The coat of arms of Luxembourg has its origins in the Middle Ages and was derived from the arms of the Duchy of Limburg, in modern-day Belgium and the Netherlands. In heraldic language, the arms are described as: Barry of ten Argent and Azure, a Lion rampant queue forchée Gules crowned, armed and langued Or. Versions There are greater, middle and lesser versions of the coat of arms of Luxembourg. The greater coat of arms has two reguardant and crowned lions as supporters, the Dynastic Order (the Order of the Oak Crown) and all surrounded by ermine mantling crowned with a heraldic royal crown (the crown used by the Grand Duke). The middle coat of arms has the supporters and the crown. The lesser coat of arms has the crown and the escutcheon without external ornaments. Arms of the monarch The Grand Duke has a personal coat of arms, the current arms were adopted in 2001: Quarterly: 1 and 4 Luxembourg, 2 and 3 Nassau (Blazon: Azure billetty Or, a lion or armed and langued Gules). The lesser variant of the arms of the monarch has no external ornaments. The middle variant has the supporters and the crown. The greater variant has a dynastic inescutcheon with the arms of the House of Bourbon-Parma (Blazon: Azure bordure Gules charged with eight escallops Argent, three fleurs-de-lys Or). The supporters are holding a lance Or, flying the flag of Luxembourg, all surrounded by ermine mantling with the crown. Historical The coat of arms adopted by Grand Duke Adolphe in 1898: These arms were adopted in 1898 by Grand Duke Adolphe and used by him and his successors up until Grand Duke Jean. Upon acceding to the throne in 1964, Grand Duke Jean used the lesser and medium arms as adopted in 1898. The greater arms featuring the former territorial claims attached to the duchy of Nassau that was annexed by Prussia in 1866 were, however, unreflective of political reality of the time and were not used extensively: They were only used on the Great Seal of Grand Duke Jean. Prior to acceding the throne, Grand Duke Jean made use of the following arms: Arms of the Hereditary Grand Duke The current greater and lesser coats of arms for the Hereditary Grand Duke are currently prescribed by grand-ducal decree of 31 October 2012 and are similar to that of the Grand Duke's with the