Eagle became a symbol of Polish rulers in the 13th century. He was associated with authority from the beginning.... King of birds and bird of kings – says Tadeusz Jezelowski, associate of the Heraldic Commission acting in front of the Minister of Home Affairs and Administration. On Flag Day we talk about how Polish signs, symbols and national crests were born.
Why the eagle?
Tadeusz Jezelowski: Not rather known. We know that eagle is 1 of the oldest symbols in the world. He was associated with power from the beginning. King of birds and bird of kings. An extraordinary 1 who flies advanced and according to legend as the only creature can look to the sun. He can be seen at the seal of King Przemysl II. The eagle has its head raised advanced there and the crown thrown completely back. He looks at the sun. At the same time, the eagle was a symbol of Saint John the Evangelist and Christ. Connotations were multifold and always positive. This is simply a perfect symbol, which is why it appeared very frequently in Europe at the time. The emperor reached for the image of the black eagle, and the Czechs had their eagle before turning it into a lion. So we could model our coat of arms on the symbols of our neighbors. There were another theories. Before planet War II Helena Polaczekna, a historian and herald, the first of the Polish eagle, was looking at the totemic sign of the early Piasts. Above all, the eagle became a symbol of Polish rulers in the 13th century. It then appears on the seals of the Piast princes in various parts broken into districts of the state. In Silesia, Małopolska, Wielkopolska, Kujawy... The best known full shaped image of the White Eagle – or crowned eagle – comes from the majestic seal prepared for the coronation of manufacture II in 1295. besides crucial is the legend, or inscription. It proclaims that God himself restored victorious signs to Poles.
He brought it back?
Yeah, he did. The discussion on the meaning of these words continues, but I think they are clear. The sign that has always joined the inhabitants of these lands will again unite them under the sceptre of 1 ruler. After all, manufacture II included the throne after the territory crash. From now on we can talk about the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Poland, the coat of arms of the Republic.
What about national colors?
White and red first appeared on Toothless. On the vagina of the sword utilized for the coronation of Władysław Elokitek there is an image of a white eagle on a red shield. Although the vagina was destroyed, the sign was transferred to the sword. But it must be remembered that since the 16th century the Republic of Poland was besides attributed a blue color... Blue is simply a sign of Lithuania, with which Poland concluded a union. Although the first colours of the Lithuanian Pogonia are white and red, in contrast to the coats of arms they were sometimes presented on a blue background. In 1863, a three-field coat of arms was introduced with the Eagle, Pogonia and with St. Michael the Archangel, the patron saint of Rusi. The white saint figure was on a red background. This Herb worked briefly due to the fact that only in time January, but then, already in unofficial circulation, it spread as a souvenir with red, blue and white colors. And so we had our Polish “tricolores”, only that white, red and blue carried completely different content than during the French Revolution. They symbolized the beautiful, jagelon thought of 3 equal peoples under 1 crown.
And what symbolized white and red?
They mention straight to the coat of arms; heraldic colours have been transferred to the flag. The arrangement of them is simply a derivative of meanings: in the coat of arms the sign is more crucial than the field, so the white was at the top, and the red was at the bottom. present the symbolism of national colours is frequently explained by various popular theories – that white is nobility and red is shed blood... Nothing like that. White and red in the form of a state mark appear in the national cavalry at the end of the existence of the Republic. Officially, as a state sign, he considered it a parliament during the November Uprising, February 7, 1831. Then he declared obedience to Russia, threw off the throne of the Tsar, introduced his symbols – a coat of arms with the White Eagle and Pogoń, a white-red bow from the coat of arms of the Crown and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It was the last 9 months of independence... In 1919, after its recovery, the Polish flag was first defined as it looks today. It consists of 2 stripes: the advanced white and lower red. The proportions – 5 to 8 – are besides crucial. Only erstwhile these conditions are maintained can we talk about the state flag. Interestingly, Poland is the only country in Europe with 2 equivalent state flags. A coat of arms was placed in the mediate of the white belt on the second one. This is restricted to external use. It is the flag of diplomatic missions, airports and ports, while being the flag utilized on ships.
You mentioned cavalry and a white-red bow. erstwhile did the eagle appear on military hats?
This happened during August II's reign. The eagle with regalias in claws appeared on the grenadiers' hats of the Crown ft defender and has since constantly accompanied the Polish army. In the first years of the Duchy of Warsaw, he inactive held a scepter and an apple in his clutches, but at the same time the Amazon shield, or plethora, appeared under him. In subsequent years, the eagle rejected the regalia and sat on it. From then on, specifically since 1815, we can talk about the symbol attributed to the army. Rifles and legionaries Józef Piłsudski had, for example, an eagle without a crown, respectively with the letters ‘S’ and ‘L’ on the shields of the Amazons, although this legion took over the crown. In 1920, he was introduced to usage a naval eagle that had an admiralty anchor and a plethora coloured blue. In 1936, an eagle of aviation appeared with Hussar wings. The last fresh eagle in the army appeared in 2007, along with the formation of peculiar troops. He in turn has a black-colored plethora.
However, let us return for a minute to Józef Piłsudski and the legionaries. Why didn't their eagle have a crown? Apparently, it was decided by an accident. Czesław Jarnuszkiewicz, who at the order of the Marshal prepared the symbol, made the prototype from besides fragile a sheet, the crown simply broke off and the eagle went under the sterling already without it...
I don't think that's what happened due to the fact that we know an eagle sketch from which someone, already at the engraver, cut off the crown with scissors. Jarnuszkiewicz himself confirmed this in a publication in the pre-war diary "Bron and Color". The author didn't say who did it or why. possibly it was the socialists who wanted to democratize the shooters... hard to say. I think this is going to be a mystery.
And what in national symbolism changed by Piłsudski May coup?
I know where you're going with this, but the timing is random. The provisions of the 1919 National Symbols Act were temporary. And in Poland, what is temporary usually takes a long time, so it lasted until 1927. The fresh image of the eagle was developed by Zygmunt Kamiński, prof. of Warsaw University of Technology, and in this way... started the storm. The biggest change was the introduction of a crown open to a place closed with a cross. Opponents immediately began shouting that in Poland the Masoni took power. Meanwhile, an eagle with a closed crown, though referring to this king, was inconsistent with the principles of heraldicism. This symbol was traditionally attributed to the emperor. He said, "Behold, I am the Most advanced Sovereign. This rule was the first to be broken by the rulers of France, who began to prove that each king is like an emperor in his own home. Then the closed crown began to be utilized by another kings, including Polish ones, but in coats of arms, which should be emphasized, the crowns were always open. Only Stanislaw August closed the crown of the eagle in the coat of arms of the state. The next change was to introduce on the wings of rosettes, in which opponents saw Masonic stars, rejecting gold legs and adding a white patch, though this, if any, should be gold. Kamiński explained that he wanted to emphasize the white eagle even more. Only the beaks and claws remain. The fresh image was very beautiful, but its author did not avoid mistakes. The eagle in its capture became three-dimensional, yet the coat of arms should be linear. But it's most likely the influence of Kamiński's wife, an outstanding sculptor.
National colours besides changed in 1927.
Not really. Red is simply defined as cynobar. And this besides referred to the basic principles of heraldicism. The colours must be clean, unambiguous, without shades, so that they can be recognized from a distance. Incidentally, present these old rules are only applied in 1 area of life. Well, the principles of heraldicism survived in road signs.
Another large change is 1944 and taking the eagle's crown?
Receiving?! The crown has been cut off! Literally. In 1945, state seals were prepared with an eagle crowned. They went to many offices, military units. Initially, the communists were afraid of extremist departure from Polish traditions. Eventually, however, whether it was due to their own thoughts or orders from Moscow, they decided to deprive the eagle of the crown. From that time on, there were papers that clearly showed stamp prints with traces of just like cut off crowns... Disgraceful things were happening. In the 1970s, while inactive working at the Wielkopolska Military Museum, a retired officer came to me to ask me if I would accept his uniform. I said, of course. Shortly after the war, the uniforms were made of mediocre materials, so they did not behave much. erstwhile that officer handed it to me, he was struggling to hide embarrassment. At first, I didn't truly know what it was about. "Mr. curator," he says. "But these buttons... eagle without crown". I said, of course, I know. "I had to bail...". And then he told his story. As there were problems with the commission after the war, he applied for pre-war buttons on his own. A military polytrude saw it and told him to strip the eagle of the crown. Button by button, file. And then he sat there and made certain that officer cut evenly. Can you imagine what he must have felt?!
The government in exile besides reacted to the changes made by the folk authorities...
Yes, he continued the tradition of national signs. In 1956 he decided to close the crown and reconstruct the sign of the cross. A small in the background for what happened in the country.
When was the last time that national symbols changed?
In 1990, the eagle regained his crown. His image has besides been improved. The roses on the wings became clearer to cut off any discussion about the stars. The shield itself has besides been somewhat extended upwards. Very frequently in various authoritative documents, eagle images disagree among themselves, and most of them deviate from the canonical pattern.
Tadeusz Jezelowski is simply a associate of the Heraldic Commission acting with the Minister of Home Affairs and Administration.
