Honestly about the crusaders: interesting facts about the crusades. Knightly coats of arms and their symbols

Reign slogans - not only for emperors Implementing the Xiaokang strategy, Deng Xiaoping's successors put forward their own tactical programs in its context. The tradition of creating a short slogan that conveys the main meaning of current politics is rooted in the depths

The origin of the coats of arms

Coats of arms originate in the most ancient times. These are a special kind of symbolic signs by which the leader, tribe, people were recognized during the battle. Coats of arms were not invented out of vanity alone; they can be considered nothing other than a fair reward for personal merits. These special symbolic signs distinguished both individuals and tribes, cities, kingdoms, peoples; coats of arms differed noble from ignoble, noble from ignorant. But most of all, especially during military operations, the coats of arms served to distinguish between friends and foes; according to the coats of arms, the scattered troops gathered in one agreed place.

Symbols of coats of arms

But the symbolic military signs, often used as symbols or as decorations, were not exactly what they used to call coats of arms, that is, the constant distinctions of the noble origin of a person and the heritage accorded to one or another clan. Such a meaning of the coats of arms is an institution of a later time, which, according to Marchangy (in his “Gaule poetique”), can be attributed to the time of the Crusades.
Ladies have always had a special respect for the courage and courage of men, and in order to express their surprise and respect, they embroidered various glorious and expressive symbols not only on the furniture of their castles, but also on the clothes of their fathers, brothers and husbands. On the fences there were also images of these symbolic signs; they were painted on ceilings and walls, on shields and on grave monuments, they were consecrated in churches; during festivities they served as the best decoration for the banquet hall; they were worn on their robes by squires, pages, soldiers and all the faces of the knightly castle. All these different signs of knightly exploits formed a special hieroglyphic language.

The cross is simple, double, entwined, serrated, serrated, made of chopped, a cross of flowers flaunted everywhere in various forms and was a symbol of the holy goal for which the crusades were undertaken. Laseped, in his History of Europe, says: “The palm tree resembled Idumea; arch - taken or defended bridge; a tower - a castle taken by an assault; helmet - weapons of a formidable and courageous enemy; star - a night battle by the light of the moon and stars; the sword is an ordinary battle; crescent - the defeat of the Muslim; lance, bandage, fence, two stripes converging at an angle - barriers taken and destroyed; lion or tiger - fearless valor; eagle - high valor and courage. This is where the system of origin of coats of arms began ”.

Such coats of arms, approved and bestowed by the sovereign, never changed and became the inalienable property of the family and clan. There were a special kind of people whose duties were to study these differences and in particular to observe the implementation of the established rules regarding the integrity and invariability of the coat of arms; such people were called heralds, and the knowledge necessary to perform such a duty was called heraldry.

For coats of arms on shields, two metals were used (gold - the color yellow - and silver - the color white), four colors or colors (blue, green, red and black), two furs (ermine and squirrel). In addition, heraldry assigns special names and meanings to flowers. So, blue is called azure and means air, green - jasper, red - fire and black - earth. Some writers have also given these metals and colors a symbolic meaning. In their opinion, gold is an emblem of wealth, strength, loyalty, purity, constancy; silver - innocence, purity; blue is an emblem of greatness, beauty, clarity; red - courage, courage, fearlessness; green - hope, abundance, freedom; black - modesty, education, sadness. The field of the shield was divided into several sections by horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines; in these offices were placed paints and symbols; they sometimes corresponded to each other and were wavy, grooved, chopped off, tied, intertwined, intertwined, and so on. Other figures were depicted outside the field of the coat of arms; There were three kinds of decorations: decorations at the top, on the sides and around.

Above the coat of arms, crowns, hats, helmets, imprints, crests, sometimes a motto or a war cry and windrelets were depicted. The latter comes from the French word le bourrelet - it was a flagellum made of fabric, stuffed with wool, which was put on a helmet. It was painted with the same colors as the shield; in the coats of arms of simple, untitled nobles, such a windbreak, or flagellum, was called a fresco. Helmets and shishaks were painted on the coats of arms either in profile, or face-to-face with a visor lowered, with a half-open or with a completely raised visor and with a greater or lesser number of bars on it, depending on the dignity and antiquity of the origin of the genus. The crest was the uppermost part of the embellishment of the coats of arms; it was made up of all kinds of flowers, figures and feathers, animals, trees and other things. It was also customary to place slogans and slogans above the coat of arms. On the sides were images of angels, people, gods, monsters, lions, leopards, unicorns, trees and other objects; such figures were called supporters. There were also other decorations assigned to famous titles and denoting special dignities.

In order to correctly explain the coat of arms, it is necessary to study its background, on which the figures are engraved or drawn, and then the figures themselves. In heraldry, the background is called the field, and the figures are called signs. The field of the coat of arms is always covered with one of the metals, furs or non-ferrous; followed by the main figure, or the main sign; the colors or colors of the signs are the same as the color or paint of the field, except when a natural color is required.

Coats of arms of Prussia and Mecklenburg

The basis of heraldry is the following rule: if the field is covered with some kind of paint or fur, then the figures, or signs, must be covered with metal; and vice versa, if the field is covered with metal, then the figure, or sign, is covered with paint or fur. This rule is explained as follows: you cannot put metal on metal and paint on paint. To do otherwise is to completely pervert the science of heraldry.

Coat of arms of Margrave Joseph Schwarzenberg

The upper part in the coat of arms is called the head (le chef), and the lower part is called the foot (la pointe). Everything placed in the coat of arms embraces the following: first, all kinds of weapons; secondly, not only all kinds of animals, but even birds, fish and insects - in a word, from an elephant to an ant; thirdly, all kinds of plants, from oak to the simplest wildflower; fourthly, everything shiny - from heavenly bodies to metals and stones that are in the bowels of the earth; fifth, all mythical and fantastic creatures, for example, monsters, vultures, phoenixes, two-headed eagles, and so on. If animals are depicted on the coats of arms, they always look to the left.

Arma carlo alberto

In addition, symbols of religion are also depicted on the coats of arms; but most often the cross is depicted in a variety of forms, as mentioned above. Reading the coat of arms means explaining the coat of arms. To do this, you must first name the field, then the sign and its color, while using a well-known formula. Coats of arms represent the greatest variety, and, of course, each sign has its own symbolic meaning.

Heraldry experts have divided the coats of arms into several categories so as not to get confused in this labyrinth of all kinds of coats of arms. Let us examine these categories in order.

1) Assigned coats of arms (armoiries de concession). Often, as a reward for some special feats, the sovereigns bestowed their coat of arms to the distinguished one or added new honorary emblems to his former coat of arms.

3) Coats of arms of corporations (armoiries de communaute). These are the coats of arms of various institutions in Western Europe: archdioceses, bishoprics, chapters, universities, societies, companies and corporations.

4) Protection emblems (armoiries de patronage). Often, officials who ruled regions, knightly castles and the like added various emblems to their family crests as a sign of their advantage, their rights and dignity, which they received from their patrons.

5)Family coats of arms (armoiries de famille). Such coats of arms are inherited and serve to distinguish one house or one surname from another.

6) Coats of arms for matrimony (armoiries de d'alliance). These are coats of arms, when surplus attributes are inserted into the main coat of arms to denote family ties, when one surname through marriage comes into kinship with another genus.

7) Coats of arms by succession (armoiries de succession).
In addition to the transition of coats of arms along a straight line of inheritance, coats of arms could be assigned to a person completely alien or not having direct inheritance rights; these coats of arms passed to such persons either completely, or were combined with their original coat of arms; but this always required the permission of the supreme power.

8) Coats of arms of choice (armoiries de choix). Persons who received the nobility for special services to the state, of course, did not have their own coat of arms and therefore chose a special kind of emblem that reminded them of the kind of activity or occupation in which they acquired this distinction for themselves.

But heraldic signs also come from a thousand other reasons. Sometimes they are used to denote merit; then, there were also such signs that meant either the pledge of zealous compassion, then the memories of the journey to holy places, then the vow, then the symbols of valor, talents and pleasures; two shaking hands meant agreement and loyalty, pillar and anchor - unshakable hope, a ball or loaves - charity, honeycombs - church holidays and hospitality.

The original signs of tenderness and love in French heraldry were the following: two cranes holding a ring or a myrtle branch in their beaks; heart pierced by an arrow; rings, a rose with or without thorns, a tree intertwined with ivy branches, and similar symbolic signs ”.

Cities borrowed their coats of arms and emblems from their inherent characteristics. So, for example, in Friesland, a low-lying country, there were water lily leaves and wavy bandages in the coat of arms. Bologna, where there are many swans on the waters, placed this bird on its coat of arms. As you know, the center of Paris has the shape of a ship, and therefore the coat of arms of the capital of France depicts a ship with sails down under a sky strewn with lilies.

The emblems in the coats of arms in Western Europe especially multiplied during internecine strife and crusades. The struggle that took place between Yorks and Lancaster, gave rise to two rivals - a white and a scarlet rose. The times of the League and Fronde gave rise to a lot of emblems in the arms of the French nobility in France. In the countries of Eastern Europe, incl. and Russia, were not slow to adopt the best traditions of heraldry. But thanks to the Crusades, many allegorical signs were introduced into the coats of arms. In a significant number of the coats of arms of the Crusaders, there are crosses, shells, birds without legs and beaks, and all kinds of coins. But the cross, which was depicted on the clothes of the participants in the crusades as a symbol of the holy purpose for which the campaign was undertaken, was depicted in most of the coats of arms and served as a kind of memory of these religious wanderings.

Selected passages from the long history of the Crusades. Who advised the knights to march to Jerusalem? Did women and children participate in the hikes? What are the crusaders doing now?

Peter's idea

The knights were advised to sew crosses on their clothes and to fight in hot, distant lands for the Holy Sepulcher, two people. The first who came up with this brilliant idea was a former military man who became a hermit monk, Peter of Amiens. Allegedly, he visited Jerusalem, saw how the Christian brothers were offending there, returned home and sounded the alarm. Peter walked around the cities, gathered crowds of people and beautifully proved to them that it was necessary to return the Holy Sepulcher, free Christians, and erase the Turks into medieval radioactive ash. For lack of decent entertainment, the media and the Internet, citizens listened to Peter with open mouths. The image of the holy fool beggar preacher had a very strong effect on those around him, and soon Peter became a real "star". People came in droves to touch him, take a piece of his clothes or a lock of hair as a souvenir, attributed healing properties to him and were ready to do whatever he said.

For dad!

Then Pope Urban II entered the game, who realized that Peter and his supporters could be used very profitably. According to another version, it was the other way around, that is, at first the Pope thought of the campaigns, and then Peter of Amiens supported him and began to work with the population. Officially, it is Urban II that is considered the main inspirer of the Crusades. Having estimated how much wealth could be taken out of the Holy Land and pondering ways to increase the shaky rating, the Pope on November 27, 1095 made a fiery speech in the city of Clermont in France about the need to send troops to the Holy Land and by force to snatch it from the tenacious clutches of the infidels.

This is what God wants

To make people more willing to go on a hike, the pope promised everyone involved an immediate remission of all common sins, as well as remission of mortal sins at a significant discount, forgiveness of all debts, a 100% guarantee of going to heaven, the Christian analogue of 72 virgins, and, well, he promised gold and diamonds, which can be obtained in the Holy Land. The people, as well as high-ranking priests and statesmen liked the idea, the crowd shouted "Deus vult" ("This is what God wants") several times and began to gather for the campaign, which was scheduled for August 15, 1096.

Most unsuccessful hike

The most ardent followers of Peter could not wait for August 1096, they could not wait to start cutting the path with their father's sword to the treasures of the Holy Land and at the same time free the fellow Christians. The poorest and most sinful self-organized and moved towards the Holy Sepulcher. Many of the lower ones had no weapons or armor. It is said that about 30 thousand people were the first to go on the campaign, most of them were beggar peasants. The newly-minted crusaders took their families with them (that is, wives, children and the elderly also went to return the Holy Sepulcher) so as not to miss their relatives on the road. Not everyone managed to stock up on enough food. The fact is that in the crusading turmoil, the prices for what was needed for the campaign skyrocketed, so it was very difficult to buy even a medieval version of the doshirak. The local residents of the countries that met the peasants-crusaders on the way were reluctant to share food, which led to armed conflicts. The very first major battle with the enemy cost half the life of the detachment, children and women were captured and sold into slavery in Asian bazaars. Just a few dozen people got to the place. Peter, who led the "peasant campaign", survived and joined the first official crusade. By the way, when the crusaders went to the Holy Land, the cross was sewn on their chest, and when they returned, they sewn it on the back.

Children's crusade

Children did not stay away from the papal propaganda, and messengers of God began to appear throughout Europe. The boys allegedly whispered to the boys that they had the honor to lead their peers and go to reconquer Jerusalem. Rumors of miracles performed by the elect did their job, and the peers of the newly minted miracle workers fled from home and gathered in detachments. The true inspirers of these juvenile crusaders were the slave traders who hoped to sell a large shipment of European babies in the oriental bazaars. In fact, those who did not die on the road were loaded onto the ships of slave traders. The detachments of many thousands, led by the boy Nikolai (he was no more than 10 years old), who promised to reach the Holy Land "by sea like dry", having lost half on the road, reached the Italian port of Brindisi, but then they were not allowed to die for certain death. local bishop. Then the fanatical children went to the Pope with a request to bless them for the sacred massacre. Dad advised them to wait until they come of age. Even by medieval standards, children's crusades were game. By the way, it is believed that the participants in the campaign were not quite children, but young men and adolescents, but this fact does not become less of a game.

Hunger is not aunt

The first crusade, the siege of the Syrian fortress of Maar, the crusaders besiege it with their last strength, food has long ended, where you do not look everywhere is the desert. and now the Muslims surrender, however, on condition that the knights keep the inhabitants of the city alive. The Crusaders enter the city hoping to have a hearty meal, but it turns out that the Syrians have also been sitting for a long time without provisions. Christians, completely distraught with hunger and disappointment, begin to catch and fry the enemies, whom they recently promised to spare. Chroniclers of the first crusade describe terrible scenes of cannibalism, and Albert Aachensky writes that even dogs were allowed into the expense: "The crusaders did not limit themselves to eating only killed Turks and Saracens, they even ate dogs."

He will die from the sword

The crusaders tried to shed light of their true religion not only on Muslims, but also on everyone who came to hand. The Pope generally spoke rather vaguely in his famous speech about enemies. For example, he hinted that it would be good to plant Catholicism with a sword in the lands where any other religion is professed, and at the same time to eliminate pagans, Jews, Orthodox. Say, God approves this matter. So in 1096 the crusaders deviated from the route and staged the massacres of Jews in the cities of Germany. And from 1198 to 1411, the crusaders went to the pagan Slavic and Finnish tribes. In 1240, the knights-crusaders of the Livonian Order moved to Pskov and Novgorod, however, as is known, Alexander Nevsky prevented them from subordinating Russia to the Pope by defeating them on Lake Peipsi in 1242.

Modern crusaders

The Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem still exists today. That is, the crusaders roam among us. The order dates back to 1099. The main goal of the order is to support Catholics in the Holy Land. For example, Catholic churches, schools, hospitals are being built there with the money of the order. At one time a member of the order was the Hungarian composer Liszt, the first chancellor of the FRG Adenauer, kings and queens of many European countries. The Crusaders even have their own website, and their headquarters are in Rome in the Palazzo della Rovere. To become a crusader, you must receive the Order of Merit before the Jerusalem Order of the Holy Sepulcher. It is awarded to people of impeccable moral character who are involved in charity work. The motto of the Order is "Deus vult".

Tell me the mottos of medieval knights!

1. for the homeland! For Stalin!
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"Representatives of a family, usually the oldest in the family, wore over
coat of arms so-called cri de guerre or cri darmes, that is
expression which was used in war by any noble knight for
excitement of warriors to battle or to victory; this famous clique, or cry,
distinguished him from other knights. The French say: Le cri suit la baniere
(The cry follows the banner). This means that the military signal is where
banner, because it was the focus of military power, the center, to
which the troops sought, followed by all the warriors with their hearts, and
eyes. Military cliques were known in ancient times; everyone has it
knight, each commander had his own special cry assigned to him,
with whom he gathered his warriors and with whom he threw himself into the bloodiest
the fight. Here are the most remarkable of the clicks. Gottfried of Bouillon during
Crusades said: Dieu le veut! (God pleases so much!) - and this
conviction led both himself and his army. With this click he led
their warriors into battle with the infidels; this click inspired them, lifted their spirits and
instilled in them courage and courage. French kings considered a saint
Dionysius as their patron, and therefore, leading their soldiers into battle, they
repeated: Montjoie et Saint Denis; Montmorency repeated the following click:
Dieu aide au premier baron Chretien (God help the first
Christian baron). The Bourbons, on the other hand, took the click: Bourbon Notredame, or
Esperance. Among the English kings, Saint George was considered the patron saint, and
therefore they said first: St. Georges, - and later: God and my right!
(God and my right!). "

"Heraldic mottos. The knight's coat of arms and motto were one whole. A short phrase was supposed to explain the idea of ​​the emblem.

Image "Empty Quiver" - Motto: "His arrows in my heart"
Image "A swallow that flies over the sea" - Motto: "To find the sun, I leave the fatherland"
Image "Ermine" - Motto: "Better to die than disgrace"
Image "The Lion Shackled by the Shepherd" - Motto: "Subdued and Terrible"
Image "Eagle looking at the sun" - Motto: "He alone is worthy of my reverence"
Image "Rosebud" - Motto: "Shown less, it becomes more beautiful."

"An approximate translation of knightly mottos:

1. I serve - to the Fatherland, I answer - to God.
2. Dignity and nobility.
3. Conscience and discipline.
4. To be, not to seem.
5. Honor, but not honor.
6. Honor is more precious than life.
7. An honest death, but not a shameful life.
8. I win, but I don't take revenge.
9. Stingy in needs, generous in giving.
10. Generosity and justice.
11. Courtesy and peacefulness.
12. Bliss in fidelity.
13. Dignity in the ministry.
14. Serve, but not serve.
15. Should - so you can.
16. I compete, but do not envy.
17. I am led by love, I am purified by kindness.
18. Evil retribution, good reward.
19. The word is stronger than stone.
20. Blow for blow.
21. Victory or death.
22. Faithfully and truly.
23. Beat noisy, speak softly.
24. One for all, all for one.
25. The word is silver, silence is gold "