the Wikipedia article "House of Capet".

French kings after Hugh Capet were known as Capetian kings because both the House of Valois and the House of Bourbon that followed were cadet branches of the House of Capet. The final royal house, before the monarchy was finished for good by revolution in 1848, was the House of Orleans. This was a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon, which was overthrown in the French Revolution but made a limited comeback after the time of Napoleon.

But let's look at their coats of arms. After the Normans, who were Vikings, came to France every succeeding royal house of the entire country,  (Each image is from the Wikipedia article by that name).

The House of Valois,

The House of Bourbon,

and, finally, the House of Orleans,

all had the fleur-de-lis arranged in the same pattern as the Three Crowns.

I consider that as confirming my hypothesis that this symbol must be of Viking origin.