Coat of arms of Bosnia and Herzegovina
| Coat of arms of Bosnia and Herzegovina |
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|---|---|
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| Details | |
| Armiger | Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| Adopted | 18 May 1998 |
| Escutcheon | Per bend enhanced Or and azure, a bend of mullets palewise argent |
The coat of arms of Bosnia and Herzegovina was adopted in 1998, replacing the previous design that had been in use since 1992 when Bosnia and Herzegovina gained independence. It follows the design of the national flag. The three pointed shield is used to symbolize the three major ethnic groups of Bosnia, as well as allude to the shape of the country.
One of the earliest, if not the earliest, coats of arms attributed to Bosnia come from the Fojnica armorial, which was completed in 1340. The Fojnički arms are shown upon a gold shield, two black ragged staffs are crossed in saltire with two Moor's heads surmounting the upper portion of each staff. Overall is a red inescutcheon that was charged with an eight-pointed star and crescent. In the subsequent centuries, European sources would attribute arms to Bosnia that were heavily influenced by this depiction.
The coat of arms of the Kings of Bosnia, who ruled from 1377 until 1463 over the area that is present day Bosnia-Herzegovina and Dalmatia, consisted of a blue shield with six gold fleur de lys displayed around a white bend; the fleur de lys perhaps symbolic of Lilium bosniacum, which is a native lily to the area. The crest is a plume of peacock feathers that sit within a coronet of fleur de lys. The House of Kotromanić reigned until 1463 when the Ottomans conquered the region, ceasing then the use of the royal coat of arms in Bosnia. The heraldic display of the kings would later be the basis for the arms adopted by the republic in 1992.
After Herzegovina and Bosnia were occupied by the Austrian-Hungarian Empire in 1878, both condominia received arms from the Empire. The heraldic achievement of Stjepan Vukčić Kosača served as inspiration, who was a fifteenth-century nobleman that ruled over the region as Grand Duke of Bosnia and Herzeg of St. Sava. His armorial bearings displayed both a red armoured arm brandishing a sword and a red lion rampant upon a white shield, with two red bars running across the chief. Herzegovina would be given a red shield with a bare arm holding a broken lance for its coat of arms in this same fashion. The coat of arms of Bosnia would be gold with a red armoured arm issuing out of clouds, brandishing a sword. Though both condominia fell under the crown of Hungary, only Bosnia would be included in the greater arms of the Hungarian Kings.
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Wikipedia