Coat of arms of Lithuania
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The coat of arms of Lithuania is called Vytis (the Pursuer). It is one of the oldest coat of arms in Europe. Article 15 of the Constitution of Lithuania, approved by national referendum in 1992, stipulates, "The coat of arms of the State shall be a white Vytis on a red field".
The modern heraldic shield adopted in September, 1991 features an armored knight on a white (silver) horse in the red background. The man is holding a silver sword in his right hand above his head. A blue shield hangs on the left shoulder of the charging knight with a double gold (yellow) cross on it. The horse saddle, straps, and belts are blue. The hilt of the sword and the fastening of the sheath, the knight's spurs, the curb bits of the bridle, the horseshoes, as well as the decoration of the harness, are gold.
History
Jonas Trinkūnas, the leader of neopaganism movement Romuva, believes that in the Lithuanian mythology Vytis represents Perkūnas, the thunder god. It is believed that Perkūnas was also a war god and has been depicted as a horseman since ancient times.
The charging knight is known to have been first used as the state emblem in 1366 on the seal of the Grand Duke of Lithuania, Algirdas. However, according to some sources the knight on the horseback was mentioned in some early chronicles. The emblem was handed down through the generations: from Algirdas to his son, Grand Duke Jogaila, then to Grand Duke Vytautas and others. In the 14th century, the knight was featured in a heraldic shield, first on Jogaila's seal in 1386 or 1387, and also on the seal of Vytautas in 1401. As early as the 15th century, the heraldic knight became the coat of arms of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and of its central part - the Duchy of Vilnius. It is known that at the Battle of Grunwald in 1410, a major victory of the united Polish-Lithuanian army against the Teutonic Knights, thirty Lithuanian regiments out of the total forty were flying with the sign of the Vytis.
At first, the charging knight was depicted riding to left or right and sometimes holding a lance. But by the first half of the 15th century, he is always shown riding to the left (as seen by the viewer) with a sword in his raised hand and a shield in the left hand. During the 15th century, the colors of the seal became uniform: a white (silver) charging knight on a red field of the heraldic shield. The shield was blue with a double (gold) cross. The coat of arms featured the grand duke's headgear on the crest.
At first, the charging knight was interpreted as the ruler of the country. As time passed, he became a knight who is chasing intruders out of his native country. Such an interpretation was especially popular in the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, when Lithuania was part of the Russian Empire and sought independence.
With minor stylistic changes, the Vytis coat of arms remained the state symbol of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania until 1795, when Lithuania was annexed by the Russian Empire. The Vytis was abolished. However, in 1845 tsar Nicholas I confirmed coat of arms of Vilnius Guberniya that closely resembled the Vytis.
When Lithuania restored its independence in 1918-1920, several artists produced different versions of the coat of arms. A romantic version by Antanas Žmuidzinavičius became the most popular. The horse appeared to be flying in the air. The gear was very decorative. For example, the saddle blanket was very long and divided into three parts. There was no uniform or official version of the coat of arms. To address popular complaints, in 1929 a special commission was set up to analyze the best 16th century specimens of Vytis to design an official state emblem. Mstislav Dobuzhinsky was the chief artist. The commission worked for 5 years, but their version of the Vytis was not officially confirmed.
The Vytis was the state emblem of the Republic of Lithuania until 1940, when the Republic was annexed by the Soviet Union and all national insignia was outlawed. At the collapse of the Soviet Union, Vytis, together with Gedimino Stulpai and national flag, became symbols of the independence movement in Lithuania. In 1988 the Vytis was legalized. On March 11, 1990 Lithuania declared independence and restored all its pre-war national symbols, including the Vytis. On March 20, 1990 the Supreme Council of Lithuania approved the description of the state coat of arms and determined the principal regulations for its use. The design was based on Juozas Zikaras design that was used on all litas coins in the interwar period. This was a sign that Lithuania is continuing the traditions of the state that existed in 1918-1940. On September 4, 1991, a new design was approved based on recommendations of special heraldic committee. It abandoned romantic interwar traditions and went back to the times of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It reestablished original colors and metals. However, early coins of centas still bear the old Zikaras' design.
In 2004, Seimas confirmed new national symbol - historical flag of Lithuania. It depicts the coat of arms on a rectangular red fabric. It did not replace the tri-color national flag of Lithuania. It is used only by official institutions for special occasions and anniversaries. It is currently proposed that a big version of the coat of arms was adopted. It would have a line from Tautiška giesmė, the national anthem of Lithuania, "Vienybė težydi" (Let Unity Bloom).
Origins of the word Vytis
The origin of the word Vytis is not quite clear. The word itself for the first time was used in 1846 by Simonas Daukantas. He used it to refer to knights and horse riders. Some linguists believe that Daukantas invented the word by translating Polish pogoń. However, other disagree because Lithuanian language has a common verb vyti meaning to chase. The verb vyti and noun Vytis pair seems to follow semantic rules. Compare: pykti (to get angry) and pyktis (anger), krypti (to lean) and kryptis (direction).Likely the word Vytis to describe coat of arms was used in 1884 in Aušra newspaper.
Similar coat of arms
Coat of arms of Belarus from 1991 to 1995 (called Pahonia) was very similar to the Vytis. Several Polish szlachta families adopted the early versions of the Vytis. This shows that the image of the knight was widely spread. Recently established coats of arms of Vilnius County and Panevėžys County use different color schemes and add some details to the basic knight image.
Several towns in Lithuania have similar motifs as the Vytis. For example, coat of arms of Liudinavas is parted per pale. One half depicts the Vytis and the other - Lady Justice. Prienai and Varniai coats of arms show Saint George slaying a dragon. The saint is depicted in a very similar fashion as the Vytis and some suggest that this is just a christianized version of the Vytis.
See also
References
- Jonas Palionis, [Kieno sukurtas Lietuvos herbas (Vytis)?], Literatūra ir menas, Nov. 22, 2002, no. 2926
- [The Coat of Arms of Lithuania], Seimas
- Gimtoji istorija, Nuo 7 iki 12 klasės (Lietuvos istorijos vadovėlis), CD, 2002, ISBN 9986-9216-7-8
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