Coat of arms of Serbia

Coat of arms of Serbia
Versions
Lesser coat of arms
Emblem
Details
Armiger	Republic of Serbia
Adopted	2004 (16 June 1882)
Crest	The Crown of Serbia
Escutcheon	Gules, an eagle displayed with two heads Argent armed Or, between two fleurs-de-lys in base Or, surmounted by an inescutcheon Gules thereon a cross between four firesteels Argent
Other elements	Behind the shield a mantle Gules fringed and tasselled Or and lined ermine, at the top thereof the Crown of Serbia proper
Earlier versions	See history and gallery
Use	Governmental

The coat of arms of Serbia is a re-introduction of the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Serbia (1882–1918) adopted by the Republic of Serbia in 2004 and later slightly redesigned in 2010. The coat of arms consists of two main heraldic symbols which represent the national identity of the Serbian people across the centuries, the Serbian eagle (a white double-headed eagle adopted from the Nemanjić dynasty) and the Serbian cross (or cross with fire-steels).

Description

The principal field stands for the Serbian state. It consists of a white double-headed eagle on a red shield; its body and wings in white, and tongues, beaks, legs and claws in gold, between two golden fleur-de-lis. The inescutcheon stands for the Serbian nation; in a red shield, a cross between "B" (Cyrillic "Ve" or Greek "Beta"), is arranged in the quarters around it. All of the letters face horizontally outwards.

A blazon in heraldic terms is: Gules, a bicephalic eagle Argent armed Or, two fleurs-de-lys Or. Overall an escutcheon Gules, a cross Argent between four firesteels Argent. All crowned with a royal crown. The design on the inescutcheon has been used by Serbian states and the Serbian church since the Middle Ages. The four shapes around the central cross are a stylized form of letters, as explained above.

Although Serbia is now a republic, the coat of arms features the royal crown of the former monarchy. The lesser arms is used more frequently, appearing on passports, identity cards, driver's licenses, and the state flag.

Elements

Serbian eagle

Main article: Serbian eagle

The Imperial emblem of the late Byzantine Empire

The use of the double-headed eagle dates back to the late Byzantine era (since the 11th century). The double-headed eagle can be seen more often on inscriptions, medieval frescoes and embroidery on the clothes of Byzantine and Serbian royalty. Grand Prince Stefan Nemanja (r. 1166-1196) was among the first in Serbia who used the symbol. The Serbian Orthodox Church also adopted it; the entrance of the Žiča monastery, which was the seat of the Archbishop of the Serbs between 1219–1253, and by tradition the coronational church of the Serbian kings, is engraved with the double-headed eagle. The survived golden ring of Queen Teodora (1321–1322) has the symbol engraved. The Nemanjić dynasty coat of arms was the double-headed eagle. During the reign of Emperor Stefan Dušan (r. 1331–1345), the double-headed eagle can be seen on everyday objects and state related documents, such as vax stamps and proclamations. In 1339, map maker, Angelino Dulcert, marks the Serbian Empire with a flag with a red double-headed eagle. Other Serbian dynasties also adopted the symbol as a symbolic continuation, like the Mrnjavčević and Lazarević. Prince Lazar (r. 1371-1389), when renovating the Hilandar monastery of Mount Athos, engraved the double-headed eagle at the northern wall. The Codex Monacensis Slavicus 4 (fl. 1371-1389) has richly attested artwork of the Serbian eagle. The double-headed eagle was officially adopted by Stefan Lazarević after he received the despot title, the second highest Byzantine title, by John VII Palaiologos in August 1402 at the court in Constantinople.

Serbian cross

Main article: Serbian cross

Tetragrammic cross of the Palaiologoi.

Τhe so-called Serbian Cross, surrounded by four Ve also derives from a Byzantine emblem. It is almost the same or identical with the imperial emblem used in Byzantine flags during the late age. As a Byzantine symbol though, it might dates back to several centuries earlier. Serbian historian Stanoje Stanojević argues that it was officially adopted as a Serbian symbol as well in 1345, with Dušan the Mighty's raising to a Serbian Empire. Stojan Novaković argues that the recorded use of the Serbian cross, as a national symbol, began in 1397, during the rule of Stefan Lazarević. It was possibly derived from a known candle chandelier from the Visoki Dečani. Later, the Serbian cross is found in the Korenić-Neorić Armorial (1595), which shows the coat of arms of Serbia (Svrbiae) as a white cross over a red and gold background, also depicting the Mrnjavčević noble house with the same design, with inverted colours and the Serbian eagle in the center of the cross. According to Mavro Orbini (1607), it was used by Vukašin Mrnjavčević (King, 1365–1371) and Lazar Hrebeljanović (Prince, 1371–1389). Miloš Obrenović adopted the Serbian cross as the military flag when forming the first units of the regular army in 1825. The Serbian cross then appeared on all Serbian coats of arms, except the Serbian coat of arms dated 1974, which had the cross removed, leaving only the four stylized B; this was done symbolically by the Yugoslav government to "socially curtail and politically marginalize religious communities and religion in general".

In modern times, a Serbian folk etymology interpreted the four letters around the cross as a stylised form of Cyrillic "C", a belief which is sometimes reflected on older coats of arms. In all of these coat of arms though (see gallery below), the letters retain the straight side of the letter B, or at least a projection in the middle, that is the middle part of "B" between the two semicircles.

Gallery

• 

  14th-century coat of arms, Fojnica Armorial (between 1675-1688)

• 

  Serbian Empire, Hristofor Žefarović's Stemmatographia (1741)

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  Serbian coat of arms, Stemmatographia (1741)

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  Government seal
  (First Serbian Uprising, 1805–1813)

• 

  Karađorđe's seal
  (1804–1813)

• 

  Principality of Serbia
  (1835–1882)

• 

  Kingdom of Serbia (1882–1918)

• 

  Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1918–1944)

• 

  Government of National Salvation (1941-1944)

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  Socialist Republic of Serbia (1947–1992) and Republic of Serbia (1992–2004)

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  Coat of arms of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1992-2003) and the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro (2003–2006)

• 

  Republic of Serbia (2004–2010)

See also

• List of coats of arms of Serbia
• Serbian cross
• Serbian eagle
• Serbian heraldry
• National symbols of Serbia
• Coat of arms of Yugoslavia