The coat of arms of the Székelys (; ) is the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

used by the Hungarian Székely community of

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. It is a blue coat of arms with a golden eight-pointed "sun-star" and a

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

crescent moon, both perceived as ancient Székely symbols. Being designed by Ádám Kónya, the

Szekler National Council The Szekler National Council (, ; , ) is a NGO civic organization representing the Székelys of Romania. The organisation serves as a platform to promote Szekler autonomy. History The Council was founded on October 16, 2003. Its first presid ...

adopted it in 2004 and is since then a symbol for the Székely people. It is argued that the symbols of the coat of arms are traditional symbols of the Székelys. The crescent moon and sun have been used since at least the 15th century in

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

. However, the use of a "sun-star" as Kónya has defined it is controversial as it does not comply with

heraldic Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branc ...

rules.

Design

The

of the

Székelys The Székelys (, Old Hungarian script, Székely runes: ), also referred to as Szeklers, are a Hungarians, Hungarian subgroup living mostly in the Székely Land in Romania. In addition to their native villages in Suceava County in Bukovina, a ...

was designed by Ádám Kónya and officially adopted in 2004. It consists of a blue background with an eight-pointed star and a crescent moon. According to Kónya, the eight-pointed "sun-star" symbolizes the eight historical Székely seats ( Bardóc-Miklósvárszék,

Csíkszék Csíkszék () was one of the Székely seats in the historical Székely Land. It administered two sub-seats ( Hungarian: ''fiúszék'', Latin: ''sedes filialis''), namely Gyergyószék and Kászonszék. It was divided on the natural borders of ...

, Gyergyószék, Kézdiszék,

Marosszék Marosszék () was one of the seats in the historical Székely Land. It was named after the Maros, a river with the biggest discharge in the seat. The composer Zoltán Kodály wrote the '' Dances of Marosszék'' (1927, for piano, later orchestrated ...

, Orbaiszék, Sepsiszék and

Udvarhelyszék Udvarhelyszék (; formerly called ''Telegdiszék'') was one of the Székely seats in the historical Székely Land. Situated on the western part of the Székely Land, it was the main seat (, , ''sedes capitalis'') for a significant period, being ...

). The crescent moon and the sun were already considered Székely symbols as early as in the 16th century. In fact, in 1580, they appeared as components of the

of the Principality of Transylvania and the

Transylvanian Diet The Transylvanian Diet (; ; ) was an important legislative, administrative and judicial body of the Principality (from 1765 Grand Principality) of Transylvania between 1570 and 1867. The general assemblies of the Transylvanian noblemen and the jo ...

adopted them as official Székely symbols in 1659. Subsequently, the crescent moon and the sun started to appear on flags and coats of arms of the Székely seats. Experts have criticized that the sun represented in the Székely coat of arms and flag does not comply with

rules, not being a heraldic sun but in fact not even a star either, but rather a reminiscence of the Székely

woven fabric Woven fabric is any textile formed by weaving. Woven fabrics, often created on a loom, are made of many threads woven in a warp and weft. Technically, a woven fabric is any fabric made by interlacing two or more threads at right angles to one ano ...

patterns.

History

One of the first symbols of the Székelys is a 15th-century coat of arms consisting on an

armor Armour (Commonwealth English) or armor (American English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, e ...

ed arm holding a

sword A sword is an edged and bladed weapons, edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter ...

on a red background; the sword pierces a golden crown, a heart and the head of a bear, with on either side of the latter being a rising moon and a six-pointed star. This possibly influenced other Székely military flags of the time, popularizing these colors and symbols as well. However, allegedly, the modern coat of arms with the sun and the crescent moon was given to the Székelys by the

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

Sigismund Sigismund (variants: Sigmund, Siegmund) is a German proper name, meaning "protection through victory", from Old High German ''sigu'' "victory" + ''munt'' "hand, protection". Tacitus latinises it ''Segimundus''. There appears to be an older form of ...

in 1437 as a reward for their loyalty and military labors. In 2003, the

was established. It adopted the Székely coat of arms and

flag A flag is a piece of textile, fabric (most often rectangular) with distinctive colours and design. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design employed, and fla ...

by Kónya, based on old Székely emblems, as its own symbols. Posteriorly, as this council is the main advocate of the

Székely autonomy movement The Székely Land (''Szeklerland'') is a historic and ethnographic region in Eastern Transylvania, in the center of Romania. The primary goal for the Hungarian political organisations in Romania is to achieve Székely autonomy. The Szeklers ma ...

, these symbols soon became expressions of Székely cohesion, cooperation and self-identity. While the popularity of the coat of arms started gradually increasing, the press and people began to refer to it as the "Székely coat of arms". On 5 September 2009, a Székely organization declared the symbols as the coat of arms and flag of

Székely Land The Székely Land or Szeklerland (, , Old Hungarian script, Székely runes: 𐲥𐳋𐳓𐳉𐳗𐳌𐳞𐳖𐳇; and sometimes ; ; ) is a historic and ethnographic area in present-day Romania, inhabited mainly by Székelys, a subgroup of Hung ...

References

{{reflist, 2 Székely Székely Székely Székely Székelys Székely Land Székely symbols

Design

History

See also

References