Double-headed eagle
The double-headed eagle is an iconographic symbol originating in the
The motif has predecessors in Bronze Age art, found in
History
Bronze Age
In
Middle Ages
After the
Adoption in the Byzantine Empire
The early
A modern theory, forwarded by Zapheiriou (1947), connected the introduction of the motif to Byzantine Emperor
Adoption in the Turkic and Muslim world
The double-headed eagle motif was adopted in the
Later in the 13th century, the motif was also adopted in
Adoption in Christian Europe
Adoption of the double-headed eagle in Serbia, Russia and in the Holy Roman Empire begins still in the medieval period, possibly as early as the 12th century, but widespread use begins after the fall of Constantinople, in the late 15th century.
The oldest preserved depiction of a double-headed eagle in Serbia is the one found in the donor portrait of Miroslav of Hum in the Church of St. Peter and Paul in Bijelo Polje, dating to 1190. The double-headed eagle in the Serbian royal coat of arms is well attested in the 13th and 14th centuries.[18]
An exceptional medieval depiction of a double-headed eagle in the West, attributed to
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Drawing of the double-headed eagle as shown in the donor portrait of Miroslav of Hum in Bijelo Polje (1190)
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Seal of Ivan III of Russia (1472)
Early Modern use
Serbia
In
Albania
The
Russia
After the
The double-headed eagle was a main element of the coat of arms of the
Holy Roman Empire
Use of a double-headed Imperial Eagle, improved from the single-headed Imperial Eagle used in the high medieval period, became current in the 15th to 16th centuries. The double-headed
After the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the double-headed eagle was retained by the
Mysore (India)
The Gandaberunda is a bicephalous bird, not necessarily an eagle but very similar in design to the double-headed eagle used in Western heraldry, used as a symbol by the
Modern use
Albania, Serbia, Montenegro and Russia have a double-headed eagle in their coat of arms. In 1912, Ismail Qemali raised a similar version of that flag. The flag has gone through many alterations, until 1992 when the current flag of Albania was introduced.
The double-headed eagle is now used as an emblem by a number of
The two-headed eagle appears, often as a supporter, on the modern and historical arms and flags of Austria-Hungary, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Austria (1934–1938), Albania, Armenia, Montenegro, Russia and Serbia. It was also used as a charge on the Greek coat of arms for a brief period in 1925–1926.[28] It is also used in the municipal arms of a number of cities in Germany, Netherlands and Serbia, the arms and flag of the city and Province of Toledo, Spain, the arms of the town of Velletri, Italy, and the arms and flag of the city of Rijeka, Croatia.
An English heraldic tradition, apparently going back to the 17th century, attributes coats of arms with double-headed eagles to the Anglo-Saxon earls of Mercia, Leofwine and Leofric.[29] The design was introduced in a number of British municipal coats of arms in the 20th century, such as the Municipal Borough of Wimbledon in London,[30] the supporters in the coat of arms of the city and burgh of Perth, and hence in that of the district of Perth and Kinross (1975).[31] The motif is also found in a number of British family coats of arms.[32] In Turkey, General Directorate of Security and the municipality of Diyarbakır have a double-headed eagle in their coat of arms.
Scottish Rite of Freemasonry
The Double-Headed Eagle is used as an emblem by the
Sports clubs insignia
Several sports clubs, mainly Greek and Turkish, have the double-headed eagle in their insignia. Some of them are: three football clubs of Turkey;
Gallery
Heraldry and vexillology
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Imperial Banner of the Holy Roman Empire, modern re-creation
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Greater coat of arms of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain
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Coat of arms of Frederick Augustus II, Elector of Saxony
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1776 proposal for the Great Seal of the United States with a double-headed eagle as the symbol for German Americans
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Coat of arms of the Antwerp Province, Belgium. A banner of arms is also depicted in the Greater coat of arms of Belgium
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Coat of arms of Ninove, Belgium
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Coat of arms of Perth, Scotland[40]
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Coat of arms of the Austrian Empire (1815–1867)
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Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia (1815–1866), a crown land of the Austrian Empire
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Coat of arms of the Federal State of Austria (1934–1938)
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Coat of arms of Serbia (1882–1918 and since 2004)
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Arms of the Cantacuzino family in the Kingdom of Romania (circa 1900)
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Badge of the Mercian Brigade (1948–64) and current badge of the Mercian Regiment reformed in 2007[41]
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Coat of arms of Karnataka, India
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Coat of arms of the Russian Federation(1993–)
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Coat of arms of Chernihiv Oblast, Ukraine (2000–)
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Coat of arms of Montenegro (2004–)
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Coat of arms of Arnhem, the Netherlands
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Coat of arms of theCity of Groningen, the Netherlands
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Coat of arms of the 1st-54 Regulares Battalion "Tetuán" (Spanish Army)
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Coat of arms of Potosi, Bolivia
Artwork
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Sculpture of double-headed eagle on the Seat of the Archbishopric of Athens
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Sculpture of double-headed eagle on the top of Old Palace, Belgrade
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Sculpture of double-headed eagle on the top of New Palace, Belgrade
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Sculpture of double-headed eagle on the top of Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna
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Sculpture of double-headed eagle on the top of Old Post Office, Melk
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Sculpture of double-headed eagle on the top of an Austrian Monument in Leipzig
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Sculpture of double-headed eagle on the top of the Stone of the Empress, which located at the Market Square, Helsinki
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Sculpture of double-headed eagle on the gate of Alexander Garden in Moscow
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An anti-Austria cartoon for the Five Days of Milan
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In the painting Attack by Edvard Isto, the Double-headed eagle is tearing away the law book from the Finnish Maiden.
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In the painting Sanctified Kosovo by Dragutin Inkiostri Medenjak, the Double-headed eagle is holding the Serbian flag in one claw, and ripping the flag of the Ottoman Empire in the other.
See also
- Arms of Skanderbeg
- Coat of arms of Serbia and Montenegro
- Coat of arms of Austria-Hungary
- Crossed hands
- Hawk of Quraish
- Three-legged crow
References
- ^ Eiland, Murray (2013). "Some Problems of Islamic Heraldry". The Armiger's News. 35 (2): 1–5 – via academia.edu.
- ^ Hameeuw, Hendrik (2021). "Double-headed Bird Creatures in Third Millennium Mesopotamian Iconography". Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta. 302: 31–148.
- ^ a b Chariton, Jesse David (2011). "The Mesopotamian Origins of the Hittite Double-Headed Eagle". UW-L Journal of Undergraduate Research. XIV – via ResearchGate.
- ^ Collins, Billie Jean. 2010 "Animal Mastery in Hittite Art and Texts" in The Master of Animals in Old World Iconography, ed. Derek B. Counts and Bettina Arnold, pp. 59-74. Main Series, Number 24, Archaeolingua Foundation, Budapest.
- ^ Chariton, Jesse David (2008). "The Function of the Double-Headed Eagle at Yazılıkaya" (PDF). UW-L Archaeology Senior Theses – via Minds@UW.
- ^ Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Museum Purchase. "Reproduction of a Gold Mycenaean Ornament", 1901.
- ^ a b Reconstructed by the Abegg Stiftung Riggisberg, Switzerland. P. Ackermann: A Gold-woven Byzantine Silk of the Tenth Century. In: Revue des Arts Asiatiques X, 1936, 87-88. D.G. Sheperd: A mediaeval brocade. In: Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Arts 37, 1950, 195-196; S. Müller-Christensen: Zwei Seidengewebe als Zeugnisse der Wechselwirkung von Byzanz und Islam. In: Artes Minores. Dank an Werner Abegg. Bern, 1973, 22-25.
- ^ Stone slab with Double-Headed Eagle, Stara Zagora, Nasionalen Arkheologicheski Muzei, Sofia Inv. nr.B: 854; 10th-11th century, from the time of the Macedonian Empire in Bulgaria (976-1018) or from the time of Byzantine occupation (971-976; 1018-1185) and may be the emblem of rank of the Bulgarian tsar/basileus in Illyricum. Evans, Helen C. & William D. Wixom. Eds. The Glory of the Byzantine Empire. Art and Culture of the Byzantine Era A.D. 843-1261. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1997. 326f.
- ^ Miniature of the Archangel Michael (killing a devil) and a monk, with a two-headed eagle between the arches, ms. of Pseudo-saint Clément, Recognitiones; Mont Saint-Michel, c. 1000. Avranches, Bibliothèque Municipale ms. 50.
- ISBN 978-960-571-242-6
- ^ Zapheiriou, N. (1947). Η ελληνική σημαία από την αρχαιότητα ως σήμερα ("The Greek Flag from Antiquity to present"). Athens, Greece. pp. 21–22.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link). "Ο φωτισμένος αυτός Αυτοκράτορας καταγόταν από Οίκο της Παφλαγονίας, όπου στην πόλη Γάγγρα υπήρχε ο θρύλος της ύπαρξης φτερωτού αετόμορφου και δικέφαλου θηρίου (γνωστού ως Χάγκα), το οποίο και κοσμούσε το θυρεό του κτήματος της οικογένειάς του στην Καστάμονη." It is unclear where Zapheiriou's term Haga (Χάγκα) is taken from; it does not appear to find further reflection in scholarly literature but it was adopted by historical fiction author Gordon Doherty in his Strategos: Island in the Storm (2014), see note on p. 390: "One theory is that the symbol was adopted from the many ancient Hittite rock carvings of the mythical Haga found throughout Anatolia." - ^ "It was from the Byzantine Empire, however, that the Turks adopted the double-headed eagle. A royal association with this emblem is suggested by its appearance on the keystone of an arch from the Seljuk citadel at Ikonion. This is made even more explicit by the double-headed eagle emblazoned with the word al-Sultan on a ceramic tile excavated at the palace of Alaeddin Kaykubad at Kubadabad, near Akşehir" Helen C. Evans, William D. Wixom, The Glory of the Byzantine Empire: Art and Culture of the Byzantine Era, A.D. 843–1261, Metropolitan Museum of Art (1997), p. 411.
- ^ "Artuqids of Mardin, Nasir al-Din Mahmud (1200–1222 AD), AE Dirhem 26 mm; minted AH 617 (1220/1221 AD) obv: Two-headed eagle. Rev: Three line Kufic legend in beaded border" Tom Buggey, Coins of Islam Archived 2016-05-05 at the Wayback Machine. "B2272. ARTUQUIDS OF HISN KAYFA AND AMID, NASIR AL-DIN-MAHMUD, 1200–1222 AD. AE Dirhem, Spengler/Sayles 15. 12.68 gm. Two headed eagle with wings spread representing the astrological sign Gemini/Legend. Nice VF." Edgar L. Owen, Turkoman and other early world coins Archived 2016-04-26 at the Wayback Machine. Baldwin Islamic Coin Auction 18 Archived 2016-05-12 at the Wayback Machine nos. 626–629.
- ^ Gallery: WHC 2015 – Diyarbakir Fortress and Hevsel Gardens Cultural Landscape (Turkey) UNESCO. Retrieved on 11 April 2020.
- ^ Mamlūk Studies Review, Volume 8, p. 64.
- ^ Pierced Globe (Handwarmer made for Badr al-Din Baysari) c. 1270 Archived 2016-05-07 at the Wayback Machine London: British Museum 78 12-30 682.
- ^ The Cairo Citadel relief is of uncertain origin, and was likely moved to Cairo during the Mamluk period. Nasser Rabbat, "The Visual Milieu of the Counter-Crusade in Syria and Egypt" in: Khalil I. Semaan (ed.), The Crusades: Other Experiences, Alternate Perspectives: Selected Proceedings from the 32nd Annual CEMERS Conference (2003), p. 76. Its heads are missing, and its design is the origin of the (single-headed) "Eagle of Saladin" introduced as a symbol of Egyptian Republicanism in the 1950s. L. A. Meyer, Saracenic Heraldry (1933), p. 195, cited after The Flag Bulletin 24 (1985), p. 44.
- ^ Atlagić, Marko (2009). "Određivanje nacionalnih heraldičkih simbola na primjeru Srba i Hrvata [Étude des symboles nationaux héraldiques à l' exemple des Serbes et des Croates]" (PDF). Zbornik radova Filozofskog fakulteta u Prištini (39): 179–188. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2015-05-28.
- ISBN 0517497808.
- ISBN 978-0-8108-6188-6.
The eagle was a common heraldic symbol for many Albanian dynasties in the Late Middle Ages and came to be a symbol of the Albanians in general. It is also said to have been the flag of Skanderbeg...As a symbol of modern Albania, the flag began to be seen during the years of the national awakening and was in common use during the uprisings of 1909-1912. It was this flag that Ismail Qemal bey Vlora raised in Vlora on 28 November 1912 in proclaiming Albanian independence.
- ISBN 978-0-19-533403-6.
- ISBN 978-9-28-716265-6.
- ISBN 978-3-7917-2229-0.
- ^ "Kuvendi i Lezhës (1444)". letersia.fajtori.com (in Albanian).
- ISBN 1-84215-881-3.
- ^ Khutarev, Vladimir (13 July 2014). "From Byzantium to present-day Russia, the double-headed eagle still soars". Russia Beyond. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
- ^ "Army.gr". Archived from the original on March 5, 2009.
- ISBN 960-7795-01-6.
- ^ A. Davidson, A History of the Holtes of Aston, Baronets (1854), p. 69, in a description an armorial frieze dated 1608.
- ^ "Civic Heraldry, Wimbledon Borough Council". Archived from the original on 10 May 2015. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
- ^ "Perth and Kinross – Coat of arms". ngw.nl – Heraldry of the World. Archived from the original on 9 October 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2013.
- ^ Alfred William W. Morant, An alphabetical dictionary of coats of arms belonging to families in Great Britain and Ireland (1874), p. 304.
- ^ "Scottish Rite, NMJ | The Origins of the Double-Headed Eagle". Scottish Rite, NMJ.
- ^ Pierre Mollier (2004), "The Double-Headed Eagle: Iconographic Sources of the Masonic Symbol" (PDF), The Chain of Union (Special issue No.3): 5–15, archived (PDF) from the original on 2011-09-16, retrieved 2011-10-30
- ^ The Double Headed Eagle and Scottish Rite Masonry
- ^ "The Origins of the Double-Headed Eagle". Scottish Rite, NMJ. Retrieved 2021-09-25.
- ^ "Atiker Konyaspor – Resmi İnternet Sitesi". www.konyaspor.org.tr. Archived from the original on 30 January 2004. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
- ^ Σαν σήμερα ιδρύεται η Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπολιτών Θεσσαλονίκης acpaok.gr
- ^ "History". PAOK F.C. Archived from the original on 13 October 2013. Retrieved 11 October 2013.
- ISBN 0900455241.
- ^ "Mercian History". Mercian Volunteers Regimental Association. Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2013-05-13.
Further reading
- "Themes in Late Byzantine Art". Byzantium Faith and Power (1261-1557). Metropolitan Museum of Art. Archived from the original on May 29, 2004.
Note: Embroidered double-headed eagle on the podea of Paul, Patriarch of Constantinople (late 14th century)
- "Altar Cloth or Podea (of Paul, Patriarch of Constantinople)". Met Museum. Accession: 12.104.1. Gallery 303.