The Serbian cross ( Serb. Srpsky krst ) is also used in the Serbian name Otsilo or Ognilo ( Serb. Ogilo ) - the national symbol of Serbia , part of the flag and coat of arms of Serbia and the Serbian Orthodox Church . It is a Greek equilateral cross, the corners of which depict four stylized C- shaped flint . It is based on a cross depicted on the banner of the Paleolog dynasty that ruled in the Byzantine Empire . The difference from the Byzantine cross is that the Serbian cross is white and is depicted on a red background, and the Byzantine cross is golden in color on a red background. Also, the Byzantine cross instead of the Serbian flames had four letters сер (vita), which meant the Byzantine motto "Βασιλεὺς Βασιλέων, Βασιλεύων Βασιλευόντων" (" Tsar of kings reigning over kings").
In the Serbian tradition, the four flints are stylized letters “C”. This is a reference to Saint Sava , the 12th-century Serbian archbishop who is called “Saint Sava - Serbian Glory” ( Serbian Sveti Sava - Srpska Glory ) and the first letters of the motto “ Only unity will save the Serbs ” ( Serb. Srbin’s own syllable is saved ). Together with the Serbian double-headed eagle, they are the main symbols of the Serbian heraldry, embodying the national identity of the Serbs . The Serbian cross is sometimes embroidered on a teplak (upper part) of the Montenegrin cap .
Content
Origin
Crosses with flints are found on ancient Greek vases as elements of the pattern of clothing of the ancient Greeks. Since the times of the Roman Empire, crosses with flints have been used as symbols, but not elements of emblems or emblems [1] . Some historians associate them with the labarum , the emblem of the empire of Constantine the Great [1] . In the VI century, a cross with four fields in which letters were located began to be depicted on minted Byzantine coins [2] . After the Crusade of the poor, a cross with flints became a symbol of the first crusaders [2] , and as a symbol of the Byzantine Empire, it began to be used under Michael VIII Paleologue , who overthrew the Latin Empire and revived the Byzantine Empire. The Greek letter “beta” (-) was used as a flint — the first letter in each of the four words of the Greek motto Βασιλεὺς Βασιλνων, Βασιλεύων σασιλευόντων (from Greek - “King of kings reigning over kings”) [2] .
This cross with flints was depicted on banners and coins [2] . At the imperial division another cross was depicted, of which Pseudo-Kodin wrote (c. 1347–1368), but he erroneously indicated the presence of any flames on the banner [3] . The same banner was mentioned in the Castilian atlas “ The book of knowledge about all the kingdoms "(C. 1350) [2] [4] . The historian Alexander Solovyov wrote that letters were not used in Western heraldry [5] .
History
Middle Ages
According to one version, the oldest mention of the cross refers to the “Decan Polyelei” - an oil lamp, a gift to the Serbian king Stefan Uros II Milutin (1282–1321), a clerk of the monastery of Vysokie Decani . Currently, the lamp is stored in the monastery of Prokhor Pchinsky [6] . According to Stoyan Novakovic, the use of the Serbian cross as a national symbol dates back to 1397, the era of the reign of Stefan Lazarevich [7] . According to the historian Stane Stanojevic, the first mention of the Serbian cross dates back to 1345, when Stefan Uros IV Dushan was crowned king of the Serbs and Greeks [8] . In general, in the Middle Ages, a Byzantine cross with the letters “β” and a Serbian cross with C-shaped flints were used [5] .
South Slavic Herbists
In the South Slavic heraldic sources, better known as Illyrian coat of arms , there is a mention of the Serbian cross. So, in the arms of Korenich-Neoric, the coat of arms of Serbia ( Svrbiae ) is a white cross on a red background with four white flames; the noble family of the Mrnyavchevich family has a similar emblem, except that the cross is red, the background is white, and in the center of the cross is a Serbian eagle . According to Mavro Orbini (1607), a similar Serbian coat of arms was used by Vukashin Mrnyavchevich (king of Prilep in 1366–1371) and Lazar Khrebelyanovich (prince of Serbia in 1370–1389) [8] . In the Second Belgrade Stamp (1600-1620), Fojnitsky Herbovnik (between 1675 and 1688), the armorial of Stanislav Rubrich (c. 1700) and Stemmatography (1741) similar coats of arms are also mentioned, as in the foreign arms.
Official Use
In 1691, the Karlovac Metropolis officially approved the seal with the Serbian cross. And after the Serbian revolution, the Serbian cross began to appear on all official emblems of Serbia: since 1825, the Serbian cross was depicted on a military flag by order of Milos Obrenovic [9] . The Serbian cross was also used by the collaborative Government of National Salvation by Milan Nedic . In 1974, the emblem of the Slovak Republic of Serbia was approved, on which there were only four flint, but there was no cross. The Yugoslav government thereby sought to “carry out social reduction and political marginalization of religious communities and religion in general,” according to some historians [10] .
Legacy
Heraldry
The main heraldic symbols of Serbia are the Serbian cross and the double-headed eagle , representing the national identity of the Serbian people, preserved for centuries [11] . The Serbian cross is often used in Serbian heraldry [12] .
Only unity will save the Serbs
The Serbian tradition erects four flints to Saint Sava, Metropolitan икиika and the Archbishop of Serbs, who lived in the XII century - the four letters “C” correspond to the dictum “Saint Sava - Serbian Glory” ( Serbian Sveti Sava Srpska Slava / Sveti Sava Srpska Slava ) [13] . He is also considered the author of the phrase “Only unity will save the Serbs” ( Serb. Samo syoga sbbina spasava / Samo sloga srbina spasava ) - the flint on the Serbian cross also corresponds to the four letters “C”, the first in each word from this saying [14] . There are other interpretations of the four letters "C" [13] .
At the monument on Mount Tser in Tekeris , where the first battle of the First World War took place with the participation of Serbian soldiers, the words “ 18-VIII - 1914 ”, the motto “The very syllable of Srbina Spasava” are inscribed, the inscription “Your exploits are immortal” ( Serb. Your deeds are immortal and have a coat of arms with an oscillator. Another monument in the Bosnian Chamac is dedicated to the Serbs who died in the Bosnian war : in the center there is an eagle, the years of the war (1992-1995) and the motto “I save the syllable itself srbina” are shown on the left and right sides [15] .
Examples
Flags and Coats of Arms
Serbia flag
Coat of arms of Serbia
Flag of Vojvodina with coat of arms
Coat of arms of Vojvodina
Cross on the flag of the Serbian Orthodox Church
- Historical flags and coats of arms
Map of Gabriel de Vallseca 1439, which depicts the Serbian eagle and the Serbian cross as symbols of the Serbo-Greek kingdom
Coat of arms of Serbia from the Second Belgrade Stamp (c. 1600–1620)
Coat of arms of Serbia (17th century) from the book of Mavro Orbini Regno degli Slavi (1601)
Coat of arms of the Karlovac Metropolis (1713)
Flag of the First Serbian Uprising (1804), now the flag of the city of Topola
Seal of the Governing Council of Serbia ( First Serbian Uprising , 1805-1813)
Coat of arms of Prince Milos Obrenović (1819)
Coat of arms of the Principality of Serbia (1835-1882)
Coat of arms of the Serbian Voivodship (1848–1849)
Civil flag of Serbia (1869)
Coat of arms of King Peter I Karageorgievich (1903-1918)
Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1918-1944)
Symbol of the Government of National Salvation (1941-1944)
Coat of arms of the Slovak Republic of Serbia (1947-1992) and the Republic of Serbia (1992-2004)
Coat of arms of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1992-2003) and Serbia and Montenegro (2003-2006)
Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Serbia (1882–1918) and the Republic of Serbia (2004–2010)
- Cities and Communities of Serbia
Srpska Crna
Kragujevac
Love
Arangelovac
Racha
Baraevo
Surdulitsa
Zvezdara
Barbarian
Doctor
Vozdovac
Zemun
Mladenovac
- Cities and Communities of Republika Srpska
Banja Luka (1992—2017)
Weightless
Visegrad
Priedor (1992—2013)
Hail
Laktashi
Istochno-Novo-Sarajevo
Shipovo
Kotor Varos
Srbac
- Other cities and communities
Staro-Nagorichane , Republic of Macedonia
Sport
Emblem of the Olympic Committee of Serbia
Emblem of the Football Union of Serbia
Other use
Patch on the uniform of the armed forces of Serbia
Serbia car number plate
Emblem of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts
Montenegrin cap with Serbian cross
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 Atlagić, 1997 , p. one.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 Atlagić, 1997 , p. 2.
- ↑ Palavestra, 1998 , p. one.
- ↑ Other Byzantine flags shown in the "Book of All Kingdoms" (14th century) . Flags of the World. Date of treatment August 7, 2010.
- ↑ 1 2 Atlagić, 1997 , p. 3.
- ↑ Atlagić, 2009 , p. 182.
- ↑ Atlagić, 1997 , p. four.
- ↑ 1 2 Atlagić, 1997 , p. five.
- ↑ Posebna izdanja 295 . - SANU, 1957 .-- P. 133.
- ↑ Mitja Velikonja. Religious Separation and Political Intolerance in Bosnia-Herzegovina . - Texas A&M University Press, 2003. - P. 187–. - ISBN 978-1-60344-724-9 .
- ↑ Atlagić, 2009 , p. 180.
- ↑ Anarheologija Slika 5: Srpski štit, grb Despotovine od početka XV veka.
- ↑ 1 2 Grb Srbije - šta znače štit, krst i ocila za novi i stari srpski grb (Serbian) . Basta Balkana (August 24, 2012). Date of appeal April 20, 2018.
- ↑ Christopher Merrill. Only the Nails Remain: Scenes from the Balkan Wars . - Rowman & Littlefield, 2001 .-- P. 161. - ISBN 978-0-7425-1686-1 .
- ↑ Jean-Arnault Derens. EU plans trade routes across the continent . Le Monde dipolmatique (November 14, 2002). Date of appeal April 20, 2018.
Literature
- Marko Atlagić. The cross with symbols S as heraldic symbols (English) // Baština. - 1997. - Vol. 8. - P. 149–158 . Archived on May 21, 2013.
- Marko Atlagić. Određivanje nacionalnih heraldičkih simbola na primjeru Srba i Hrvata (Serbian) // Zbornik radova Filozofskog fakulteta u Prištini. - 2009. - Vol. 39. - S. 179–188 .
- Marko Atlagić. Dečanski polijelej (Serb.) // Baština. - 2007. - Vol. 22. - S. 245–250 .
- Milić Milićević. Grb Srbije: razvoj kroz istoriju . - Službeni glasnik, 1995.
- Mauro Orbini. Il Regno de gli Slavi hoggi corrottamente detti Schiavoni. - Pesaro: Apresso Girolamo Concordia, 1601.
- Mavro Orbin. Localities of Slovenia. - Beograd: Srpska Kњizhevna a friend, 1968.
- Aleksandar Palavestra. O ocilima (Serb.) // Glasnik SHD. - 1998. - Јun. Archived on October 29, 2013.
- Aleksandar Vasiljevič Solovjev. Istorija srpskog grba . - Srpska misao, 1958.
- Stanoje Stanojević. O srpskom grbu // Iz naše prošlosti . - Beograd: Geca Kon AD, 1934. - S. 85–90.
- Karl-Heinz Hesmer. Flaggen und Wappen der Welt. (Mit aktuellen Länderinformationen). - Gütersloh: Chronik-Verlag, 2008 .-- ISBN 978-3-577-14537-4 .
- Birgitta Gabriela. Serbien entdecken. Unterwegs zu verborgenen Klöstern und Kulturschätzen. - Berlin: Trescher, 2006. - ISBN 3-89794-066-3 .
Links
- Boris Subashiћ. Srbiјa got the symbol of the Byzantine symbol (Serb.) . Novosti (March 16, 2014).