Coat of arms of Prussia
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This article is about the coat of arms of the former German state of Prussia.
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[edit] Background
The state of Prussia had its origins in the separate lands of the March of Brandenburg and the Duchy of Prussia. The March of Brandenburg developed from the medieval Northern March of the Holy Roman Empire, passing to the House of Hohenzollern in 1415. The Duchy of Prussia was created in 1525 when the eastern lands of the Teutonic Knights were secularized by Albert of Brandenburg-Ansbach, a member of a cadet branch of the Hohenzollerns. Prince-elector George William inherited the Duchy of Prussia in 1618, uniting Brandenburg and Prussia under one ruler; the elector's state became known as Brandenburg-Prussia. The Kingdom of Prussia was created when Elector Frederick III assumed the title of Frederick I, King in Prussia, on 18 January 1701.
Prussia ceased to be a kingdom after the fall of the German Empire resulting from World War I, becoming instead the Free State of Prussia. The state of Prussia was abolished in 1947 following World War II.
[edit] History of arms
As a crusading order, the Teutonic Knights who conquered Prussia flew a black cross on a white flag. The Holy Roman Emperor granted them the right to use the black eagle of the Holy Roman Empire.
On January 27, 1701, King Frederick I changed his arms as prince-elector of Brandenburg. The older arms of the electors of Brandenburg depicted a red eagle on a white background. Henceforth, the Prussian eagle, now royally crowned and with 'FR' (Fridericus Rex, "King Frederick") on its breast, was placed in an escutcheon on the shield with 25 quarters instead of the electoral scepter. All the helmets made way for one royal crown.
The wild men—figures from Germanic and Celtic mythology representing the 'Lord of the Beasts' or 'Green Man'— that held the arms of Prussia are probably taken from the arms of Pomerania or Denmark. They are also to be found as supporters of the arms of Braunschweig, Königsberg, and the Dutch towns of Anloo, Beilen, Bergen op Zoom, Groede, Havelte, 's-Hertogenbosch, Oosterhesselen, Sleen, Sneek, Vries and Zuidwolde.[1] A wild man and a wild woman have held the shield of the principality of Schwarzburg in Thuringia and the city of Antwerp since the beginning of the 16th century.[2] Two wild men and a wild woman have been included in the seal of Bergen op Zoom since 1365.[3]
A decree from 11 February 1701 placed a crown on the Prussion escutcheon. On February 11, 1701 the king ordained that that the whole should be placed on a royal pavilion after the French and Danish examples.
When William, Prince of Orange and King of Great Britain died on March 19, 1702, the king ordered the arms of the principality placed on his shield. This was to support his claim as sole heir by his mother, although the Frisian branch of the House of Orange-Nassau claimed it as well.
In 1708 Frederick announced that he would place the quarters of the dukes of Mecklenburg in the Prussian arms to stress his rights to Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz if their ducal lines were to die out. Although Mecklenburg-Strelitz protested, Emperor Joseph I gave permission to Frederick in October 1712. This design was twice officially altered but was not fundamentally changed since.
The electoral scepter had its own shield under the electoral cap. Around the shield, with 36 quarters (including Veere-Vlissingen and Breda), appeared the Order of the Black Eagle with a crowned helmet resting on top. The wild men held banners of Prussia and Brandenburg and behind the pavilion rose a Prussian banner after the example of the French Oriflamme. The motto Gott mit uns ("God with us") appeared on the pedestal.
Already during the reign of Frederick I there is a notable difference between the 'Gothic' representation of the Prussian eagle in the arms and the more naturally depicted and often flying eagle on most coins[4] and military standards.[5]
Frederick William I followed his father on the throne on February 25, 1713. According to Ströhl he gave the eagle a scepter and orb. He made an arrangement with the Frisian Nassaus over the title to the Principality of Orange, although it was occupied by France. Besides the arms of Orange, he officially added Veere and Vlissingen on July 29, 1732. The king also added East Frisia to his arms, claiming it in case the prince would die without heir. A fourth escutcheon appeared among the 36 quarters.
Frederick II became king on May 31, 1740. He laid claim to the duchy of Silesia after the death of Emperor Charles VI and declared war on Charles' daughter and heir, Maria Theresa of Austria, thereby starting the Silesian Wars.
Frederick II was followed by his nephew, Frederick William II, on August 17, 1786. Frederick William II inherited the Franconian cadet branches (Ansbach and Bayreuth) of the House of Hohenzollern in 1791. For reasons of economy, however, the official seals were unchanged.
Frederick William III took the throne on November 16, 1797 and changed the arms on July 3, 1804. The reorganisation of Germany by Napoleon I of France made alterations necessary. A new escutcheon was created for Silesia and the shield held 42 quarters. The Order of the Red Eagle of the Franconian line was also added around the shield.
After the fall of Napoleon, Prussia gained extensive territories on the Rhine and in Saxony. New arms were therefore decreed on January 9, 1817. The number of quarters rose to 48, including the horse of Westphalia and Lower Saxony. The number of escutcheons was reduced to four: the black eagle of Prussia, the red eagle of Brandenburg instead of the scepter, the burgravate of Nuremberg (though ceded to Bavaria), and Hohenzollern proper.
The so-called 'middle arms' were then issued: a shield with the same four escutcheons and ten quarters for Silesia, Rhineland, Posen, Saxony, Pomerania, Magdeburg, Jülich-Cleves-Berg, and Westphalia. This was encircled by the Order of the Black Eagle and held by two wild men with clubs.
The small arms already in use on coins of the 1790s were legitimized as well.
On December 7, 1849, the Swabian lines of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen and Hohenzollern-Hechingen were annexed by Frederick William IV, who had followed his father on July 7, 1840.
Frederick William IV was followed by his brother William I on January 2, 1861. He changed the arms on 11 January 1864 by combining the escutcheons of Nuremberg and Hohenzollern. After the Second War of Schleswig of 1864 and the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, Prussia annexed Schleswig, Holstein, Hanover, and Hesse-Kassel. King William I of Prussia became William I, German Emperor on 18 January 1871 during the unification of Germany. The Kingdom of Prussia became the predominant state in the newly-created German Empire.
William decreed new arms on August 16, 1873. The number of quarters was again 48 with three escutcheons. Added were the collars of the Order of the House of Hohenzollern and the the Order of the Prussian Crown. The motto was placed on the dome of the pavilion.
The middle arms of 1873 show more clearly the changes by the additions of Schleswig-Holstein, Hanover, and Hesse-Kassel and the removals of Magdeburg and Cleves-Jülich-Berg.[6]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ K.L. Sierksma, De gemeentewapens van Nederland, Het Spectrum, Utrecht/Antwerp, 1960
- ^ Hubert de Vries, Wapens van de Nederlanden, Uitg. Jan Mets, Amsterdam, 1995
- ^ W.A. van Ham, Wapens en vlaggen van Noord-Brabant, Walburg Pers, Zutphen, 1986
- ^ Gerhard Schön, Deutscher Münzkatalog. 18. Jahrhundert, Battenberg Verlag, Munich, 1984
- ^ Terence Wise, Military Flags of the World, Blandford Press, Poole, Dorset, 1977
- ^ Siebmacher, Grosses Wappenbuch, Band 1, 1. Abteilung, 1. Teil, Nuremberg 1856 and 4.Teil, Nuremberg 1921
