The Heraldry of the Vasa Dynasty : Coats of arms as propaganda tools in conflicts with the outside world and within the family

Sammanfattning: During the rule of the house of Vasa 1523-1654, Sweden saw a vastly increased output of new government heraldry and official symbols. This thesis investigates the political motives behind the creation of these symbols and their use as propaganda tools as part of the formation of the Swedish state.  Heraldry is a well-covered topic in academia in many European countries, but in Sweden it has yet to be properly integrated into historical research. This thesis covers the bigger picture by investigating the Vasa dynasty’s heraldry in its entirety in order to follow its use over time.  The thesis analyses all grants of arms to cities and nobles, as well as new royal and provincial arms. It carries out an analysis of the arms’ composition and motif, as well as charting the political context in which they were created and their role in the formation of the modern state.  The question the thesis seeks to answer is if the Vasa dynasty used heraldry as a political propaganda tool, and if so — for what purpose. The thesis uses Jaques Ellul’s categories of propaganda as a theoretical framework.  Among the key findings is the discovery that the Vasa monarchs did treat official heraldry as an integrated part of their propaganda efforts, both in conflicts with the outside world and with each other. However, the heraldic motifs of most cities and nobles, making up the vast majority of new coats of arms, were not part of those efforts.  There was also a clear shift from the agitation propaganda during the early Vasa era, to propaganda of integration as the institutions of state took form and Sweden became a regional power.