Photo: Samu Rotkonen/© Christmas House Santa
Heraldry is a whole world with its own mysteries and secret codes. After all, the coat of arms is believed to be the face of a state, region or city. Some of them look unusual and even strange.
Instead of Columbus, a drum.
The British newspaper The Guardian recently reported that Keith Rowley, the prime minister of the Caribbean island state of Trinidad and Tobago, intends to change the country’s coat of arms, removing Christopher Columbus’ three ships from it. The head of government claimed that this is the will of the people. In fact, local historians have been struggling for several years with the false idea that Columbus discovered the islands. They claim that they had already been inhabited for a long time by then.
Columbus’s three ships became a symbol of slavery for local residents.
The landing of Columbus’ three ships in Trinidad and Tobago in 1498, say the fighters for justice, actually paved the way for European colonialists. And they, in turn, helped create slave trade routes through the islands. Instead of Columbus’ three ships, it is proposed to place a steel drum, the islanders’ national musical instrument, in the center of the shield.
Tycoon Bones
There is a town in Ireland called Londonderry. Its coat of arms featured a skeleton back in the 17th century. It is depicted crouching on a mound and, judging by its pose, clearly thinking about something. Moreover, this is the skeleton of a real historical figure. The tragic fate of the Anglo-Irish aristocrat Walter Liat de Burgh impressed local residents so much that they decided to perpetuate the memory of the man who was imprisoned by his own cousin. In 1332, de Burgh died of starvation in prison.
The inscription at the bottom of the shield reads in Latin: “Life, Truth, Victory.”
French reptile
The French city of Nimes is known for its long history. In ancient times, this settlement was the capital of the Gallic tribe of the Arecomic wolves. In 121 BC they surrendered to the Romans and were gradually assimilated. In those distant times, coins depicting a crocodile chained to a palm tree were used – a symbol of the conquest of Ancient Egypt.
The crocodile still adorns the coat of arms of Nimes.
In the Middle Ages, past events were practically forgotten. But at the beginning of the 15th century, one of the locals found an ancient coin. Only with the image of a crocodile. The find shocked the inhabitants so much that they decided to remake their coat of arms, which until then depicted a golden bull. The king did not resist the creativity of the people of Nimes and allowed them to place an exotic reptile on their coat of arms.
Hare with fish tail
The coat of arms of the small Polish town of Prochowice depicts a real mutant – half hare, half fish. For the local population, this symbol of the town is nothing strange. They know exactly why their ancestors depicted a hare with a fish tail on their coat of arms. We are not talking about the peculiarities of genetics. They just wanted to emphasize in this way that there are many hares in the forests around the town and the lakes are full of fish.
The coat of arms invited guests to hunt and fish.
skier with armor
In 1994, Lillehammer, Norway, became the capital of the Winter Olympic Games. And it is not at all strange that the coat of arms of this city features a skier. But he is wearing medieval armor. And in fact, he appeared long before it was decided to revive the Olympic Games in 1896.
The knights used skis instead of horses.
Lillehammer received this coat of arms in the 13th century. The story goes that in the harsh winter, several soldiers put on skis and, after a difficult transition, rescued the two-year-old son of the king from the neighbouring city of Trondheim. After which a coat of arms appeared with a skier in ancient armour.
Kalashnikov: a symbol of freedom
Our famous Kalashnikov assault rifle can be seen on the coats of arms of three countries: Mozambique (since 1975), Zimbabwe (since 1980) and East Timor (since 2007). From 1984 to 1997, the image of the legendary AK-47 was also on the coat of arms of Burkina Faso. Moreover, in each of these countries it is emphasized that the Kalashnikov assault rifle is not a symbol of violence, but a guarantor of freedom and security.
The Kalashnikov assault rifle appears on the coat of arms of Mozambique.
There are also Kalashnikovs on the Zimbabwean coat of arms.
The coat of arms of East Timor also features the famous Russian machine gun.
Head with three limbs
Italian Sicily became famous worldwide for its mafia. Cosa Nostra was born there in the 19th century. On the coat of arms of this region, however, there are no wads of money or weapons of mobsters. But the symbolism is still extremely frightening. The coat of arms of Sicily depicts a triskelion – a female head with three legs growing out of it. In addition, previously in the center was the head of the gorgon Medusa with snakes. But later it was replaced by a normal one with ears of wheat instead of hair – a symbol of the fertility of the Sicilian lands.
This symbol is called triskelion.
As for the three legs, there is no sign of mutations either. That is why they decided to pay tribute to the three capes of the region: Pakhin, Pelor and Lilybaeum.
Naked Northerner
Finland has a region called Lapland. Its coat of arms cannot fail to surprise those who know that these lands are located in the Far North. It is not known for certain what kind of person is depicted on it. The most plausible version is that the Lapp on the coat of arms is a local resident of the indigenous Sami people.
Maybe it was ever hot in Lapland?
But for some reason he is almost completely naked. Moreover, all red, as if burnt by the sun. And even with a huge club in his hands. Neither giving nor receiving: a savage who has just emerged from the African jungle. And how can this be understood, given the harsh climate of those places? Besides, it is in Lapland that, according to legend, lives the Finnish Santa Claus – Joulupukki!
Wild people, however, are not uncommon on medieval coats of arms in Northern Europe. They used to be called “forest people”. And yet it is not clear why the Lapp is depicted only in a loincloth and not, for example, in deer skins.
