Recently, after finding many common-sense articles here, I also want to share something with you.

Although the Middle Age has gone so far away, some distinct traces of it is still leaving in many European countries now. In this age, the formation of the European nations laid a good foundation for building modern states. Therefore, analyzing these national emblems briefly is very interesting.

In my opinion, national emblems contain far more historical information than flags, because flags mainly focus on “nations” while national emblems contain more information, including the knowledge of history, culture and religion.

Albania

Albania is known by reputation as “the country of eagle”，eagles is considered as the symbol of Sk nderbeu who is the national hero of the country., the eagle in this emblem has two heads, which show that Albanian regard Byzantium as orthodoxy, although Albania is a Christian country.

Switzerland

Similar to what the national flag conveys: in the national emblem, white symbolizes peace, justice and bright; red symbolizes people’s victory, happy and enthusiasm. The different is that the national emblem is a general coat of arms.

Czech

There are two different national emblems. One is big and the other is small. The big one is a square coat of arms with four parts on the surface. There is a white double-tail lion standing on the red land at the upper left and the lower right respectively. With golden paws, the lions raise the front paws and wear gold crowns. This part represents Bohemia. At the upper right, there is an eagle which is red and white on the blue land, which represents Moravia. At the lower left, there is a black eagle, with red claws, which wears a gold crown and has a white crescent on the chest on the yellow land. Besides, there is a cross-shaped and trefoil trapping on the center and both ends of the crescent respectively. All the lower left represents Silesia. In the history, bohemia, Moravia and Silesia belonged to Czech. And this coat of arms reveals the historical origin of Czech vividly.

Fortunately, the reunification of Czech has been realized. Actually, Czech use to be a country with miserable destiny. In those years, Hitler only recognized that bohemia and Moravia belong to Czech, so he torn apart the country and occupied its territorial. Meanwhile, what Hitler said isn’t wrong at all, because some German have settled in Czech long before. Alas, it’s the flout of knightage.

Germany

It is a golden yellow Shield. A black eagle with red talon, red mouth, and opening wings is on the Shield. The black eagle symbolizes power and courage.

The national emblem adopted the West Germany national emblem. It is also a traditional sign of Germany.

Denmark

The national emblem is a Shield. Three blue lions with crowns are on the golden Shield and they are surrounded by nine devoted hearts. Lions and devoted hearts symbolize bravery, devotion, and kindness. At the top of the Shield is a gorgeous royal crown, which symbolizes that Denmark was an ancient kingdom.

The national emblem looks a little like that of Britain, because Northern Europe pirates conquer Britain in those years. It seems that although the British hated the people of Northern Europe in the history, they cannot shake off the relationship with them.

Finland 

The national emblem is a red Shield. On the Shield, a golden lion with royal crown which holds a sword on the front paws, and tramps a bend knife under the hind paws. The lion symbolizing the bravery and power of Finns is surrounded by nine white roses. The nine roses symbolize the nine provinces in the history of Finland.

The destiny of Finland was also misfortune. Finland was enslaved by Sweden, and then nearly reformed to country with the style of Eastern Europe by Russia, but the hearts of Finns are still lie in the Northern Europe.

France

There is no formal national emblem in France (you should know that it is France). However, traditionally, the heraldry in the France revolution is the symbol of the country. There is one of the most popular symbols, a fascis, during the revolution on the oval-shape heraldry. The fascis is the high-ranking lawman’s mace in the ancient Rome and it is the symbol of authority. The both ends of the fascis are decorated by olive branches and oak leaves. And the words “liberte、egalite、fraternite” are written in French on the sash which intertwines with those branches and leaves. The whole pattern is decorated surround by a ribbon which contains medals of the legion.

I don’t know how to evaluate France, because it created fascist. Actually, fascism was not a notorious thing at the beginning. It is the flout of Mussolini. Although fascism is the product of the modern times, it can reflect that Frenchmen are seeking their own identity in the aspect of Latin culture circle.

Britain

This is the national emblem of Britain. There is a coat of arms in the centre. At the upper left and the lower right of the coat of arms, there are three gold lions with red background, which represents England. At the upper right, there is a red lion with its raising forpaws standing on the golden land, which represents Scotland. At the lower left, there is a gold harp on the blue land, which represents Ireland. The coat of arms is held by a lion, at the left side, which wears a crown and represents England and a unicorn, at the right side, which represents Scotland. Surrounding the coat of arms, there is a sentence which means those sow the wind and reap the whirlwind written in French. At the lower end, there is a badge of the order of the garter and“DIEU ET MON DROIT” was marked on the sash. At the upper end, there is a golden and silvery helm encrusted with jewels, a crown of the British Empire and a lion with a crown on the head.          

Greece 

The national emblem is a Shield embraced by olive branches. The blue Shield mounted a white cross is something like a square. The white cross symbolizes the religion believe of Orthodox Eastern Church.

The national emblem reflects the country’s products and religion, but no trace of ancient Greece can be found from it.

Iceland

The central design is a shield with the national flag. There is a white falcon with red tongue and golden claws and a dragon with white teeth and red tongue in the upper side of the shield. There is a black cow on the left of the shield and an old man wearing white clothe and draping amantle on the right. The white falcon, the dragon, the cow and the old man all are the patron god in the fable.The stone, in the lower end of the shield, represents the long seacoast which is full of rocks. When it comes to the national feature, there are no places can be superior to Iceland which has a flavor of ancient Nordic fable.

Holland

It is the national emblem of Orange Nassau Royal. It looks like a cloak.

There is a coat of arms in the cloak which has a crown on the top and there is a lion wearing a trifoliate crown on the blue coat of arms. The lion has a silver roman sword in one hand and a bundle of arrows in the other hand, symbolizing that unity is strength. On the top of the shield, there is a crown with a lion standing on both sides of it. There is a blue lace under the coat of arms and Archduke Leopold William’s proverb which means Never tiring is written on it.

Norway

It’s a coat of arms. The surface of the red shield stands a golden lion, wearing q crown and holding a silver axe with a golden handle. The golden lion is the symbol of power, and the silver axe is the weapon of Saint Olav who is the guardian of Norse freedom. At the upper side of the shield, there is a golden crown enchasing a round ball and a cross.

Poland

It’s a coat of arms. On the red shield is a white eagle wearing a golden crown and stretching its wings. According to the culture of Poland, the white eagle symbolizes patriotism of polish. Red and white are not only the traditional color warmly welcomed among polish people but also the color of their national flag.

Sweden

The big national emblem: the big one is like a cape. The blue shield decorated by a crown is divided into four parts by a yellow cross: there are three crowns drawn at the upper left and the lower right of the shield; at the upper right and the lower left of the blue shield, there are gold lions wearing a crown. There is a small shield in the big one: the left side is made up of a gold glass and twills which are blue, silver and red. In the right side, there is a bastion bell tower and a gold eagle. Two gold lions stand on each side of the blue shield respectively. And at the low end of the blue shield, a medal is hung there. The small national emblem is a blue coat of arms with a crown. Three gold crowns on the surface of the small shield represent the Kingdom of Sweden as well as the Kalmar Union which was formed by Denmark, Sweden and Norway in those years.

Swedes always strive for first place in Scandinavia. It is said that the spire of Copenhagen’s city hall is very high. It, higher than that of Stockholm’s city hall, is the highest tower in Scandinavia. Here we can find what they are missing about their motherland in the old time: in those years, what a strong position I made! But now, Sweden is not a weak country. It seems that it is the earliest origin of the shield of lion.

Andorra

The national emblem of Andorra is a coat of arms. The pattern of the emblem conveys the information of the relationship of the three countries, namely Andorra, France and Spain. In 1278, Andorra became a dukedom. According to peace treaty signed by France and Spain, the two countries can exercise suzerainty to Andorra. Nowadays, the president of France and the bishop of Urgell in Spain are both the heads of state of Andorra. There are four patterns on the surface of the shield: at the upper left, there is a mitre and a crosier of bishop having a background of red, which represents the bishop of Urgell in Spain. At the upper right and the lower right, respectively, there are three red column bars and two heads of cows against the yellow background, which represents the two counts, Fuyikesi and Beier En, who used to be the representatives assigned by France head of state to exercise suzerainty to Andorra; at the lower left, there are four vertical stripes against the yellow background, which represents Catalonian that is a historical area of Spain. One crown exists at the upper end and there is a maxim which means union is strength written on the ribbon at the lower end.

Actually, Andorra is a buffer country of France in those years. And we can see that the cows in the emblem reflect that the country has a closed relationship with Spain.

Austria

The pattern of the national emblem is a eagle。The black male eagle, holding golden sinker and sickle in the two claws, wears a golden crown and has a design of the national flag in front of the chest. And there is a broken ball and chain harnessing the claws. Eagle is the symbol of Austria; the golden crown symbolizes the citizen; sinker and sickle symbolize the worker, and the broken ball and chain symbolizes the freedom and liberation of Austria people.

This eagle, as ugly as Germany’s, shares the feature of Soviet Union (That makes some sense, most of Austria’s territory were occupied by Soviet Union after WW II) It’s kind of weird.

Belgium

Its national emblem is in a cloak style. There is a standing lion on the shield which is at the center of the emblem. Behind it is a crossed king scepter symbolizing the royally power. Not only the Leopold medal sash, but also a lot of other things surround the shield: A lion lifting national flag on each side, a crown standing on the top, a Leopold medal (Leopold, the first monarch of Belgium) under the circlet, and a wording of “Unity is strength” written on the circlet on the bottom. Now let’s look up. The hanging fiery-red cloak is headed with a crown and 9 flags which represent the 9 provinces of Belgium.

In the way of conveying the spirit, Belgium’s emblem is similar to the one of Netherland, but why the emblem designed in such an awfully tedious way is hard to understand.  

Spain

The central design is the coat of arms.

There are six groups of designs: a yellow castle with red background on the top left corner, and a red lion wearing a crown with white background on the top right corner. The castle and the lion symbolize Castile and Leon respectively; the red-and-yellow bars on the lower left corner represent the northeastern Aragon; a net made from golden chains on the lower right corner symbolizes the northern Navarra; a Pomegranate with green leaves in the white background at the bottom symbolizes the southern Granada;

Three lilies in a blue oval circle in the central of the shield represent the prosperity of the country, the happiness of the people, and the unification of the nationality. A big crown on the top of thecoat of arms is a symbol of power of the country. On each side of the coat of arms are two Heracles pillar with a crown on the top of the left side, a royal crown on the top of the right side and ribbons around the pillars saying “there are continents overseas”.

It seems that the only thing which can make Spanish feel proud happened in the KOEI Games of Sailing.  

Italy

The national emblem is circular. The pattern in the center is a five-pointed star with red edge. It symbolizes the Republic of Italy. Behind the five-pointed star is a big gear wheel, which symbolizes the laborers. The gear wheel is surrounded by a olive branch and oak leaves, which symbolizes peaceful, powerful and prosperous. And “The Republic of Italy” is written on the red silk ribbon at the bottom in Italian.

It is like the national emblem of socialism nations. We can see that Italy has made a great effort to smash the fascist dregs. And we can also see the strong power of leftists in this country.

Luxembourg

The coat of arms of Luxembourg is like a cloak which has three colors: golden, red, and white. Inside the cloak is a shield and on the top of the cloak is a golden crown. The surface of the shield is composed of white and blue stripes and there stands a red lion with a crown on the head. Red, white and blue, the colors of the shield, is also the colors of the national flag. On the top of the shield, there is a ducal gold crown with a gold lion on each side of the shield; surrounding the shield is a ribbon and there is an Aucom medal at the lower end of the shield. The pattern of the national emblem represents that Luxembourg is an archduchy. I am sorry for having no big pattern to show you here.

The national emblems of Low Countries have the similar style------ a cloak-shaped emblem whose pattern is too complicated.   

Monaco

The national emblem, a cloak style, is a emblem of prince. At the top of the cloak is a crown. Inside the cloak is a shield which consists of red and white. The bottom is white. 15 red diamond patterns exist on the shield. Both sides of the shield stand a Monaco monk with long sword. Around the shield are silk ribbons. Under the shield dangles a St. Charles medal. There are silk ribbons on which “God help to harness” is written at the both sides of the medal.

Malta

It’s a coat of arms. The surface of the shield is the pattern of the national flag. Above the coat of arms is a crown. An olive branch is on one side of the shield and a lulab is on the other side. And “The Republic of Malta” is written on the sash which is at the lower end of the emblem. At the upper left, there is a silver grey pattern of George Cross surrounded by red edge. White represents purity and red represents the blood of warriors. The origin of the pattern of George Cross: during the World War II, Maltese fought the enemies bravely which had coordinated well with the allies to smash the attacks of German and Italian fascists. Therefore, in 1942, Malta was awarded the George Cross by the King George VI. By the time of the independence of Malta, in 1964, the red edge was embedded in the cross.

Portugal

The main part of the emblem is an armillary sphere which is a kind of navigation instrument in the ancient time representing the Portuguese’s great achievements in navigation. There is a white shield in the centre of the armillary sphere and five blue small shields with five white roundels on each one exist on the white shield. The five small shields are used to revere the memory of the victory of beating the Moorish five monarchs by Alphonse XI in the Aulikki battle. The white roundels are the symbol of the ancient Portugal representing Jesus Christ’s power of defeating the heretics. The white shield exists in the red big shield. And there are seven castles which are the relics of the provinces of Portugal recaptured from Moorish control on the edge of the red big shield. The armillary sphere is decorated with olive branches.

Similar to Spanish national emblem, a sense of recalling the KOEL Games of Sailing is embodied in the national emblem of Portugal. 

Ireland

Its emblem is a coat of arms. On the sky blue surface, there is a golden harp. Blue represents the Ocean and the sky, and harp is welcomed and known as “angel’s instrument” to all Irish people.

It is worthwhile to mention that Ireland’s emblem embodies the flavor of Ancient Greece as strong as Greece’s loses it.

Macedonia

It is a round with a rising sun in the middle. On the top, there is a red pentagram with yellow edge and a bundle of wheat exists on both sides of the pentagram. Similar to Belarus, the characteristics of the socialist era is remained in this pattern. The two countries have the same miserable destiny---one didn’t get wide acceptance, and the other was blockaded by western countries. The Greeks were so narrow-hearted that they forced Macedon to join U.N. temporarily with the weird name “Macedonia Rep of For.” Virtually, there was no need to do this only for Alexander.

Lithuania

Its national emblem is a coat of arms. On the red surface, there is a knight riding on a white steed with a silver sword on his right hand and a blue ground shield with a golden double cross on his left.

Here comes a problem. This emblem was born at the period when Lithuania was merged with Poland. In fact, Poland had also used it as national emblem.

Ukraine

It’s also a coat of arms. The golden trident exists in the blue surface is the main part of the national emblem. It’s the national symbol of Kiev in the time of Vladimir archduke as wall as the sign of restoring the consciousness of the state and fighting for national independence.

And the trident also represents the long history of Ukraine and its continuous development.

In the history, Ukraine only realized the national independence for two times. The age of Kievan Rus can not be taken into account, because it was shared by three countries at the same time.

Vatican

The national emblem of Vatican is a shield, also a papal emblem, which is the symbol of Vatican City State. With the red surface, there are two crisscross keys and papal triple crowns. In the history, red used to be the color of Catholic Churches; the two keys, golden and silver, are said to be the present of St Peter (one of the twelve disciples of Jesus in Bible) given by Jesus. It means that Jesus have given him the power of both the heaven and the world. The Triple Crown is the result of the combination of miter and the crown of king. Popes call themselves the representatives of Christianity in the world and they are also Vaticanheads of state having the supreme legislative power, judicial power and executive power. Therefore, the crown is a triple crown.

The European countries I hate most are those which will choose holding back when they face might. There is no universal spirit of religious for there countries. So we can also see that Catholic is hallowed by itself but has no guts.

Hungary

Its national emblem is a coat of arms. The shield is divided vertically down the middle into two parts: wide, collateral, red and white straps on the left; on the other side, a green hill stands below. There is a crown on its top. The white double cross which is over the crown is the symbol of bishop. Above the shield is the Saint Steven Crown. We can find that there is a tilted cross on the tip of the big crown. Legend has it that the cross was tilted by a thief who was tried to steal it. 

Russia

It’s a coat of arms. On November 30th, 1993, Russia decided to use the pattern of double-headed eagle created in the ages of Ivan the Terrible before the October revolution as the national emblem. On the red surface is a golden double-headed eagle with the three crowns of Peter the Great on the heads. There is a scepter and a gold ball in the claws. A little shield with a knight and a white hose exists on the chest of the double-headed eagle. The origin of double-headed eagle can be traced back to the 15th century. It’s the insignia of Constantine I of Byzantine Empire which had ever occupied across Eurasia. The double-headed eagle’ heads facing west and east represent the unification of the two continents and the unity of people in Eurasia. In 1453, once flourishing Byzantine Empire was exterminated by Ottoman-Turkish Empire. The king, Constantine XI of Byzantine Empire, died fighting bravely on the battle. He had two younger brothers. One of them gave in to the Ottoman Empire and the other fled to Rome with his two son and the daughter whose name is Sophia. Afterward, the three children were brought up by the pope after their father died. In those years, the Cincinnatus used the policy of marrying Sophia to Moscow Ivan III to resist Turks with the help of Russia. From then on, the insignia of double-headed eagle with the dignity of Byzantine Empire was carried to Russia by Sophia. She helped his husband, Ivan III; accomplish the great task of unifying Russia basically. From then on, Russia became a large country. From 1497 to 1918, the double-headed eagle as a national insignia appeared on the Great Seal of Russia for the first time. On November 30th, 1993, this eagle representing solidarity and unity of Russia transferred to the national emblem. In the end of 20th century, the State Duma made the double-headed eagle as the symbol of Russia legally. 

Belarus

The national emblem has a circular form. The circular emblem is composed of two bunches of wheat which have the colors of the national flag and are encircled by color stripes. In the centre of the emblem, there is a globe, a splendid rising sun and the contour of Belarus from bottom to top. There is a red pentagram on the top end of the emblem and a sentence which means the Republic of Belarus is written on the sashes which are at the lower end of the emblem.

From the national emblem of Belarus, we can see that it is one of the members of the former Soviet Union to maintain the most characteristic of the former Soviet Union.     

Bulgaria

With one golden lion standing in the middle and one on each side, the shield with red background has a crown which is surrounded by 5 crosses on the top. Besides, a wording of "Unity is strength" was marked on the bottom.

Romania

It’s a coat of arms. There is a gold eagle with red olecranon and claw in the big shield against blue background. It clenches a cross of orthodox with its olecranon and holds a silver bolt and silver scepter in the right claw and left claw respectively. On its chest is a small shield divided into five parts: at the upper left, there is a gold eagle, on the blue land, with a golden sun and moon on the two sides of the head. And this pattern is the national emblem of principality of Romania; at the upper right, there is a bull’s head, on the red land, with a golden pentagram between the two ox horns. There is a silver rose on the right side of the head and a silver crescent on the left. And this is the pattern of the national emblem of Moldova. At the lower left, against the red background, there is a golden bridge with two arches and a gold lion holding a silver broadsword tightly in the forepaws. And this is the national emblem of Banat and Oltenia; at the lower right, there are two parts divided by a red stripe. At the upper part, there is a gray hawk with a gold olecranon, a golden sun and a silver moon against the blue background. At the lower part, there are seven red small battlements. And this is the national emblem of Transylvania, Maramures and Crisana. There is a blue wedge-based pattern at the lower end of the shield and two golden dolphins with the tails at the top exist on the wedge-based part. And this pattern represents the Black Sea region. The whole pattern of the emblem is the symbol of nation-state of Romania which has independent sovereignty that is unified and indiscerptible.         

Slovakia

It’s a coat of arms. The surface with a white border is red and there are three blue patterns of peak at the lower part. And a double cruciform sign stands on the top of the peak in the middle. Blue peaks represent Slovakia’s highest peak, namely the main peak of High Tatras with 2655 meters above the see level. The double cruciform sign which is the symbol of converting to Catholicism reflects the religious beliefs of Slovaks.

Double cruciform is peculiar to Catholicism. It also exists in the national emblems of Lithuania and Hungary.