The coat of arms of

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

( bg, Герб на България ) consists of a crowned golden

lion rampant The lion is a common charge in heraldry. It traditionally symbolises courage, nobility, royalty, strength, stateliness and valour, because historically the lion has been regarded as the "king of beasts". The lion also carries Judeo-Chr ...

over a dark red shield; above the shield is the Bulgarian historical

crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

. The shield is supported by two crowned golden lions rampant; below the shield there is compartment in the shape of oak twigs and white bands with the national

motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. Mot ...

Unity makes strength "Unity makes strength" ( bg, Съединението прави силата, Săedinenito pravi silata; nl, Eendracht maakt macht, ; french: L'union fait la force) is a motto that has been used by various states and entities throughout histo ...

" inscribed on them.

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 Tsar Ferdinand I (1887–1918) as his personal ruler's coat of arms. The previous emblem, which combined the traditional gold lion rampant with the pattern of the

coat of arms of the Soviet Union The State Emblem of the Soviet Union; be, Дзяржаўны герб СССР; kk, ССРО мемлекеттік елтаңбасы; lt, TSRS Valstybinis herbas; lv, PSRS valsts ģerbonis; et, NSVL riigivapp} was adopted in 1923 and was ...

, was abandoned since

Communist rule A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Cominte ...

ended in the country in 1989. The new Constitution of Bulgaria, adopted in 1991, describes the Bulgarian coat of arms as follows: 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:

History

The earliest example of a lion's image as the

heraldic symbol 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 branch ...

of Bulgaria is documented in the ''Lord Marshal's Roll'', composed around 1294 AD and preserved in a copy from about 1640. In its first part under №15 is represented the coat of arms of ''Le Rey de Bugrie'' or the King of Bulgaria, most probably this of Tsar Smilets (1292–1298) or may be some of his recent predecessors. It consists of an argent lion rampant with golden crown over sable shield. In the end of 14th century an anonymous Arab traveller, who visited the capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire

Tarnovo Veliko Tarnovo ( bg, Велико Търново, Veliko Tărnovo, ; "Great Tarnovo") is a town in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province. Often referred as the "''City of the Tsars''", Veliko Tarnovo ...

, saw and depicted three lions guardant passant gules painted on the round golden shields carried by the personal guards of Tsar Ivan Shishman (1371–1395). His manuscript is now kept in the National Library of Morocco. After 1396, when all Bulgarian lands were subjugated by the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

but the Bulgarian crown was not given to the Ottoman Dynasty formally, the latter Bulgarian heraldic type as a sign of symbolically independent state was preserved in several European and Balkan collections of coats of arms. Gradually, new and in some cases quite different versions appeared, but the lion remained the most widespread heraldic symbol of Bulgaria and its rulers. In the Illyrian collection of Korenich-Neorich from 1595 the three walking lions, usual for some earlier Western Europe's collections, were replaced by one red lion rampant over golden crowned shield. In the beginning of the 18th century the Croatian heraldist

Pavao Ritter Vitezović Pavao Ritter Vitezović (; 7 January 1652 – 20 January 1713) was a Habsburg-Croatian polymath, variously described as a historian, linguist, publisher, poet, political theorist, diplomat, printmaker, draughtsman, cartographer, writer and print ...

in two editions of his heraldic collection from 1701 and 1702 reversed the colours of this type and thus the lion became golden and the shield dark red. This variant was adopted by the famous painter

Hristofor Zhefarovich Christopher is the English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or '' Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Christ" or "Anointed", and φέρει� ...

in his ''Stemmatographia'', printed in 1741. His version became the most influential among Bulgarian intellectuals and revolutionaries in the period of the national awakening of Bulgaria, when the lion was considered and widely used as a major national symbol. After the liberational Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) the coat of arms of Zhefarovich was laid in the base of the new state coat of arms, described in the

Tarnovo Constitution The Tarnovo Constitution ( bg, Търновска конституция) was the first constitution of Bulgaria. It was adopted on 16 April 1879 ( O.S.) by the Constituent National Assembly held in Veliko Tarnovo as part of the establishment of ...

of 1879 as follows: 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. 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 An emblem is an abstract or representational pictorial image that represents a concept, like a moral truth, or an allegory, or a person, like a king or saint. Emblems vs. symbols Although the words ''emblem'' and '' symbol'' are often us ...

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. 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. 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 Bulgarian monarchy (1879–1946), but that of the Second Bulgarian Empire (1185–1396). This empire was established by the brothers

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

and Asen, after it was freed from

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

control in the end of the 12th century, and it was subjugated by the Ottomans in the very end of the 14th century. In fact it significantly differs from the crowns known from medieval portraits such as these from the Tetraevangelia of Tsar Ivan Alexander (1331–1371). There is a very popular belief that the three lions represent the three major portions and historical regions of Bulgaria — Moesia,

Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to ...

and Macedonia, which has no connection with the native historical tradition and the principles of heraldry.

Historical coats of arms

File:BG-gerb1295.png, Coat of arms of the King of Bulgaria ca 1295 from the Lord Marshal's Roll. File:Coat of arms ivan shishman.jpg, Shield of a royal warrior from the end of 14th century, anonymous Arabic traveler. File:Coat of Arms of the Emperor of Bulgaria (by Conrad Grünenberg).png, Coat of arms of the Emperor of Bulgaria, Armorial by Conrad Grünenberg, Konstanz Codex, 1483 File:Bulgarian1340.jpg, Coat of arms of Bulgaria from the Fojnica Armorial, from 17th century. File:Coat of arms of Bulgaria (by Vincenco Coronelli).svg, Coat of arms of Bulgaria, from a map by

Vincenzo Coronelli Vincenzo Maria Coronelli (August 16, 1650 – December 9, 1718) was an Italian Franciscan friar, cosmographer, cartographer, publisher, and encyclopedist known in particular for his atlases and globes. He spent most of his life in Venice. Biog ...

, 1692 File:Bulgaria hristofor zhefarovich.jpg, Coat of arms of Bulgaria from ''

Stemmatographia Stemmatografia, known by its full name Stemmatografia sive Armorum Illiricorum delineatio, descriptio et restitutio (English: ''Stemmatography, or the sketch, description and revival of the Illyrian coats of arms'') is a heraldic essay written and ...

'' by

, 1746 File:State Achievement of Bulgaria 1878.svg, Coat of arms of Bulgaria (1879–1880) File:Larger State Achievement of Bulgaria 1908-1946.svg, Coat of arms of Bulgaria (1881–1927) File:State Achievement of Bulgaria 1908-1946.svg, Coat of arms of Bulgaria (1927–1946) File:Coat of arms of People's Republic of Bulgaria (1946-1948).svg, Coat of arms of the People's Republic of Bulgaria (1946–1947) File:Coat of arms of Bulgaria (1948).svg, Coat of arms of the People's Republic of Bulgaria (1947-1948) File:Coat of arms of Bulgaria (1948-1968).svg, Coat of arms of the People's Republic of Bulgaria (1948–1967) File:Coat of arms of Bulgaria (1968-1971).svg, Coat of arms of the People's Republic of Bulgaria (1967–1971) File:Coat of arms of Bulgaria (1971-1990).svg, Coat of arms of the People's Republic of Bulgaria (1971–1990) File:Coat of arms of Bulgaria (1990-1991).svg, Coat of arms of the Republic of Bulgaria (1990–1991)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."

References

*Oswald, G., ''Lexicon der Heraldik'', Leipzig, 1984, p. 310.

External links

Bulgarian Heraldry and Vexillology Society

{{Coats of arms of Europe National symbols of Bulgaria

Description

History

Historical coats of arms

See also

References

External links