Byzantine heraldry
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For most of its history, the Byzantine Empire did not know or use heraldry in the West European sense. Various emblems (sēmeia, sing. sēmeion) were used in official occasions and for military purposes, such as banners or shields displaying various motifs such as the cross or the labarum. The use of the cross, and of images of Christ, the Virgin Mary and various saints is also attested on seals of officials, but these were personal rather than family emblems.[1] Unlike the Western feudal lords, Byzantine aristocratic families did not, as far as is known, use specific symbols to designate themselves and their followers. Only from the 12th century onwards, when the Empire came in increased contact with Westerners because of the Crusades, did heraldry begin to be used among Byzantines. Even then however, the thematology was largely derived from the symbols employed in earlier ages, and its use was limited to the major families of the Empire.
The imperial eagle continued to be used as a motif, and a variant, the double-headed eagle, is probably the most well-known Byzantine emblem. Its exact date of adoption is much debated; it has been associated by scholars with the Komnenoi and is well-attested in illuminated manuscripts of the Palaiologan period, after ca. 1327.[2] Pseudo-Kodinos also records the use of the Palaiologan "tetragrammic cross" on the banner (phlamoulon) borne by imperial naval vessels, while the megas doux displayed an image of the emperor on horseback.[3] At the same time, a tower of the seaward walls of Constantinople restored by the Andronikos II Palaiologos bears that emperor's emblem, a crowned lion rampant, holding a sword.[4]
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[edit] Dynastic Arms
| Flag | Date | Individual rulers or Families | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
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c. 1000 | Argyros [Argyrus] | Or, a cross between four stars Azure. |
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1204-1359 | Doukas [Ducas] | Azure, a cross Argent. |
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c. 1300 | Fouskarnaki [Phouskarnaki] | Azure, the figure of the Blessed Virgin bearing the Divine Child Argent. |
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c. 1300 | Frangopoulos [Phrangopoulos] | Sable, a fleur-de-lys Or. |
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c. 1350 | Kantakouzenos [Cantacuzene, Kantakouzinos] | Gules, a double-headed eagle displayed crowned, Or. |
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c. 1057 | Isaac I Komnenos [Comnenus, Comneno] | Or, a double-headed eagle Sable. |
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1184-1195 | Isaac Komnenos of Cyprus [Comnenus, Comneno] | Azure, an estoile above a crescent moon Or. |
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1204-1461 | Megalokomnenoi of Trebizond [Comnenus, Comneno] | Argent, three bars Sable. |
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c. 1300 | Koressio | Sable, beneath an imperial crown proper, a two-headed eagle displayed Or, holding in each claw a sword paleways Argent. |
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c. 1210 | Lascaris [Laskaris] | Or, a double-headed eagle Sable, beaked Gules, beneath an eastern crown Or. |
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1080-1259 | Palaiologos [Palaeologus] | Gules, a cross Or. |
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1259-1453 | Palaiologos [Palaeologus] | Gules, a cross and four Bs Or. |
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1262-1453 | Palaiologos [Palaeologus] | Gules, a double-headed eagle displayed crowned, Or. |
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c. 800 | Rangabe [Rhangabe] | Azure, a cross flory between the letters "E", "N", "T", "N" Argent. |
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c. 1400 | Raoulis [Rallis, Rhaoules] | Azure, a leopard rampant Or. |
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c. 1225 | John III Doukas Vatatzes [Vatatzis] | Vert, a double-headed eagle displayed Or, above each head an estoile Argent. |
[edit] Other Arms, Flags, and Emblems
| Flag | Date | Use | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
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667 BC-330 AD | City of Byzantium[citation needed] | The city of Byzantium was dedicated to the Greek goddess Artemis in 667 BC, whose symbol, the crescent moon, was used as the symbol of the city for nearly 1000 years between 667 BC and 330 AD.[citation needed] |
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330-1453 | City of Constantinople[citation needed] | When the city of Byzantium became Christian in 330 AD, a star was added to the Crescent of Artemis emblem as it assumed the significance of an attribute of the Virgin Mary.[citation needed] |
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c. 1350 | Byzantine Empire | The only attested flag of the Byzantine Empire under the Palaiologoi, from a Spanish atlas of the mid-14th century. It depicts St George's Cross and the Arms of the Palaiologos family. |
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1261-1453 | Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople | Likely flag of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople after the restoration of the Empire in 1261. This derivative depicts the double-headed eagle holding a cross and orb. |
[edit] References
- ^ Kazhdan, Alexander (Ed.) (1991). Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. Oxford University Press. pp. 472, 999. ISBN 978-0-19-504652-6.
- ^ Kazhdan, Alexander (Ed.) (1991). Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. Oxford University Press. pp. 472, 669. ISBN 978-0-19-504652-6.
- ^ Kazhdan, Alexander (Ed.) (1991). Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. Oxford University Press. pp. 472-473. ISBN 978-0-19-504652-6.
- ^ van Millingen, Alexander (1899). Byzantine Constantinople: The Walls of the City and Adjoining Historical Sites. London: John Murray Ed.. p. 189.
[edit] Sources
- Heraldry In Byzantium & The Vlasto Family
- Byzantine Heraldry at heraldica.org
