Coat of arms of Dutch Lower Saxony

The coat of arms of Dutch Lower Saxony is the used by the Saxon state of Dutch Lower Saxony for all government purposes.

History
The coat of arms was adopted in 1844 through the passing of the Law establishing the state symbols of Dutch Lower Saxony by the States-General of Dutch Lower Saxony. The coat of arms was proposed to the, who accepted it with minor alterations. The originally proposed two crowns - one borne by the supporter, another set atop the escutcheon - was limited to a single crown borne by the supporter.

Dutch Lower Saxony opted specifically not to include the motto of the House of Orange-Nassau, je maintiendrai. There have been several attempts to add the motto to the official blazon, most recently in 2014 with the Law to amend the Law establishing the state symbols of Dutch Lower Saxony in order to include the motto of the House of Orange-Nassau. The law was rejected 76 to 44.

Blazon
The blazon is as follows:


 * Quarterly I and IV Orange-Nassau, II and III German Lower Saxony. Held from behind by a swan proper bearing the royal crown of the Netherlands.

The blazon used by the is as follows:


 * Quarterly I and IV Azure, billetty Or a lion with a coronet Or armed and langued Gules holding in his dexter paw a sword Argent hilted Or and in the sinister paw seven arrows Argent pointed and bound together Or; II and III Gules a Saxon steed Argent. Held from behind by a swan proper bearing the royal crown of the Netherlands.

The coat of arms incorporates (aspects of) three other coats of arms: the (quarterly I and IV), the coat of arms of German Lower Saxony (quarterly II and III) and the. In accordance with Dutch Lower Saxon heraldic traditions, the coronet is worn by the supporters rather than placed on top of the escutcheon.