Coat of arms of Albania

Coat of arms of Albania
Details
Armiger	Republic of Albania
Adopted	1998
Escutcheon	Gules, a two-headed eagle Sable; in chief the helmet of Skanderbeg Or

The coat of arms of Albania is an adaptation of the flag of Albania. It is based on the flag and seal of Gjergj Kastriot Skanderbeg. The emblem above the head of the two-headed eagle is the helmet of Skanderbeg, surmounted with billy goats' horns. The eagle is considered to violate the conventional rule of tincture, which forbids placing a colour upon another colour.

Skanderbeg's helmet is made of white metal, adorned with a strip dressed in gold. On its top lies the head of a horned goat made of bronze, also dressed in gold. The bottom part bears a copper strip adorned with a monogram separated by rosettes * IN * PE * RA * TO * RE BT *, which means: Jhezus Nazarenus * Principi Emathie * Regi Albaniae * Terrori Osmanorum * Regi Epirotarum * Benedictat Te (Jesus Nazarene Blesses Thee [Skanderbeg], Prince of Mat, King of Albania, Terror of the Ottomans, King of Epirus). It is thought that the copper strip with the monogram is the work of the descendants of Skanderbeg and was placed there by them, as Skanderbeg never held any other title but “Lord of Albania” (Dominus Albaniae). Thus the inscriptions on the helmet may refer to the unsettled name by which Albania was known at the time, as a means to identify Skanderbeg's leadership over all Albanians across regional denominative identifications. Contemporary sources show that 14th century Albanians were invariably identified as a tribal peoples, with no state of their own. Thus, depending on where they lived – North or South, in the plains or in the mountains, and to which civilization they subscribed to - we have Turkish Arnauts, Greek Arbanites or Albanoi, Albanian Arber, Arben, Arberesh, Epirotas.

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