The coat of arms of Hungary ( hu, Magyarország címere) was adopted on 3 July 1990, after the end of

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

rule. The arms have been used before, both with and without the Holy Crown of Hungary, sometimes as part of a larger, more complex coat of arms, and its elements date back to the Middle Ages. The shield is split into two parts: * The

dexter Dexter may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Dexter, the main character of the American animated series ''Dexter's Laboratory'' that aired from 1996 to 2003 * Dexter, a fictional character in the British Diary of a Bad Man#Main, web series ''Diar ...

(the right side from the bearer's perspective, the left side from the viewer's) features the so-called

Árpád stripes Árpád stripes ( hu, Árpád-sávok) is the name of a particular heraldic and vexillologic configuration which has been in constant use since the early 13th century in particular in Hungarian heraldry. It can be seen in the left half of the curr ...

, four Gules (red) and four Argent (silver) stripes. Traditionally, the silver stripes represent four rivers: Duna (Danube), Tisza, Dráva, and Száva. * The

sinister Sinister commonly refers to: * Evil * Ominous Sinister may also refer to: Left side * Sinister, Latin for the direction " left" * Sinister, in heraldry, is the bearer's true left side (viewers' right side) of an escutcheon or coat of arms; see ...

(the left side from the bearer's perspective, the right side from the viewer's) consists of an Argent (silver) double cross on Gules (red) base, situated inside a small Or (golden) crown, the crown is placed on the middle heap of three Vert (green) hills, representing the mountain ranges ( trimount) Tátra, Mátra, and Fátra. Atop the shield rests the Holy Crown of St. Stephen ( Stephen I of Hungary, István király), a crown that remains in the Parliament building ( Országház) in Budapest today.

History

Kingdom of Hungary

The most common motifs of the ninth and the early tenth centuries -the griffin, wolf and hind- seldom figure in later Hungarian iconography and heraldic symbolism, however the Hawk or Turul which in shamanistic lore rested upon the tree of life connecting the earth with the netherworld and the skies preserved for longer as a device belonging to the ruling house. }) after

Lajos Kossuth Lajos Kossuth de Udvard et Kossuthfalva (, hu, udvardi és kossuthfalvi Kossuth Lajos, sk, Ľudovít Košút, anglicised as Louis Kossuth; 19 September 1802 – 20 March 1894) was a Hungarian nobleman, lawyer, journalist, poli ...

, Regent-President of Hungary (so unlike the name suggests, it was ''not'' the coat of arms of the Kossuth family). In the large coat of arms, however, a laurel wreath replaced the crown both in the central piece and above the shield, as shown on the adjacent image. , - , Wappen Ungarische Länder 1867 (Mittel)

, In the following centuries, the coat of arms of Hungary became more and more complex. It included the coats of arms of the territories which were part of the Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen: Croatia,

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...

, Slavonia, and

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and He ...

, but the so-called "small coat of arms" always remained the central piece. (The more complex ones were called "medium" and "large coat of arms".) The adjacent image shows the medium coat of arms, in official use (with some modifications) from the

Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 (german: Ausgleich, hu, Kiegyezés) established the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary. The Compromise only partially re-established the former pre-1848 sovereignty and status of the Kingdom of Hungary ...

till the end of World War I (1918). The outer pieces (anti-clockwise from top left) are the coats of arms of

, Slavonia,

(added in 1915), Fiume, Transylvania, and Croatia. When Hungary became part of the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...

, the coat of arms became a part of that of the Monarchy, but later it became of marginal importance and during the reign of Joseph II – who did not even have himself crowned with the Holy Crown – it was omitted from the coins. , - , Wappen Ungarische Länder 1915 (Mittel)

, Used from 1915 to 1918. After the revolution was repressed, the Hungarian coat of arms was not used again until the

, when the small coat of arms with the crown once more became a part of a more complex coat of arms, similar to the medium coat of arms shown above. The Hungarian arms also became part of the combined coat of arms of Austria-Hungary. , -

Changes during the 20th Century

Honours

* In May and June 1946 a set of eight stamps of Coat of arms of Hungary was issued. These are the issues of inflation. * Further, a fourteen-stamp set of Arms and Post-horn were issued May and June 1946; these are also the issues of inflation. * Four commemorative stamps were issued on 15 March 1948 as part of the series: Centenary of the beginning of Hungary’s war for Independence. * In 20 August 1949 three stamps of Arms of Hungary were issued on the occasion of the Adoption of the Hungarian Peoples’ Republic’s Constitution. * On 23 May 1958 three stamps were issued to commemorate the first anniversary of the law amending the constitution. * Between 1941–45 as many as 44 Postage-Due stamps of various denominations, watermarks and paper were issued.14 Some other stamps were also issued.

References

* Bálint Hóman: A magyar címer történetéhez ("Additions to the history of the coat of arms of Hungary"), 192

(Hungarian) *Iván Bertényi: Államcímerünk kialakulása ("Emergence of the state coat of arms"), 200

(Hungarian) *József Laszlovszky: A magyar címer története ("History of the Hungarian coat of arms"), Egyetemi Nyomda, Budapest, 1989, p. 39 13. colnect.com/en/stamps/list/country/6955-Hungary/year/1958/page/4. Mi:HU 1529A-32A, Sn:HU 1191–93, Yt:HU 1245–47. 14. colnect.com/en/stamps/list/country/6955-Hungary/year/1941/page/4,5. colnect.com/en/stamps/list/country/6955-Hungary/year/1942/page/4. colnect.com/en/stamps/list/country/6955-Hungary/year/1944/page/2,3. colnect.com/en/stamps/list/country/6955-Hungary/year/1945/page/10,11,12.

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