The Saxon Steed (german: link=no, Sachsenross, Niedersachsenross, Welfenross, Westfalenpferd; ; Low Saxon: ''Witte Peerd'') is a heraldic motif associated with the German provinces of

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

and

Westphalia Westphalia (; german: Westfalen ; nds, Westfalen ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the regio ...

, and the Dutch region of

Twente Twente ( nl, Twente , Tweants dialect: ''Tweante'') is a region in the eastern Netherlands. It encompasses the most urbanised and easternmost part of the province of Overijssel. Twente is most likely named after the Tuihanti or Tvihanti, a Ge ...

Origin and past uses

The horse as a heraldic charge associated with Saxony first appears in the late 14th century, at which time it was described as an "old Saxon" motif. For this reason, there has been a long history of antiquarian speculation identifying the motif as a tribal symbol of the ancient

Saxons The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

. A tradition first recorded in 1492 reports that the 8th-century Saxon ruler

Widukind Widukind, also known as Wittekind, was a leader of the Saxons and the chief opponent of the Frankish king Charlemagne during the Saxon Wars from 777 to 785. Charlemagne ultimately prevailed, organized Saxony as a Frankish province, massacred th ...

displayed a black horse as his field sign. Historian James Lloyd suggests that ‘the Saxon Steed motif was invented in the 14 century …. as a ''faux'' ancient symbol for the Saxons’, being derived from an account by Gobelinus of the myth of

Hengist and Horsa Hengist and Horsa are Germanic brothers said to have led the Angles, Saxons and Jutes in their invasion of Britain in the 5th century. Tradition lists Hengist as the first of the Jutish kings of Kent. Most modern scholarly consensus now rega ...

in Britain. The horse motif was adopted by the House of Welf, whose original symbol was a golden lion on red ground. It has also been used in several provinces in

(therefore, it is also called ''Westfalenross'', meaning "Westphalian steed", or ''Welfenross'', meaning "Welf steed"). After this, it became the heraldic animal of the

Kingdom of Hanover The Kingdom of Hanover (german: Königreich Hannover) was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Ha ...

(since 1866 the

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

Province of Hanover The Province of Hanover (german: Provinz Hannover) was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1868 to 1946. During the Austro-Prussian War, the Kingdom of Hanover had attempted to maintain a neutral position ...

), of the Prussian Province of Westphalia and since 1922 of the

Free State of Brunswick The Free State of Brunswick () was a state of the German Reich in the time of the Weimar Republic. It was formed after the abolition of the Duchy of Brunswick in the course of the German Revolution of 1918–19. Its capital was Braunschweig (Bru ...

. This tradition continues in two modern federal States of Germany:

and

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inha ...

. File:Flag of Hanover 1837-1866.svg, Flag of the

(1837–1866). File:Coat of Arms of Hannover.svg, Coat of arms of the Prussian

(1868–1946). File:Coat of Arms of Westphalia.svg, Coat of arms of the Prussian Province of Westphalia (1815–1946). File:Wappen Freistaat Braunschweig.png, Coat of arms of the

(1922–1946) File:Flag of the State of Hanover (1946).svg, Flag of the State of Hanover (1946).

Modern uses

The coat of arms of the German

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

shows a white Saxon steed (''Sachsenross'') on a red background. The steed became the coat of arms of the

as a province of the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918. Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. ...

in 1866 after it had been in use for the

Duchy of Brunswick The Duchy of Brunswick (german: Herzogtum Braunschweig) was a historical German state. Its capital was the city of Brunswick (). It was established as the successor state of the Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel by the Congress of Vienna ...

and the

since 1814. It appears on some of their 19th Century coins and postage stamps. It was even in use after the abolition of German monarchy after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

until 1935, when state flags were prohibited by the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...

and only the

flag of Nazi Germany The flag of Nazi Germany, officially the flag of the German Reich, featured a red background with a black swastika on a white disc. This flag came into use initially as the banner of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) after its foundation. Following the ap ...

was to be used.

Coat of arms of Lower Saxony

After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the

became an independent state on 23 August 1946, and used the steed as its coat of arms again. Brunswick, which was also an independent state, had made the same decision some weeks before, on 8 July 1946. When these two states, along with Oldenburg and

Schaumburg-Lippe Schaumburg-Lippe, also Lippe-Schaumburg, was created as a county in 1647, became a principality in 1807, a free state in 1918, and was until 1946 a small state in Germany, located in the present day state of Lower Saxony, with its capital at Bück ...

, were merged into the new state of Lower Saxony, the Saxon steed became the unofficial coat of arms of the new state, and later the official one.

Coat of arms of North Rhine-Westphalia

The Saxon steed is also shown in one of the three sections of the coat of arms of North Rhine-Westphalia, particularly associated with the area of

British royal arms

Royal Standard of the United Kingdom (1816–1837)

In 1714 the

House of Hanover The House of Hanover (german: Haus Hannover), whose members are known as Hanoverians, is a European royal house of German origin that ruled Hanover, Great Britain, and Ireland at various times during the 17th to 20th centuries. The house or ...

became united in

personal union A personal union is the combination of two or more states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, would involve the constituent states being to some extent interlink ...

with the United Kingdom. As a result, the Saxon Steed is found in the British royal arms during the Hanoverian period.

Official sign of Dutch Twente region

To express the Saxon heritage of the

region, local language and culture enthusiast J.J. van Deinse designed a common flag in the 1920s. The region borders on both the German states of Lower Saxony and North-Rhine-Westphalia. The local language,

Tweants Tweants (Tweants pronunciation: ; nl, Twents ) is a group of non-standardised, closely related Westphalian, Dutch Low Saxon dialects, descending from Old Saxon. It is spoken daily by approximately 62% of the population of Twente, a region in t ...

, is commonly classified as an extension of the Westphalian branch of the

Low Saxon language Low Saxon, also known as West Low German ( nds, Nedersassisch, Nedersaksies; nl, Nedersaksisch) are a group of Low German dialects spoken in parts of the Netherlands, northwestern Germany and southern Denmark (in North Schleswig by parts of th ...

. Within the Netherlands, it is known to be one of the more traditional (or conservative) varieties of the language. Due to growing interests and pride in local culture, the Saxon steed has become a popular image. It can be found in varying formats and appearances, as well as to various degrees of stylisation in the likes of local football club

FC Twente Football Club Twente () is a Dutch professional football club from the city of Enschede, sometimes known internationally as Twente Enschede. The club was formed in 1965 by the merger of 1926 Dutch champions Sportclub Enschede with Enschedese ...

's logo, the local branch (Twents) of a Dutch public transport provider, and a growing range of other instances.

United States

The King George County, Virginia adopted the shield of 1714 British royal arms,Public Board Meetings
/ref> thus the Saxon Steed is found in the seal of King George County.