Coat of arms of Lithuania

"Pahonia" redirects here. For other uses, see Pahonia (disambiguation).

Coat of arms of Lithuania
Lietuvos herbas
Vytis (Pogonia, Pahonia)
ArmigerGrand Duchy of Lithuania, Republic of Lithuania
Adopted1366 (first documented)
4 September 1991 (1991-09-04) (current official version)
ShieldGules, an armoured knight armed cap-à-pie mounted on a horse salient holding in his dexter hand a sword Argent above his head. A shield Azure hangs on the sinister shoulder charged with a double cross (Cross of Lorraine) Or. The horse saddles, straps, and belts Azure. The hilt of the sword and the fastening of the sheath, the stirrups, the curb bits of the bridle, the horseshoes, as well as the decoration of the harness, all Or.
Earlier version(s)see below

The coat of arms of Lithuania is a mounted armoured knight holding a sword and shield, known as Vytis (pronounced ['vîːtɪs]).[1] Since the early 15th century, it has been Lithuania's official coat of arms and is one of the oldest European coats of arms.[2][3][4] It is also known by other names in various languages, such as Waykimas, Pagaunė[5][6] in the Lithuanian language or as Pogonia, Pogoń, Пагоня (romanized: Pahonia) in the Polish, and Belarusian languages.[2][7][8] Vytis is translatable as Chase, Pursuer, Knight or Horseman, similar to the Slavic vityaz (Old East Slavic for brave, valiant warrior).[9] Historically – raitas senovės karžygys (mounted epic hero of old) or in heraldry – raitas valdovas (mounted sovereign).[9][10][11]

The once powerful and vast Lithuanian state,[12] first as Duchy, then Kingdom, and finally Grand Duchy was created by the initially pagan Lithuanians, in reaction to pressures from the Teutonic Order and Swordbrothers which conquered modern-day Estonia and Latvia, forcibly converting them to Christianity.[13][14][15] The Lithuanians are the only Balts that created a state before the modern era.[16] Moreover, the pressure stimulated Lithuanians to expand their lands eastward into territory of Ruthenian Orthodox in the Dnieper's upper basin and that of the Eurasian nomads in the Eurasian Steppe between lower Dnieper and Dniester, conquering present-day Belarusian, Ukrainian, and Russian lands in the process.[14][17][18][19][20] This expansive Lithuania was conveyed in the coat of arms of Lithuania, the galloping horseman.[17][21] The usage of the coat of arms of Lithuania spread even further throughout the country as the Third Statute of Lithuania (adopted in 1588) required to use it on each county's seal.[22]

The ruling Gediminid dynasty first adopted the horseback knight as a dynastical symbol which depicted them. Later, in the early 15th century, Grand Duke Vytautas the Great made the mounted knight on a red field the coat of arms of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Ever since, the Lithuanian rulers and nobles related to the ruling dynasty used the coat of arms.[2][8] The knight's shield was designed for decoration with the Columns of Gediminas or the Jagiellonian Double Cross.[23][24] Article 15 of the Constitution of Lithuania, approved by national referendum in 1992, stipulates, "The Coat of Arms of the State shall be a white Vytis on a red field".[25]

  1. ^ "Lietuvių kalbos žodynas". Lkz.lt. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  2. ^ a b c Rimša, Edmundas. "Lietuvos valstybės herbas". Vle.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 19 March 2021.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference PiniguMuziejus was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Galkus, Juozas (2009). Lietuvos Vytis / The Vytis of Lithuania (in Lithuanian and English). Vilnius Academy of Arts Press. p. 13. ISBN 978-9955-854-44-9.
  5. ^ "Kultūros uostas Paroda "Vytis istorijoje ir dailėje"". kulturosuostas.lt (in Lithuanian). 17 December 2019. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  6. ^ Galkus, Juozas (26 May 2020). "Apie Vyčio pradžią ir vardą". alkas.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 21 March 2021.
  7. ^ Palionis, Jonas (2012). "Leszek Bednarczuk. Językowy obraz Wielkiego Księstwa Litewskiego. Millenium Lithuaniae MIX–MMIX" (PDF). Acta Linguistica Lithuanica (in Lithuanian) (LXVI). Lithuanian Language Institute: 174. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
  8. ^ a b Petrauskas, Rimvydas. "Vytis, the Sign of the Dynasty | Orbis Lituaniae". LDKistorija.lt. Vilnius University. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
  9. ^ a b "Vytis reikšmė – lietuvių kalbos žodynas". lietuviuzodynas.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  10. ^ "Vytis, vyčio, vyties; kryžius". vlkk.lt (in Lithuanian). Commission of the Lithuanian Language. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  11. ^ Butkus, Alvydas. "Kas yra Vytis (atsakymas Bogdanui)". DELFI (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  12. ^ Deak, Istvan (2001-01-01). Essays on Hitler's Europe. University of Nebraska Press – Lincoln and London. p. 115. ISBN 978-0-8032-6630-8. In the Middle Ages Lithuanians had great leaders such as Mindaugas, Gediminas, Algirdas, Kestutis and Vytautas, who transformed Lithuania into a vast and powerful state.
  13. ^ "Balt | people". Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived from the original on 2015-07-16. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  14. ^ a b "Grand Duchy of Lithuania". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  15. ^ "Lithuania – Historical Development". Eurydice Network. European Commission. 2 January 2019. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  16. ^ "Lithuania – History". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  17. ^ a b Toynbee, Arnold Joseph (1948). A Study Of History (Volume II) (Fourth impression ed.). Great Britain: Oxford University Press. p. 172. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  18. ^ Rowell 1994, p. 82-101.
  19. ^ "Ukraine: Lithuanian and Polish rule". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  20. ^ "Belarus: Lithuanian and Polish rule". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  21. ^ "Laikrodžių muziejaus paroda "Vytis istorijoje ir dailėje"". Lithuanian National Museum of Art (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 19 March 2021.
  22. ^ Cite error: The named reference ThirdStatute was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  23. ^ Cite error: The named reference ColumnsSeimas was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  24. ^ "Double Cross". Seimas. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  25. ^ Cite error: The named reference Constitution was invoked but never defined (see the help page).