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Coat of arms of Montenegro
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Coat of Arms of Montenegro (Montenegrin: Grb Crne Gore, Грб Црне Горе ) was confirmed by the new Constitution proclaimed on 2 October 2007, previously adopted by an act of the Parliament on 12 July 2004. It replaced the old Coat-of-Arms, the main difference being that the bicephalic eagle is golden, reflecting the montenegrin tradition, rather than silver. It is now the central motif of the Flag of Montenegro, also changed in 2004.
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It represents the two-headed eagle in flight, of the House of Petrović-Njegoš, a symbol of Byzantine and ultimately Roman origin. It symbolizes the unity of Church and state, that is: either the unity, or the close connections between the Church and the state. The motif was used by the medieval rulers of Zeta - the House of Crnojević, as well as various other European dynasties. The layout of the Montenegrin coat is inspired by that of the Russian Empire, with which the ruling family of Montenegro had close dynastic and political ties in the 19th century when the coat was first adopted in its present form.
The lion passant in the centre is a sign of episcopal authority and represents the Biblical theme of the Resurrection, or Christ Ruler of All (Christos Pantokrator, the Lion of Judah). It bears some similarity to the motif present in the arms of Venice, which had considerable influence in the history of Montenegro. After Montenegro regained its independence and was liberated from the failing Serbian state, it gradually became a theocracy in order to preserve unity before numerous Turkish invasions of the country. For this reason, the authority of the church was reflected in various insignia of the age. After the establishment of the secular dynastic succession in 1851, the lion was placed beneath the eagle, while the initials of the ruler stood on the shield: notably, that of Danilo I, Prince of Montenegro, Danilo II, Prince of Montenegro and King Nicholas I of Montenegro. Curiously, Danilo I was still a prince-bishop while the standard bearing his initials was used. The modern coat of arms placed the lion d'or back on the shield, erasing that monarchic symbol. Today, Montenegro is a secular, democratic republic, so the fact that the crown of the Petrovic-Njegos dynasty was also represented created some controversy at the time of its adoption. However, this solution proved extremely popular and the coat of arms can be seen not only in schools, government offices, etc., but in many private houses, places of business, and private universities and is a common display of national pride.
With the crumbling of the Eastern Roman Empire at the face of the Ottoman threat, numerous realms adopted the eagle, being a symbol of Byzantine heritage.
After the fall of the capital of Zeta Žabljak and the move of the Montenegrin capital from Obod to the foot of Mount Lovćen, where Cetinje was constructed, the legendary ruler Ivan Crnojević implemented the bicephalic eagle as his personal sovereign coat of arms, first recorded in 1481. Used on Ivan-bey's seals, it also became a component part of his Cetinje Monastary capital, founded in 1484. Around the double-headed eagle, a circular laurel chaplet was sided. The motif of the Crnojević eagle could also be seen in the works of the [[Printing_House_of_Crnojevići|first Slavic Cyrillic printing press, founded in 1493 in Cetinje, like Oktoih the First Voice and the Book of Psalms with Possession. That double-headed eagle had a heart-shaped laurel chain around it, with angels on the left and right as its Guardians. On it were the insignia of the printing press' founder, Đurađ Crnojević. A slightly different version appears in Oktoih the Fifth Voice from 1494. The laurel chain was shaped in the form of a Shield, the first emergence of a standard coat of arms, with two birds holding it in their mouths at the top and two angels guarding it below. A sovereign's Crown was added at the top. There are some controversies regarding the color of the eagle, but most agree that it was golden, and it was always on a red background, shield, quite similar to the present-day coat-of-arms. It was in order to emphasize the similarity to the Byzantine banner that used the Golden Eagle on a Red Banner. Red background was taken from the Byzantine Empire, much like numerous other Eastern Orthodox lordships.
After the brief Ottoman conquest of Montenegro at the end of the 15th century, the Ottomans kept the coat-of-arms. In an effort to domesticate the reign they created an autonomous Sanjak of Montenegro under administration of Scander-bey, the islamized Staniša Crnojević, oldest son of Ivan. From 1513 to 1530 the Ottoman administration changed the color of the eagle to white double-headed eagle on red background.
The ages of Ottoman rule and lack of a secularized state amongst the Montenegrins. When the House of Petrović-Njegoš asserted the seat of the Cetinje Metropolitanate and became theocratic rulers, vastly altered coats of arms appeared. They were based on the old traditional Crnojevic double-headed eagle, that included numerous symbols like the lion, the snake, the archbishoprical staff and others, finally stabilized as a Coat of Arms from the mid-18th century. Then's Montenegro based its ideals on heritage of its medieval realm of Duklja and Zeta, so the heraldic practice continued. The bicephalic eagle is first recorded in 1715 during the office of the first Prince-Bishop, Danilo Petrović-Njegoš, during the presentation of Montenegro to the Russian Czar. The angels are placed far above the double-headed eagle. In 1747 Prince-Bishop Sava built a monastery in Maine near Budva as a secondary seat of the Metropolitanate, on its well the standard double-headed eagle is depicted, but its body is no longer bird-like, but will henceforth be shaped like two halves of eagles. The two heads no longer have individual crowns, but a single large one at the top. A new introduction is also a snake in the eagle's paws.
Another version was used by the Petrovics on their seals, a seal in a letter to the Kotor governor from 23 April 1749 depicted a double-headed eagle with a Cross above it, rather than a crown. This change represented the excessively religious character of the Christian fight against the Moslem Ottoman Empire. It also represented the role of the Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral in the fight for preservation of freedom and montenegrin national identity. The bowls in the eagle's paws were asserted as back standard practice from the Medieval Ages. Another change that will be kept is that the eagle's wings are spread. The biblical lion beneath also appeared for the first time. The Petrovic coat-of-arms can be found on the grave of the Serb Patriarch Arsenije Čarnojević in Krušedol, Vojvodina, since he was of montenegrin ancestry, rather than serbian. Namely, Arsenije (Arsenius) descended from the medieval House of Crnojevic (by then pronounced Carnojevic). Subsequently in the 18th century the coat-of-arms of the House of Petrovic-Njegos is finally established, much thanks to Prince-Bishop Basil. He introduced to the eagle the first elements of a real ruler's insignia:
The self-proclaimed Russian Emperor of Montenegro Stephen the Little (1767-1773) had used his own Coat of Arms. It was a double-headed eagle with a crown, a scymthar, his initials and in its center four greek letters beta, Palaiologos dynasty motto: "Βασιλεὺς Βασιλέων Βασιλεύων Βασιλευόντων" - King of kings rules over kings (i.e. Jesus rules the rulers). Petar I Petrović-Njegoš introduced seals without any insignia. With the 1796 unification of Montenegro with The Highlands the coat of arms further develops, based on deeper heraldic research. A ring around the eagle emerges, with short "Prince-Bishop of Montenegro, Zeta, Skadar and the Littoral". A third version of the seal just includes "Metropolitan of All Montenegro" and was used by the General Montenegrin Assembly. In 1834 and 1837 under Petar II Petrović-Njegoš a new seal appeared, "Seal of the Righteous Senate of Montenegro and The Highlands", with the standard double-headed eagle, the cross above and lion beneath and an inscription as a circular ring. This Senate was the legislative body of then's Montenegro. The final version of the Senate coat of arms was established in 1840 and used in the first Montenegrin passports. The cross was replaced by a crown, a symbol of assertion of secular power by Njegos, a scypthat in his right and a šar in his left paw. A walking lion was seated below. The last version of the theocratic coat of arms appears on the 1841 Medal of Honor with more heraldic details worked. The model for it was the seal of the Russian Emperor Peter the Great. It stabilizes as the general national coat-of-arms mass-used in Montenegro.
The use and public display of the Montenegrin coat of arms was punishable by law following the forcible annexation of Montenegro by Serbia and its incorporation into the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (known as the Kingdom of Yugoslavia beginning with the Karadjordjevic dictatorship of 1929) in the aftermath of World War I. As Montenegro was a country allied to Serbia during the war, scandalous annexation caused outrage and revolt. The War Flag, bearing the coat of arms of Kingdom of Montenegro, was used by the resistance following the Christmas Uprising against Serbian occupying forces in Cetinje. Montenegrin Chetniks also used a similar coat of arms to that of Montenegro, except it had a skull in the middle, the two-headed eagle was white and held two swords.
On a gray rock rising from sea, the Njegoš mausoleum, surrounded with golden laurel wreath with ribbon in national tricolor. Above golden outlined red star. The Njegoš mausoleum in Cetinje on Mount Lovćen, is one of the symbols of the Montenegrine sovereignty. The emblem was probably adopted in the same time as the socialist flag of Montenegro, on December 31, 1946[1].