Klaas Padberg Evenboer, aih, and André Stufkens have written the book Wapenboek Gelre. Status Quaestionis, with a foreword by Dr. Michiel Verweij, Curator of Manuscripts and Early Printed Books at the Royal Library of Belgium (KBR), Brussels.
Over six centuries ago, the Gelre Armorial was produced, a work widely regarded as one of the most prestigious and aesthetically significant armorial manuscripts of the late Middle Ages. It presents a representative survey of the heraldic coats of arms of the European nobility and knighthood. The compilation and written sections are attributed to Claes Heynensoon, herald Gelre, while the heraldic illustrations are credited to the artist(s) Herman and/or Willem Maelwael.
Since the early nineteenth century, the Gelre Armorial has been the subject of academic research. Yet the findings have been varied, and many questions remain unresolved. This volume offers new art-historical and historical perspectives, an overview of the current state of research (status quaestionis), a complete register of the folios with their coats of arms, and a detailed bibliography. Its aim is to encourage further study. For the first time, this masterpiece is being examined extensively and systematically from a scholarly perspective, with attention to the complex political and cultural history of the Duchy of Gelre, and from within the province of Gelderland itself.
Published by the Maelwael Van Lymborch Studies Foundation as part of its Cahiers series, the volume comprises 116 pages and comes in softcover with a dust jacket. It will be available at the Maelwael Van Lymborch Museum in Nijmegen, at the exhibition “Burgundians in Limburg” (Limburgs Museum, Venlo, 4 October 2025 – 1 February 2026), and at the Royal Library of Belgium in Brussels. The book can also be ordered via: www.maelwaelvanlymborchstudies.com.