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Coat of arms of Georgia | |
---|---|
Versions | |
Armiger | Georgia |
Adopted | 1 October 2004 (latest rendition) |
Crest | Iverian (Georgian) crown Or |
Shield | Purpure, a knight mounted on a steed argent, brandishing a lance of the same tipped with a cross Or, Saint George nimbed Or, slaying a dragon argent. [1] |
Supporters | two lions rampant Or |
Compartment | Stylized grape vine ornament Or |
Motto | ძალა ერთობაშია Dzala Ertobashia "Strength is in Unity" |
The coat of arms of Georgia is one of the national symbols of Georgia. The coat of arms is partially based on the medieval arms of the Georgian royal house and features Saint George, the traditional patron saint of Georgia. In addition to St. George, the original proposal included additional heraldic elements found on the royal seal, such as the seamless robe of Jesus, but this was deemed excessively religious and was not incorporated into the final version. [2]
Georgian law describes the coat of arms as follows: [1]
The State coat of arms of Georgia is a heraldic shield, on its pupure field is depicted a silver rider on a silver horse and with a silver spear ending with a golden cross, Saint George with a golden halo, striking a silver dragon. The shield is crowned with the Iverian (Georgian) crown. The supporters are two golden lions, standing on a compartment of stylized grape vine ornament. The compartment is embellished with a silver-purple motto ribbon (face is silver, back is purple). On the silver field of the ribbon with black Mkhedruli letters is written the motto "ძალა ერთობაშია" ("Strength is in unity"). On the ribbon, in the beginning and the end of the inscription, are depicted purpure heraldic crosses.
Although the shield is officially described as purpure, it is often depicted as red.
This coat of arms was in use by the Democratic Republic of Georgia throughout its existence in 1918–1921. Though the use of Saint George as Georgia's patron saint was by then a long tradition, there were some discussions about other possibilities, the major one being Amiran, as the symbol of Georgia's fight for freedom from the Russian Empire. However, a decision was then made in favor of Saint George. Restored in a different guise in 1991, this coat of arms was replaced by the current one in 2004. Strictly speaking, this arms is a national emblem, as unlike the current arms, it does not follow heraldic rules.
Before 1917, when Georgia was part of the Russian Empire, the Georgian coat of arms appeared on the Greater Coat of Arms of the Russian Empire, as part of the coat of arms of Caucasus. It showed then as the center inescutcheon, and read as follows:
Or, with an image of Saint George Martyr the Victorious in complete armour Azur with a cross on his breast, with a flying cloak Gules, riding a horse Sable in full gallop, the latter covered with a horse cloth Gules, fringed Or, trampling upon a crawling serpent Vert, winged Sable, eyed and tongued Gules, whose head is pierced by the saint's spear Gules.
Coats of arms were mostly those of the Bagrationi, who claimed to have King David among their ancestors, and included such elements as King David's lyra and sling, or the Holy Tunic.
The coat of arms of Prince Edward Island, officially the King's Arms in Right of Prince Edward Island, are the coat of arms of Prince Edward Island, being the arms of King Charles III in right of the province. They were created when the shield and motto in the achievement were granted in 1905 by royal warrant from King Edward VII. The latest iteration was given by the Canadian Heraldic Authority in 2002.
A saltire, also called Saint Andrew's Cross or the crux decussata, is a heraldic symbol in the form of a diagonal cross. The word comes from the Middle French sautoir, Medieval Latin saltatoria ("stirrup").
Tinctures are the colours, metals, and furs used in heraldry. Nine tinctures are in common use: two metals, or and argent ; the colours gules (red), azure (blue), vert (green), sable (black), and purpure (purple); and the furs ermine, which represents the winter fur of a stoat, and vair, which represents the fur of a red squirrel. The use of other tinctures varies depending on the time period and heraldic tradition in question.
The coat of arms of Belgium bears a lion or, known as Leo Belgicus, as its charge. This is in accordance with article 193 of the Belgian Constitution: The Belgian nation takes red, yellow and black as colours, and as state coat of arms the Belgian lion with the motto UNITY MAKES STRENGTH. A royal decree of 17 March 1837 determines the achievement to be used in the greater and the lesser version, respectively.
The coat of arms of Bulgaria consists of a crowned golden lion rampant over a dark red shield; above the shield is the Bulgarian historical crown. The shield is supported by two crowned golden lions rampant; below the shield there is compartment in the shape of oak twigs and white bands with the national motto "Unity makes strength" inscribed on them.
The coat of arms of Germany displays a black eagle with a red beak, a red tongue and red feet on a golden field, which is blazoned: Or, an eagle displayed sable beaked langued and membered gules. This is the Bundesadler, formerly known as Reichsadler. It is one of the oldest coats of arms in the world, and today the oldest national symbol used in Europe.
The coat of arms of Romania was adopted in the Romanian Parliament on 10 September 1992 as a representative coat of arms for Romania. The current coat of arms is based on the lesser coat of arms of interwar Kingdom of Romania, which was designed in 1921 by the Transylvanian Hungarian heraldist József Sebestyén from Cluj, at the request of King Ferdinand I of Romania, it was redesigned by Victor Dima. As a central element, it shows a golden aquila holding a cross in its beak, and a mace and a sword in its claws. It also consists of the three colors which represent the colors of the national flag. The coat of arms was augmented on 11 July 2016 to add a representation of the Steel Crown of Romania.
The coat of arms of Russia derives from the earlier coat of arms of the Russian Empire. Though modified more than once since the reign of Ivan III (1462–1505), the current coat of arms is directly derived from its medieval original, with the double-headed eagle having Byzantine and earlier antecedents. The general tincture corresponds to the fifteenth-century standard.
The coat of arms of Malta is the national coat of arms of the country of Malta.
The coat of arms of Spain represents Spain and the Spanish nation, including its national sovereignty and the country's form of government, a constitutional monarchy. It appears on the flag of Spain and it is used by the Government of Spain, the Cortes Generales, the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court, and other state institutions. Its design consists of the arms of the medieval kingdoms that would unite to form Spain in the 15th century, the Royal Crown, the arms of the House of Bourbon, the Pillars of Hercules and the Spanish national motto: Plus Ultra. The monarch, the heir to the throne and some institutions like the Senate, the Council of State and the General Council of the Judiciary have their own variants of the coat of arms; thus the state coat of arms is not an arms of dominion.
The coat of arms of the Czech Republic is divided into two principal variants. Greater coat of arms displays the three historical regions—the Czech lands—which make up the nation. Lesser coat of arms displays lone silver double-tailed lion in red shield. The current coats of arms, which was adopted in 1992, was designed by Czech heraldist Jiří Louda.
The coat of arms of Denmark has a lesser and a greater version.
The coat of arms of the King of Spain is the heraldic symbol representing the monarch of Spain. The current version of the monarch's coat of arms was adopted in 2014 but is of much older origin. The arms marshal the arms of the former monarchs of Castile, León, Aragon, and Navarre.
The lion is a common charge in heraldry. It traditionally symbolises courage, nobility, royalty, strength, stateliness and valour, because historically the lion has been regarded as the "king of beasts". The lion also carries Judeo-Christian symbolism. The Lion of Judah stands in the coat of arms of Jerusalem. Similar-looking lions can be found elsewhere, such as in the coat of arms of the Swedish royal House of Bjälbo, from there in turn derived into the coat of arms of Finland, formerly belonging to Sweden.
The coat of arms of Cape Town is the traditional symbol of the municipality of Cape Town. The original arms from the 20th century are no longer in official use, though no new arms have yet been adopted.
The coat of arms of Kropyvnytskyi is one of the city's symbols reflecting its past and the controversies of its history.
In heraldic achievements, the helmet or helm is situated above the shield and bears the torse and crest. The style of helmet displayed varies according to rank and social status, and these styles developed over time, in step with the development of actual military helmets. In some traditions, especially German and Nordic heraldry, two or three helmets may be used in a single achievement of arms, each representing a fief to which the bearer has a right. For this reason, the helmets and crests in German and Nordic arms are considered essential to the coat of arms and are never separated from it.
Liechtenstein heraldry is the form of heraldic art found in the country of Liechtenstein. It does not have a heraldic body of its own, relying on primarily German influences through the ruling house. It follows the German-Nordic tradition.
A number of cross symbols were developed for the purpose of the emerging system of heraldry, which appeared in Western Europe in about 1200. This tradition is partly in the use of the Christian cross an emblem from the 11th century, and increasingly during the age of the Crusades. Many cross variants were developed in the classical tradition of heraldry during the late medieval and early modern periods. Heraldic crosses are inherited in modern iconographic traditions and are used in numerous national flags.
The first instance of a figure of the lion as symbol of the Kingdom of León is found in minted coins of Alfonso VII, called the Emperor (1126–1157). Until then, the cross had a preponderant position on documents and coins of Leonese monarchs since that reign the cross was gradually displaced by the lion. The Spanish historian and heraldist Martín de Riquer explained that the lion was already used as heraldic emblem in 1148. At the end of the reign of Alfonso VII, the figure of this animal began to appear on royal documents as personal device of the monarch and became pervasive during reigns of Ferdinand II (1157-1188) and Alfonso IX (1188-1230).