Hungarian heraldry

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Hungarian heraldry follows German heraldry in its artistic forms, but has got its own character. It is classified to Central and Eastern Europe heraldry.

Contents 1 Private Heraldry 2 Official Heraldry 3 Some Basic Vocabulary 4 See also 5 Further reading 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Private Heraldry

The composition of most Hungarian coats of arms is based on figurative approach. Arms with simple divisions of the shield, or charged with ordinaries and subordinaries only, are extremely rare and mostly foreign origin. The colour of the field is most often blue, serving as a background (sky). About 90% of Hungarian arms have a green base, often a trimount.

Hungarian heraldry is much more "bloody" than other heraldry. E.g. the chopped off head of a Turk with a long scalp lock and a dropping moustache, blood dripping from the neck is a common charge. At least 15 percent of all Hungarian personal arms bear a decapitated Turk's head in reference to their wars against Turkey.^[1][2]

In many cases mantling has more than two tinctures. Barred helmet is normally used, but this is not a rule. There are few Hungarian arms without a crest coronet.

Due to great demand of soldiers during the wars against the Turks in the 16th and 17th centuries, sometimes a whole garrison of 80 to 120 soldiers was raised to nobiliary rank, being granted one coat of arms for all of them to share.

[edit] Official Heraldry

Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion.

[edit] Some Basic Vocabulary

• coat of arms = címer
• crest = sisakdísz

Tincture	Heraldic name	Hungarian name
Metals - Fémek
Gold/Yellow	Or	arany
Silver/White	Argent	ezüst
Colours - Színek
Blue	Azure	kék
Red	Gules	vörös
Purple	Purpure	bíbor
Black	Sable	fekete
Green	Vert	zöld

[edit] See also

• Coat of arms of Hungary
• Historical coat of arms of Transylvania
• Nobility and royalty of the Kingdom of Hungary

[edit] Further reading

• de Tamáska de Baranch, Endre: The Evolution of the Hungarian Coat of Arms. Sarasota, 1979.
• Kezd, Bela Kezdy Vasarheli De: Totemistic Elements in Hungarian Armory, 1961.

[edit] References

1. ^ von Warnstedt, Christopher. (October 1970). "The Heraldic Provinces of Europe". The Coat of Arms XI (84): 129-30.
2. ^ Thomas Woodcock & John Martin Robinson. The Oxford Guide to Heraldry. (Oxford University Press, New York: 1988), 28-32.

• Carl-Alexander von Volborth: Heraldry: Customs, Rules, and Styles Poole, Dorset, New Orchard Editions, 1981, pp. 120-122

[edit] External links

• A Note on Hungarian Heraldry from François Velde's Heraldica website
• Main characteristics of Hungarian heraldry
• Heraldikai lexikon - Hungarian dictionary of arms
• Magyar Címer Portál - Hungarian Coat of Arms Portal

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