The Captain and his Archduchess

During my research on the morganatic marriages within the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, I encountered the von Kloss family. Alfons von Kloss (1880–1953), a member of this family, married Archduchess Eleonora (1886–1974) in 1913. She was the daughter of Archduke Charles Stephen of the Teschen branch and Archduchess Maria Theresa of the Tuscan branch.

Alfons's father, Anton von Kloss, was a distinguished naval officer and a recipient of the Austrian Imperial Order of the Iron Crown III Class. He was ennobled by Emperor Franz Joseph on 2 January 1904. Following his ennoblement, Anton von Kloss submitted a proposal for his coat of arms, complete with both a blazon and an emblazonment.

The blazon, as proposed by Anton von Kloss, reads as follows:

Original German Blazon

Schild horizontal der Hälfte nach geteilt, oben gelb, unten blau. Im gelben Felde ein silberner Greif, gestützt auf blauem Anker. Stahlfarbener, ungekrönter Helm. Wappenmantel rosenrot und braun. 

English Literal Translation

Shield horizontally divided in half, yellow above, blue below. In the yellow field a silver griffin, supported on a blue anchor. Steel-coloured, uncrowned helmet. Mantling; pink and brown.

However, the proposed mantling tinctures of ‘pink’ and ‘brown’—unusual choices in heraldry—were modified by the heraldic authorities (Wappenzensor) to the more traditional Azure and Or, reflecting the primary colours of the shield. Additionally, the censors included the customary crest-coronet of an untitled noble, a standard feature that had been oddly omitted in the original submission.

Thanks to the expertise and generosity of Fabrice Bouzid-Adler, I am able to present a digital rendering of the amended and final arms which were granted on 25 March 1904.

The final blazon reads as follows:

Original German Blazon

Ein quer geteilter Schild, in dem oberen goldenen Felde schreitet ein schwarzer Greif rechtswärts, mit der erhobenen rechten Vorder-pranke sich auf einen pfahl-weise gestellten, zweiarmigen blauen Anker stützend; das untere Feld ist blau. Auf dem Haupt-rande des Schildes ruht ein gekrönter Turnierhelm, welchen beiderseits blaue mit Gold unterlegte Decken umgeben. Auf der Helm-krone ruht ein dem in Schilde vorkommenden ähnlichen, jedoch in der oberen Hälfte gestümmelten Anker.

English Literal Translation

A shield divided horizontally, in the upper golden field a black griffin striding rightwards, with the raised right front paw leaning on a two-armed blue anchor set palewise; the lower field is blue. On the main edge of the shield rests a crowned tournament helmet, which is surrounded on both sides by blue mantling underlaid with gold. On the crown of the helmet rests an anchor similar to the one found in shield, but with the upper half missing.

Regrettably, the Austrian Archives does not possess a copy of either the original or the final emblazonment of the von Kloss arms. The only extant version known to have been used by the family is visible on the tomb of Alfons von Kloss, though the resolution is unfortunately poor. Should any reader have access to a clearer image of the tombstone, located at Helenen Cemetery in Baden, Austria, your assistance would be greatly appreciated.

 The flexibility of the digital medium and the skill of Mr. Bouzid-Adler have allowed us to produce several heraldically accurate renderings. The first depicts Anton von Kloss’s arms as a recipient of the Order of the Iron Crown III Class and the War Merit Cross with war decoration (KD). The second presents the marital arms of Alfons von Kloss and Archduchess Eleonora. In this latter case, Archduchess Eleonora is represented by the genealogical arms of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, as decreed by her ancestor Emperor Franz I on 6 August 1806. Although she was also entitled to the arms decreed during the House’s heraldic reform of 11 February 1896, Mr. Bouzid-Adler opted for the genealogical arms for their simplicity, which better harmonizes with the von Kloss arms.

Genealogy

Alfons (1880-1953). Married HI&RH Archduchess Eleonora (1886-1974)

                        1- Albrecht (1913-1963). Married Erika Kaiser (1920-1963)

                                    a- Karl-Stephan (1943). Married Stefanie Frolich

                                    b- Maria-Elisabeth (1944). Married Franz Schwilinsky (1947)

                                    c- Barbara (1946). Married Michael Sellner (1967)

                        2- Karl-Albrecht (1915-1939 during the campaign in Poland)

                        3- Rainer (1916-1991). Married Cornelia Schoute (1920)

                                    a- Elisabeth (1944). Married Jost Lehner (1940)

                                    b- Georg (1954). Married Birgit Tauffer (1968)

                                                * Maximilian (1992-1992)

                                                * Konstantin (1993)

                        4- Ernst (1919-2002). Married Rixta-Maria Hartig (1925)

                                    a- Florian (1954). Married Bernadette Glatz (1957)

                                                * Emanuel (1978)

                                    b- Thomas (1956). Married Ina Bodner (1960)

                                    c- Nikolaus (1957). Married Mira Zechner (1956) then Claudia Tatschl

                                                * Nada (1990)

                                                * Fabian (1991)

                                    d- Andrea (1958). Married Stefan von Liechtenstein, Count of Hohenau (1957)

                        5- Alfons (1920-2002). Married Theresia von Coreth zu Coredo und Starkenberg (1923-1997)

                                    a- Andreas (1948). Married Elisabeth Tyrolt (1951-2018)

                                                * Benedikt (1974)

                                                * Philippe (1979)

                                    b- Johannes (1949). Married Phobe Hofmann (1950)

                                                * Lamoral (1972). Married Monika Deutner (1971)

                                                * Laudina (1975). Married Alexander Hofmann (1973)

                                                * Leonie (1977). Married HSH Stephan von Hohenberg (1972)

                                                * Hieronymus (1989). Married Madita ?

                                                * Enzio (1994)

                                    c- Alfons-Maria (1953). Married Baroness Anna-Maria von Gudenus (1957)

                                                * Bartolomäus (1981-2001)

                                                * Magdalena (1983). Married Inian Moorthy

                                                * Maria-Anna (1985). Married Dino Corell (1982)

                        6- Friedrich (1922-1943 à Stalingrad)

                        7- Maria-Theresia (1925). Married Walter Kaiser (1918-2016)

                        8-Stephan (1933). Married Ingrid Morocutti (1936)

                                    a- Michaela (1956). Married Arthur Schmidt (1955)

                                    b- Marina (1958). Married Manfred Fischer (1952)

                                    c- Christoph (1959). Married Sabina Kernbichler (1963)

                                                * Mathias (1986)

                                                * Luka (1988)

                                    d- Markus (1960-1961)

                                    e- Clemens (1962). Married Petra Niedereder (1966)

                                                * Patrik (1994)

                                                * Valerie (1995)

                                    f- Ines (1967)

Fabrice Bouzid-Adler is a French heraldist and owner of L'Alérion d'argent on Facebook where he explores the heraldry in connection to the House of Lorraine and its various collateral lines.