Coat of arms of Bulgaria
Coat of arms of Bulgaria Герб на България | |
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Versions | |
Shield | Gules, a lion rampant crowned Or, |
Supporters | Two lions rampant Or crowned Or |
Compartment | Two crossed oak branches fructed proper |
Motto | Съединението прави силата "Saedinenieto pravi silata" "Strength through Unity" |
Other elements | The shield is ensigned with the crown of Bulgarian tsars of the Second Bulgarian state proper |
The coat of arms of
Description
The current coat of arms of Bulgaria was adopted in 1997. The current arms are a slightly redesigned version of the coat of arms of Bulgaria from the period 1927–1946. Those arms were based on a similar earlier form, firstly used by
Art. 164. The coat of arms of the Republic of Bulgaria shall depict a gold lion rampant on a dark gules shield.[2]
For many years, agreement on the design of the coat of arms was a source of great controversy in the Bulgarian government, as different parties argued over the design elements. The final design was legitimized in the Law for the coat of arms of the Republic of Bulgaria of 4 August 1997:
Coat of arms of the Republic of Bulgaria
Art. 1. The coat of arms of the Republic of Bulgaria shall be a state symbol expressing the independence and the sovereignty of the Bulgarian people and state.
Art. 2. (1) The coat of arms of the Republic of Bulgaria shall be a rampant golden crowned lion on a dark red field with the shape of a shield. Above the shield there shall be a big crown which originally were the crowns of Bulgarian Tsars (i.e. Emperors) of the Second Bulgarian state with five crosses and another cross over the crown. The shield shall be supported by two golden crowned rampant lions, turned towards the shield from the right and left heraldic sides. They shall stand above two crossed oak branches with fruits. Below the shield, over a white band put over the oak branches with a three-colored edge, shall be written with golden letters "Unity makes strength".
(2) The graphic and color image of the coat of arms according to the appendices shall be an inseparable part of this law.
Art. 3. (1) The coat of arms of the Republic of Bulgaria shall be depicted on the state seal in a way determined by a law for the state seal.
(2) The depiction of the coat of arms of the Republic of Bulgaria in other places as well as the reproduction of elements of the emblem on badges, commemoration medals etc. shall be admitted only by an act of the
Council of Ministers.[3]
History
The earliest example of a lion's image as the
After 1396, when all Bulgarian lands were subjugated by the
This variant was adopted by the famous painter
Art. 21. The Bulgarian state coat of arms is a golden crowned lion on a dark red field. Above the field a princely coronet.[10]
The type and the details regarding the state coat of arms were not described clearly and were not standardized by a special Act. Because of this, for several decades they took different forms: lesser form; lesser form without supporters, compartment and motto, but covered with mantle from 1879 to 1880; greater form with supporters, bearing two national flags, compartment, motto and mantle from 1881 to 1927; middle form with supporters, compartment and motto from 1915 until 1918/20. Besides these there were different variations within these types. This perplexed situation was resolved by a special parliamentary commission, which sat after 1923. In 1927 it legitimated the middle form of the coat of arms, similar to these used as personal coats of arms by Bulgarian monarchs Ferdinand I and his son Tsar Boris III (1918–1943), but excluding all dynastic elements and preserving only the pure state symbolism.[11]
Following 1944, new times began for the Bulgarian heraldry. In the communist era, the traditional type of coat of arms was replaced by an emblem which preserved the golden lion rampant placed over a non-historically-justifiable oval azure field, but encircled by the ears of wheat, folded by banners, a gear-wheel, a five-pointed red star and some other elements. This composition was derived principally from the pattern of the emblem of the Soviet Union.[12] After the breakdown of the Bulgarian socialist republic in 1989 and several years of fierce partisan disputes, the traditional middle coat of arms from the period 1927–1946 was restored in 1991 with some minor changes.[13]
The crown on top of the shield, and thus upon the shielded lion, according to the Coat of Arms of the Republic of Bulgaria Act, is supposed to be not that of the last
There is a very popular belief that the three lions represent the three major portions and historical regions of Bulgaria — Moesia, Thrace and Macedonia, which has no connection with the native historical tradition and the principles of heraldry.
Historical coats of arms
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Coat of arms of the King of Bulgaria ca 1295 from the Lord Marshal's Roll.
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Shield of a royal warrior from the end of 14th century, anonymous Arabic traveler.
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Coat of arms of the Emperor of Bulgaria, Armorial by Conrad Grünenberg, Konstanz Codex, 1483
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Coat of arms of Bulgaria from the Fojnica Armorial, from 17th century.
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Coat of arms of Bulgaria, from a map by Vincenzo Coronelli, 1692
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Coat of arms of Bulgaria fromHristofor Zhefarovich, 1746
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Coat of arms of Bulgaria (1879–1880)
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Coat of arms of Bulgaria (1881–1927)
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Coat of arms of Bulgaria (1927–1946)
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Coat of arms of the People's Republic of Bulgaria (1946–1947)
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Coat of arms of the People's Republic of Bulgaria (1947–1948)
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Coat of arms of the People's Republic of Bulgaria (1948–1968)
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Coat of arms of the People's Republic of Bulgaria (1968–1971)
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Coat of arms of the People's Republic of Bulgaria (1971–1990)
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Coat of arms of the Republic of Bulgaria (1990–1991)[14]
See also
- Flag of Bulgaria
- Emblem of the People's Republic of Bulgaria
- Mila Rodino
- National Guards Unit of Bulgaria
References
- Oswald, G., Lexicon der Heraldik, Leipzig, 1984, p. 310.
- ^ a b "Royal heraldry of the Third Bulgarian State". Bulgarian Heraldry and Vexillology Society. Retrieved 2006-12-28.
- ^ "Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria". National Assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria. Archived from the original on 2010-11-10. Retrieved 2006-12-28.
- ^ "Law for the coat of arms of the Republic of Bulgaria". National Assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria. Retrieved 2006-12-28.
- ^ "The Lord Marshal's Roll, Part I". Brian Timms' Studies in Heraldry. Archived from the original on 2006-11-09. Retrieved 2007-01-01.
- ^ Voynikov, Ivan. "Chapter II". History of the Bulgarian State Symbols (in Bulgarian). Archived from the original on 2016-06-16. Retrieved 2006-12-28.
- ^ Voynikov, Ivan. "Chapter III, part 1". History of the Bulgarian State Symbols (in Bulgarian). Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2006-12-28.
- ^ Voynikov, Ivan. "Chapter III, part 2". History of the Bulgarian State Symbols (in Bulgarian). Archived from the original on 2008-07-20. Retrieved 2006-12-28.
- ^ "Coat of arms of Bulgaria 13th-19th centuries" (in Bulgarian). Bulgarian Heraldry and Vexillology Society. Archived from the original on 2007-04-29. Retrieved 2007-01-01.
- ^ Voynikov, Ivan. "Chapter III, part 3". History of the Bulgarian State Symbols (in Bulgarian). Archived from the original on 2016-09-13. Retrieved 2006-12-28.
- ^ "Tarnovo Constitution of 1879" (in Bulgarian). Juridical Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 2007-09-11. Retrieved 2006-12-28.
- ^ Voynikov, Ivan. "Chapter IV, part 1". History of the Bulgarian State Symbols (in Bulgarian). Archived from the original on 2017-06-22. Retrieved 2006-12-28.
- ^ Voynikov, Ivan. "Chapter V". History of the Bulgarian State Symbols (in Bulgarian). Archived from the original on 2016-09-13. Retrieved 2006-12-28.
- ^ Voynikov, Ivan. "Chapter VI". History of the Bulgarian State Symbols (in Bulgarian). Archived from the original on 2016-09-13. Retrieved 2006-12-28.
- ^ Hubert-herald.nl: Bulgaria - "After the abolition of the People's Republic in 1990 a provisional emblem came into use which was about the same as before but from which the socialist star and the data were removed."
External links
- Bulgarian Heraldry and Vexillology Society (in Bulgarian and English)
- History of the Bulgarian coat of arms (in Bulgarian and English)