Harald Gustaf Fleetwood

Baron Harald Gustaf Fleetwood (* 1879 , † 1960 ) was a Swedish heraldist and the last imperial herald , or according to the Swedish name, Riksheraldiker .

Life

At the beginning of his career, he successfully completed an officer training. A study of historical auxiliary sciences followed. He was particularly interested in the knowledge of seals, and later books (1936; 1951) about medieval king and bishop seals followed. He worked at the Lund Museum . From 1910 he was then employed in Stockholm as a secretary in the Reichsheroldsamt. This was followed by a position in the Reichsarchiv from 1915 onwards. A year earlier he had already been employed as a master of ceremonies. In 1931, when he was appointed Riksheraldiker, he saw the fulfillment of his life's work. He succeeded Count Adam Ludvig Carl Lewenhaupt , who had held office since 1903. It has been occupied five times before Fleetwood since 1809. In this position he created the ten-volume edition "Meddelanden fran Riksheraldikerämbete". It was a job in the years 1933 to 1945. In 1941 he and friends founded the Heraldic Society in Stockholm and was also its director.

Works on the Swedish crown (1943), state and city coats of arms (1932), but also on the royal seal (1936) and the three-crown coat of arms (1939), as well as the medieval bishop's seal (1951) form a rich legacy. On July 1, 1953, he retired and the office of Reichsherold was no longer filled.

Works

• Meddelanden fran Riksheraldikerämbete. 1933-1945
• Handbook of American Heraldry. Stockholm 1917
• Swedish Heraldry Handbook. 1917

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Lexicon of Heraldry, 1984

literature

• Gert Oswald: Lexicon of Heraldry. VEB Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig 1984.