Symbols

Adrian

Civis Illustris

  • Civis Illustris

CoA of City Ostrołęka


Haec Avis Protege - Bird! Protect these (things)! - motto indicated it's alliance to the crown and petition for protection
white crowned eagle - symbol of Polish dynasty of Piasts
bear on green meadow - refers to old CoA of Ostrołęka
 

Hawkwood

.

  • Civis

Interesting Warsaw chose a mermaid as their emblem when you consider its location. I'd assume a coastal city more likely to choose a nautical theme. I'll have a look at how it came about before bed.
 

Adrian

Civis Illustris

  • Civis Illustris

The Great CoA of port city Gdańsk



1) Crown on red background symbolises Gdańsk being royal city (oppidum regalis)
2) Two vertically placed crosses refer to Gdańsk's military standard from the battle of Grunwald
3) Lions refer to legend of Daniel Eggert
4) motto of Gdańsk : Nec Temere Nec Timide - neither audaciously nor cowardly
 
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Adrian

Civis Illustris

  • Civis Illustris

VALKNUT (the knot of the fallen) - I saw it couple of times (forearm tattoos and pendant medallions)
I was told it is a symbol of warriors who died noble death and were on their way to Valhalla

walknut.gif


@Tironis @Bitmap
 

EstQuodFulmineIungo

Civis Illustris

  • Civis Illustris

VALKNUT (the knot of the fallen) - I saw it couple of times (forearm tattoos and pendant medallions)
I was told it is a symbol of warriors who died noble death and were on their way to Valhalla

View attachment 14521

@Tironis @Bitmap
I thought it was a symbol related to some truck drivers union, because I see it every time I "check the plumbing" in a motorway service area.
 
E

Etaoin Shrdlu

Guest

I wasn't under the impression that either tagged poster was a truck driver or a dead warrior. Obviously I might be wrong.
 
 

Tironis

Civis Illustris

  • Civis Illustris

Location:
Anglia
VALKNUT (the knot of the fallen) - I saw it couple of times (forearm tattoos and pendant medallions)
I was told it is a symbol of warriors who died noble death and were on their way to Valhalla

View attachment 14521

@Tironis @Bitmap
The image of Othin was popularised by Richard Wagner in his epic operatic cycle "Der Ring des Nibelung".

Othin's symbol is the raven and his weapon is a spear carved with runes or treaties which when hurled by Othin is said to influence the course of combat. He is also symbolised by a knotted device, the valknut, probably representing his power to bind or unbind the minds of warriors and thus influence the outcome of battle. Othin, who appears in the Ring Cycle as The Wanderer and Wotan, has links with the goddess Freya, who also appears in the Ring Cycle.
 

Adrian

Civis Illustris

  • Civis Illustris

Cross pattée (sometimes reffered as Maltese Iron Cross) - popular decorative motif among biker groups (jackets) and truck drivers (I saw couple of times German brummis having their windscreen decorated with lights and stickers shaped in such cross).
 
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Tironis

Civis Illustris

  • Civis Illustris

Location:
Anglia
Is "Othin" another form of Odin?
Odin (/ˈoʊdɪn/;[1] from Old Norse: Óðinn, IPA: [ˈoːðinː]) is a widely revered god in Germanic mythology. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates Odin with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, victory, sorcery, poetry, frenzy, and the runic alphabet, and projects him as the husband of the goddess Frigg. In wider Germanic mythology and paganism, the god was known in Old English and Old Saxon as Wōden, in Old Dutch as Wuodan, and in Old High German as Wuotan, all ultimately stemming from the Proto-Germanic theonym *Wōđanaz, meaning 'lord of frenzy', or 'leader of the possessed'. (Wiki)
 

Michael Zwingli

Civis Illustris

  • Civis Illustris

The motto translates to - a sleeping dragon (is) never to be tickeled.
That reminds me of, has the same spirit as a couple of family mottoes that I have encountered: Irish Clan Monaghan's felis demulcta mitis ("the stroked cat is calm"), and touch not the cat bot a glove (Scots English for "do not touch the cat without a glove") of the Scottish Clan MacPherson.
 

EstQuodFulmineIungo

Civis Illustris

  • Civis Illustris

Cross pattée (sometimes reffered as Maltese Iron Cross) - popular decorative motif among biker groups (jackets) and truck drivers (I saw couple of times German brummis having their windscreen decorated with lights and stickers shaped in such cross).
Isn't this a Prussian iron cross?
 

EstQuodFulmineIungo

Civis Illustris

  • Civis Illustris

Such shape comes in many colours (black, red, etc.) I posted first one from wikicommons:hiding:

I think Eisernes Kreutz has distinctive white rim
There must be some connection between the two crosses, since the German Knights of the Order of Saint John had an "auberge" in Malta:

Picture 655.jpg

Probably the Prussians re-used the symbol.
 
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Michael Zwingli

Civis Illustris

  • Civis Illustris

There must be some connection between the two cross, since the German Knights of the Order of Saint John had an "auberge" in Malta:

View attachment 14529
Probably the Prussians re-used the symbol.
These are all typical heraldic symbols (heraldry is a hobby of mine). Pictured above on the stone tablet is a true "Cross Maltese". Adrian's crosses are both examples of "Cross Patee", with the Eisernes Kreutz simply being a Cross Patee with a type of embellishment called, variously, an orle or a tressure (this example is probably an orle, as a tressure tends to be quite narrow...really just a line).

EDIT: The Eisernes Kreutz would be blazoned (described in purely heraldic terms) thusly: Argent, a cross Patee sable orled/treassured argent.
 
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