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Newsgroups: bit.listserv.mideur-l
Date:         Mon, 9 Nov 1992 12:07:12 -0500
From:         "(George Frajkor)" <gfrajkor@CCS.CARLETON.CA>
Subject:      Re: Slovakia's National symbol
              "MARTONAK%ITSSISSA.BITNET@UBVM.cc.buffalo.edu" at Nov 7,
              92 3:11 pm

> >My last curiosity: the Slovak national emblem is virtually identical to
> >the right half of the Hungarian national emblem.  Is that a coincidence,
> >or if not, how did that come about ?


       Most coats-of-arms still used today derive from family or
ecclesiastical coats of arms dating back to post-Roman times.
Countries that are quite different today were not necessarily
different in the past --  for example, the Hapsburgs ruled in Spain,
Holland and Austria and it is not unusual to find Spanish symbols in
Holland today -- although one is a teutonic protestant country and the
other is mediterranean Catholic.  I was startled to find that the coat
of arms of the city of Kosice, Slovakia, has three fleur-de-lys (white
lilies) which are also the symbol of Quebec province.  Now I know in
my heart that Quebec was really founded by slovak explorers and should
be reclaimed as our lost territory, but historians (they are all
biased) say it is not so.  They say that in the old days of marriages
between prominent family ruling lines (King John of Luxemburg was king
of Bohemia, queen Anne of Bohemia married the King of England, King
Henry II of england married Eleanor of Aquitaine and ruled over
southern France) it would seem that someone from the Anjou dynasty of
France married into the Arpad dynasty of Hungary.  Thus the lilies of
anjou and Orleans in France became part of the coat of arms of the
area of Kosice, then under Hungarian rule.  Thus Quebec and Kosice
have similar symbols.

   The two-armed cross is called in France the Cross of Lorraine.  In
the eastern Orthodox (greek orthodox) areas it is called the Byzantine
Cross and in modern format has acquired a third small, slanted arm.
It is not surprising that countries converted to Christianity by the
eastern rite bishops such as Cyril and Methodius used the byzantine
cross  in family and territorial coats of arms.  This applies to more
than just the Hungarians and the Slovaks, but obviously history has
linked these two closely.  It is a measure of what the Slovaks think
is their true homeland that the three mountains on the symbol
represent the Tatra, Matra and Fatra ranges.   Only two of these are
in present-day slovakia.  The Matras are in what is now Hungary, but
obviously the Slovaks once considered that territory theirs.  Symbols
represent historical links which today may seem illogical or obscure.
Once they had real meaning, however.
   But I have a question to pose -- why did the Communists adopt the
star as their symbol?  The hammer and sickle are self-explanatory, but
the star was a more universal symbol.  Anyone know why?  It is not
likely the star of Bethlehem, or Star of David.  The witches'
pentagram, maybe?

    Jan George Frajkor       _!_
 School of Journalism       __!__
 Carleton University,         |
 Ottawa, Ontario             /^\
 Canada K1S 5B6           /^\   /^\
   -- gfrajkor@ccs.carleton.ca --
  613 788-7404     fax:613 788-5604