In heraldry, supporters, sometimes referred to as attendants, are figures or objects usually placed on either side of the shield and depicted holding it up.
Joensuu is a city in Finland and the regional capital of North Karelia. It is located in the eastern interior of the country and in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Joensuu is approximately 78,000, while the sub-region has a population of approximately 127,000. It is the 12th most populous municipality in Finland, and the ninth most populous urban area in the country.
In heraldry, the field (background) of a shield can be divided into more than one area, or subdivision, of different tinctures, usually following the lines of one of the ordinaries and carrying its name. Shields may be divided this way for differencing or for purposes of marshalling, or simply for style. The lines that divide a shield may not always be straight, and there is a system of terminology for describing patterned lines, which is also shared with the heraldic ordinaries.
Karelia is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for Russia, Finland, and Sweden. It is currently divided between northwestern Russia and Finland.
The coat of arms of Ukraine is a blue shield with a golden trident. It is colloquially known as the tryzub.
The coat of arms of Finland is a crowned lion on a red field, the right foreleg replaced with an armoured human arm brandishing a sword, trampling on a sabre with the hindpaws. The Finnish coat of arms was originally created around the year 1580.
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.
Canting arms are heraldic bearings that represent the bearer's name in a visual pun or rebus.
The coat of arms of Karelia in Finland were first used in 1562, although the arms were likely presented at the burial of Gustav Vasa in 1560. The arms were used for the Swedish province of Karelia and they have been used continuously since then. Variations of the arms are still used in two regions of Finland: North Karelia and South Karelia, in which the North Karelian version is the original one.
The coat of arms of Iceland displays a silver-edged, red cross on blue shield, alluding to the design of the flag of Iceland. It is the only national arms to feature four supporters: the four protectors of Iceland (landvættir) as described in Heimskringla, standing on a block of columnar basalt. The bull (Griðungur) is the protector of northwestern Iceland, the eagle or griffin (Gammur) protects northeastern Iceland, the dragon (Dreki) protects the southeastern part, and the rock-giant (Bergrisi) is the protector of southwestern Iceland. Great respect was given to these creatures of Iceland, so much that there was a law during the time of the Vikings that no ship should bear grimacing symbols when approaching Iceland. This was so the protectors would not be provoked unnecessarily.
Portuguese heraldry encompasses the modern and historic traditions of heraldry in Portugal and the Portuguese Empire. Portuguese heraldry is part of the larger Iberian tradition of heraldry, one of the major schools of heraldic tradition, and grants coats of arms to individuals, cities, Portuguese colonies, and other institutions. Heraldry has been practiced in Portugal at least since the 12th century, however it only became standardized and popularized in the 16th century, during the reign of King Manuel I of Portugal, who created the first heraldic ordinances in the country. Like in other Iberian heraldic traditions, the use of quartering and augmentations of honor is highly representative of Portuguese heraldry, but unlike in any other Iberian traditions, the use of heraldic crests is highly popular.
The coat of arms of Haiti is the national coat of arms of the Republic of Haiti. It was originally introduced in 1807, and it has appeared in its current form since 1986. Since this Haitian national symbol does not conform to the rules of heraldry for a traditional coat of arms, then it could be considered a national emblem instead.
The emblem of the Karelo-Finnish Soviet Socialist Republic was adopted on February 10, 1941 by the government of the Karelo-Finnish Soviet Socialist Republic and used until it was absorbed into the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic in 1956.
A crown is often an emblem of a sovereign state, usually a monarchy, but also used by some republics.
The coat of arms that serves as the symbol of the Lublin Voivodeship, Poland depicts a white (silver) male jumping cervus (deer), with a yellow (golden) crown on its neck, placed on a red background. The current design of the coat of arms was designed by Andrzej Heidrich, and adopted in 2002.
The coat of arms of Dominica was adopted on July 21, 1961. It consists of a shield with two guardian sisserou parrots bracing the shield atop of which is a lion passant. The quarters of the shield depict a canoe, a banana tree, a palm and a frog of the native species known as the mountain chicken. Below the shield is the national motto: Apres Bondie C'est La Ter.
The bear as heraldic charge is not as widely used as the lion, boar or other beasts.
Icelandic heraldry is the study of coats of arms and other insignia used in Iceland. It belongs to the German-Nordic heraldic tradition, as the heraldry of Iceland has been primarily influenced by the heraldic traditions of Norway, Denmark and other Nordic countries. Iceland does not have a strong sense of heraldic tradition, however, because the country lacks a governing body to oversee this. As a result, coats of arms registered as such are virtually nonexistent in modern Iceland. While many municipalities use more or less heraldic logos, there are no heraldic standards to which these must adhere, and they are registered as graphic designs rather than as coats of arms.
The Republic of Uhtua, also Provisional Government of Karelia, officially called the Republic of East Karelia was an unrecognized state that existed from 1919 to 1920, formed out of five volosts in the Kemsky Uyezd of the Arkhangelsk Governorate.
The coat of arms that served as a symbol of the Augustów Voivodeship (1816–1837), and later, the Augustów Governorate (1837–1867), of the Congress Poland, was divided vertically into two red fields. The left half depicted a knight in a white (silver) armor, sitting on a white (silver) horse with a blue saddle and shabrack, standing on its back hoofs. The knight has a blue shield with a yellow (golden) cross of Lorraine on it, put on his left arm, and hold a sword in his right hand. The right half depicted a black bear facing left and standing on its back legs, with a yellow (golden) collar on its neck.
