The official proposal and official comments
According official news, government of Rep. Macedonia, on its 05.12.14 session, put a proposal for a new graphic solution for the state Coat of Arms (COA). The proposal was voted overwhelmingly (including ministers from Albanian descent), which gives way for the solution to enter parliament proceedings and public debate. The next day, the voted solution was made public via social media, and several officials already gave comments on it.
Here are some links to official media:
http://makfax.com.mk/makedonija/vladata-usvoi-predlog-za-nov-drzaven-grb
http://www.mia.mk/en/Inside/RenderSingleNews/382/132411612
The gov proposal describes the reasons for the change:
"The existing COA of Macedonia is the designed according to the one of ormer USSR, being also a model for all Soviet republics [also all socialist republics]..."
And official description of the new COA:
..."The new red-lion design is based on historic COA. The golden - yellow mural crown, adorned with pearls and rubies, is meant to symbolize the republican character of the state.
"Thus the aim is to highlight and display the sovereignty and integrity of the state. By embracing this COA, Macedonia will join the family of European countries, as a state that cares for both its past and future, promoting unit and attaching itself to a symbol that bears no division on any grounds, but rather creates unity of all who live in it" - the draft reads"...
Also added in the gov proposal (judging from the number of times the text repeats in the media):
"The proposal for a new Coat of Arms the Republic of Macedonia is based on the tradition of coats of arms related to Macedonia, ranging from the illustration of Willem Verland (+1481) and the Rolls of Jerome de Bara of 1581, which through the Stematography of Vitezovich (1694) and Zhefarovikj (1741) will become land arms of Macedonia."
Another source close to the government Republika.mk - link here, Kurir.mk - link here and Vecer - link here, also mentions that the new COA draft was drawn by experts - heralds, that is, by proposal of the Macedonian Heraldry Society, from Skopje. It goes on to say that "it [the new COA] is made as a result of in-depth research done by experts on COA [heralds]. A hand drawn version, done by an artist was also published, and based on it a computer vectored version [the draft COA] was made."
According to state constitution, for change of state symbols a 2/3 majority in the parliament is needed, as well as majority from the groups that represent the ethnic minorities in MKD. This was also confirmed by
The Albanian national ruling party DUI (coalition partner of VMRO-DPMNE the ruling party), supports the proposal, and its ministers voted for in favor, on the government session. After asked for an official comment, they answered:
"[for us] It is acceptable for the lion to be in the center of the state COA. Firstly, because as a heraldic sign it can be found on the COA of many old and big Albanian families, then the lion is also on the COA of the city of Tirana. Secondly, [for us] acceptable is also the crown, because it reflects the old Skopje fortress - Kale.
The biggest party in opposition - SDSM reacted, by directly attacking the way the governing VMRO-DPMNE rules over the country. They didn't in any way comment or approve/disapprove the proposed COA,
My conclusion of the proposal is the following. For the first time in history or MKD, we have a real possibility to get (given that VMRO-DPMNE and DUA have 2/3 majority in parliament) a state COA based on historical and heraldic traditions. Rather than all the COA based on ideology. And it is evident that the COA proposal was designed and an idea of the Macedonian Heraldry Society and as we will see below by its most prominent member and president Mr. Jovan Jonovski.
Background of the COA proposal
Having in mind the influence the Macedonian Heraldry Society has on the proposal, it was only logical to dig for more info from their web site and sites that connect them and their work. And woila - on their page one can find a short history of Macedonian COA.
First their own press release - link here, in which several paragraphs are very simillar to the text in the gov. proposal, but in describes the COA in more details. For example:
"The proposal for a new Coat of Arms the Republic of Macedonia is based on the tradition of coats of arms related to Macedonia, ranging from the illustration of Willem Verland (+1481) and the Rolls of Jerome de Bara of 1581, which through the Stematography of Vitezovich (1694) and Zhefarovikj (1741) will become land arms of Macedonia.
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In European Armorials, the most consistent image is a red lion on a golden field. The most famous representation of it are given in the Rolls of Jerome de Bara (1581) and Jean Robin (1639), which preceded the Illyrian Armorials and come from European countries with developed heraldic tradition.
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The blazon of the arms reads: Or, a Lion Rampant Gules. The shield is crowned with a golden-yellow mural crown with five towers, placed on a golden diadem adorned with rubies and pearls of Macedonia."
The PR then continues describing the gov. proposal:
"The mural crown of the arms represents the republican organization of the country. The towers of the crown represent the graphic expression of the number five, which is a symbol of statehood [as opposed to three towers which are a symbol of a city emblem]. This aims to highlight and displays the sovereignty and integrity of the state. Rubies and pearls are symbols that are associated with the land as a natural soil.
This proposal is consistent with the historical facts, and also responds to people’s perception of the times of national revival. The lion as a symbol can be unifying for all communities and citizens, as is proven in various European countries. The lion is undoubtedly a symbol of the Macedonians, Albanians and all other communities, which also represents a land symbol of the country, its territory and the state.
This is why the red lion on a golden field is the best heraldic symbol that has its own tradition, as well as its present and future of a European Macedonia. With the adoption of this Coat of Arms, Macedonia will be included in the family of European countries as a country with European aspirations, who cares about its past and its future, promoting unity and tying itself to a symbol which represents no division on any basis in itself, but rather creates a unity of all who live in it."
You can feel that the author is trying to de-ethnicise the lion which is traditionally linked to Macedonian nationalism, and instead offer a solution which in truth is a representation of the king of Macedonia, and later with the 16-19 century "Illyrian Armorials" it becomes a representation of the land/territory, as a land COA (земски грб). And as a land signage it should be a unifuing elemnet for all the ethnic groups that constitute Rep. of Macedonia.
But first lets explain the history of the Coat of Arms of Macedonia, and group the Macedonian COA by meaning. The web page: www.heraldika.org.mk has a very good page explaining this - link here, that I recommend as a must read - very carefully. But for the sake of the topic I will shorten it, in most places quoting the author.
Coat of Arms of Macedonia - History
The Macedonain COA, are grouped in Non-Illirian Heraldry, and Illirian Heraldry. The Non-Ilirian heraldry, being the older of two, most frequently depicts a COA attributed to “The King of Macedonia”. This formulation was appropriate for the medieval idea that the land is an inherited property of the king, which is also found in other countries. A special group of the non-Illyrian arms are the attributed arms of Alexander the Great – The Macedonian, as a part of the Anglo-Saxon epos “The Nine Worthies”.2
The oldest representation, where Alexander is shown as a knight holding a shield, is from 1394. The shield has the blazon: Gules, a lion Or holding with both arms an axe Or.11 Although in other armorials the Arms of the worthies differ, or are interchanged, the most frequent representation is with the lion. Other representations are: silver wolf, His Majesty sitting on a throne, lion on a throne, two lions confronting, a griffon, three crowns etc..
The two COA that we spoke of before, by Jerome de Bara (from 1581), and Jean Robin (from 1639), are part of this group of attributed arms of Alexander the Great - the Macedonian. Below are the cover, and the page with Macedonian COA, from Jerome de Bara's armorial to show this (source interview with Jovan Jonovski on Kanal 5 youtube link here). Notice that the COA is attributed to Alexandre le Grand.
From more recent times, and based on local Balkan/Austrian heraldry comes the Illyrian heraldry.“Illyrian heraldry” is the term given to the heraldry included in the Roll of Arms alleged to be created by Stanislav Rupcic, King of Arms of King Dusan, in 1340. We know about this armorial only by its copies which state that the original roll of arms was kept on Mt. Athos....
...According to John A. Goodall,21 there are two lines of recensions [copies done later on] from the Rupcic’s original Roll. The London Roll is considered to be the oldest in the recension 1 [first]... In the London Roll [shown below], Macedonian Arms are shown as: Gules, a lion (rampant), armed gules, with crown above the lion’s head, both Or. Over the shield is an ancient crown Or.
On the Coat of Arms of Stefan Nemanja [shown below], which is a marshalled Arms containing the Arms of all Illyrian states, the Macedonian arms are shown in the first quarter.
Korenic- Neoric Roll, from 1595 [shown below], long considered the oldest copy. It is kept in the University Library in Zagreb, and is the second [oldest] of the first line of recension. It portrays Macedonian Arms, in the same style as in London Roll, but being armed Or. The crown here is, as well, separated from the head.
In the third [oldest] of the same recension, the Althan’s or Bolognas’ Roll of 1614 [seen below], the Macedonian Arms are found on their own. The crown is laying on the lions head, which is heraldically correct.
The Roll of Marko Skorojevic, (1636-1686), has the same representation of the arms. and there is a similar representation in the Belgrade II Roll of 1620 [shown below], with the difference that the shield is of a Renaissance shape. In the Nemanja’s Arms, in both Rolls, the Macedonian lion is clearly depicted as rampant.
Representative of the second line of recencion is Foynitsa’s Roll [17 century, shown below] which depicts the Macedonian Arms with lesser artistry, but by its attributes is identical with the one in the London Roll. In the Nemanja’s arms, the Macedonian lion is shown salient, with rear legs depicted thrown backwards.
A critical change is seen in Pavlo Ritter Vitezovic’s Roll (1694, printed 1701) [shown below left], which changes the blazon of the Macedonian Arms to: Or, a lion gules. It must be noted that the lion in this case is not crowned. The text below the arms, in Latin, says “the Turk has taken the crown”. Matkovski states that Vitezovic made this change unintentionally, out of lack of attention due to the similarity of the Macedonian and Bulgarian Arms. This is absolutely out of the question, since Vitezovic himself, in the second part of his Stematographia gives an explanation of the Bulgarian arms stating: “Gules, a lion crowned Or, but some mistakenly consider this to be Arms of Macedonia”.28 Here it can be seen that Vitezovic himself, for his own reasons, intentionally and on purpose made changes to a previous Roll to which he had access. Maybe it was the representation of the Arms of Alexander the Great – The Macedonian from Jerom the Bara of 1581, with the very same blazon. This breaks the long lineage of presentation of Macedonian Arms with the blazon: Gules, lion crowned Or.
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In 1741 Hristofer Zefarovic translated the Stemmatographia into Slavic with Serbian redaction. Its many print runs popularized heraldry, but unfortunately with this new representation of the Macedonian Coat of Arms [shown above right in black and white but with description Red lion on golden shield], thus breaking the tradition of many centuries. The Bulgarian State with its Turnovo’s Constitution of 1879 accepted the Coat of Arms for Bulgaria as in Zefarovic’s Stemmatographia and thus validates the misconception introduced by Vitezovic.
Zefarovic's Stemmatographia was so popular among slavic people on the balkan, that for the first time among Balkan people we will see actual use of the COA described within. For example, it will be an inspiration for the new paintings in the Rila monastery after the fire of 1833. Between 1844-1846 the church was renovated and painted. Zefarovic's Stemmatographia, was not only used as a base model for the faces of saints, but also for the painted COA on the iconostasis where you can see copies of the Serbian, Bulgarian, Bosnian and Macedonian.
Later on, in the national fight for Macedonian liberation from Ottoman rule, specifically in the Razlovets uprising from 1876, we find the similarly depicted lion used on the official flag of the uprising [shown below]. The flag has a red background, and in middle is a golden yellow square with a red (or black) lion rampant, holding the name Macedonia with front feet. The motto on the flag states "Raise, so we can liberate ourselves". The flag was ordered by Dimitar Berovski, to be made by baba Nedela and Stanislava Karaivanova, teachers from Salonika. According to Jonoski, the idea for the flag is taken from then already known Zhefarovic scrolls, the only document written on slavic language. Jonoski also adds that the similar depiction of the lion was also used in the Ilinden uprising (1903). Source here
In the Ilinden uprising (1903), most of the uprising battalions, or bands, had their official flag. The flag in many, if not most, cases was with two faces. Front face, usually, on a red base is a girl (allegory for Macedonia) holding a banner with words "Liberty or Death", and broken shackles in front of her. Supporting the banner with front arms, is a small golden lion in rampant pose, and below his feet the banner of the Ottoman empire. Back face is usually dominated by a golden rampant lion, on red back, tearing the symbols of the ottoman empire. Below are some examples:
It is interesting to comment that in the Ilinden uprising we dont find the combination of a red lion on golden background any more. Actually even when the lion is not present, almost always the background is red, and the text/lion/other application, is yellow. This same combination of colors will be kept in future (antifascist struggle flag, flag of the republic 1991, all proposals for new COA, official state flag from 1996, etc...).
After the liberation from the Ottomans, our neighbors officially adopt Zhefarovic's Stemmatografia as their state COA, Serbia takes the Serbian cross, and puts it on a white two headed eagle, and Bulgaria adopts the according solution in 1879.
We should not forget, that at that time in 18 and 19 century, Zhefarovic's Stemmatografia was the only heraldic source at that time for our forefathers, and the other scrolls produced by the western Europe hands were rather unknown on the Balkan. That is the case until 1960's.
In Macedonia in the 1960s phD Aleksandar Matkovski does research and discovers the pre-Zhefarovic Illirian scrolls that we talked about before, where consistently the Macedonian COA is shown as gold lion on red background, and the Bulgarian COA as red lion on gold background. He publishes his finds in 1970 in a book.
"With the dissolution of the Socialist Yugoslavia and the adoption of the multiparty democracy, the new political party VMRO-DPMNE, adopts the yellow lion on red shield as its logo, which gives political connotation to the land symbol. After gaining independence, Macedonian government calls for a tender for new state COA in 1992, and receives more than 3000 graphical solutions, most of them inspired by the research of Matkovski. The commission in charge unfortunately doesn't have a unified view on the subject, as the question is politicized too much, and a new state COA was never put to a vote in parliament. Unfortunately, from that time forward, many Macedonians have become alienated from the idea of the yellow lion on red background as a state solution, because in the minds of people it becomes a symbol/logo of all VMRO organisation, and in general a symbol of a right political orientation." qoute from Jonoski (source here)
To make things even worse, "Bulgaria in 1997 adopts a old-new state COA (to differ from the communist era one), which brings back the yellow lion on a red background as a solution, with the two lions shield-holders from each side. With this it became practically impossible fор Macedonia to adopt the yellow lion/red shield solution, as it would be in violation of heraldic rules, trademark rights and possibly we will not be able to register it in the UN." quote from Jonoski.
Conclusion
It seems that the new government proposal is a compromise to satisfy 3 key problems from the past:
1. The state needed a COA that will unify the people both politically and ethnically. With the adoption of the yellow lion/red background combination as a symbol of the right wing parties (VMRO), and its effect of wide spread popularization, many of the ethical Macedonians got alienated from the traditional land COA based on political views. Secondly because of the right orientation of VMRO, it became a symbol of Macedonian nationalism in the eyes of Albanian citizens. Thirdly, there are those who think that we should keep the symbols of the socialist era, because under this ideology Macedonia became a state for the first time (even though those generic symbols were chosen so to oppose the "Bulgarian fascist lion" that occupied Macedonia for 4 years). The society was totally split in complex ways.
2. There is a need for a COA based in history and with tradition of use. And the most consistent symbol here is the lion as the central figure. All other COA symbols (except the sun) are not consistent in history.
3. There is a need for a COA which is different from the Bulgarian state COA.
The weakness of the current proposal is that the color combination is widely unknown and unpopular among common people, only known and understood by historians. It breaks from the tradition of Macedonian symbolism where the yellow subject (lion/sun/star/text) was always put on a red background. This symbolism, as we said before, is consistent from 18 century until today. And another weakness is that the Albanian population doesn't see their beloved symbols on the state coat of arms, and judges current proposal as mono-ethnic, serving just the Macedonian interests.
For more on Macedonian COA:
The lion in Albanian coat of arms
It has been mentioned a lot in the media and indirectly by the gov proposal, that the lion is also a symbol of Albanians. Its more correct to say, that a lion can be found on coat of arms of regions and cities that are today part of Albania. A lion is also found on coat of arms of medieval families that have origin present day Albania.
So I made an internet research, on English and Macedonian pages, and this is what came up with.... (i didn't include Kosovo in the research).
Lets first talk about DUI's comment about the lion in Tirana city COA. As shown in begging of this post, the COA is divided in two parts, from the left the Tirana clock tower build 1821-1822, and on the right the COA of the Skurraj (Scurra) family, which is the family that ruled Tirana in the Middle Ages, the 14th and 15th centuries. I couldn't find a description for the Skurraj COA, to explain the its meaning, especially because the lion conspicuously looks lika a wolf here.
Then I found sources that show the COA of city of Durres, which was allegedly used until World War II as an official COA. Shown below left (source here and here), it is remarkably similar to the Macedonian proposal. I don't understand Albanian, so I cant comment on the text. Today the official COA of Durres city is very different (shown below right, source wikipedia). It also shows a lion (but this time in reversed coloring), in floating on sea in a stylized boat, and fortress in background.
According official news, government of Rep. Macedonia, on its 05.12.14 session, put a proposal for a new graphic solution for the state Coat of Arms (COA). The proposal was voted overwhelmingly (including ministers from Albanian descent), which gives way for the solution to enter parliament proceedings and public debate. The next day, the voted solution was made public via social media, and several officials already gave comments on it.
The new COA proposal
Here are some links to official media:
http://makfax.com.mk/makedonija/vladata-usvoi-predlog-za-nov-drzaven-grb
http://www.mia.mk/en/Inside/RenderSingleNews/382/132411612
The gov proposal describes the reasons for the change:
"The existing COA of Macedonia is the designed according to the one of ormer USSR, being also a model for all Soviet republics [also all socialist republics]..."
And official description of the new COA:
..."The new red-lion design is based on historic COA. The golden - yellow mural crown, adorned with pearls and rubies, is meant to symbolize the republican character of the state.
"Thus the aim is to highlight and display the sovereignty and integrity of the state. By embracing this COA, Macedonia will join the family of European countries, as a state that cares for both its past and future, promoting unit and attaching itself to a symbol that bears no division on any grounds, but rather creates unity of all who live in it" - the draft reads"...
Also added in the gov proposal (judging from the number of times the text repeats in the media):
"The proposal for a new Coat of Arms the Republic of Macedonia is based on the tradition of coats of arms related to Macedonia, ranging from the illustration of Willem Verland (+1481) and the Rolls of Jerome de Bara of 1581, which through the Stematography of Vitezovich (1694) and Zhefarovikj (1741) will become land arms of Macedonia."
Another source close to the government Republika.mk - link here, Kurir.mk - link here and Vecer - link here, also mentions that the new COA draft was drawn by experts - heralds, that is, by proposal of the Macedonian Heraldry Society, from Skopje. It goes on to say that "it [the new COA] is made as a result of in-depth research done by experts on COA [heralds]. A hand drawn version, done by an artist was also published, and based on it a computer vectored version [the draft COA] was made."
The hand drawn version, based on which a vectorised drat proposal was made
According to state constitution, for change of state symbols a 2/3 majority in the parliament is needed, as well as majority from the groups that represent the ethnic minorities in MKD. This was also confirmed by
The Albanian national ruling party DUI (coalition partner of VMRO-DPMNE the ruling party), supports the proposal, and its ministers voted for in favor, on the government session. After asked for an official comment, they answered:
"[for us] It is acceptable for the lion to be in the center of the state COA. Firstly, because as a heraldic sign it can be found on the COA of many old and big Albanian families, then the lion is also on the COA of the city of Tirana. Secondly, [for us] acceptable is also the crown, because it reflects the old Skopje fortress - Kale.
Tirana city official coat of arms
The biggest party in opposition - SDSM reacted, by directly attacking the way the governing VMRO-DPMNE rules over the country. They didn't in any way comment or approve/disapprove the proposed COA,
My conclusion of the proposal is the following. For the first time in history or MKD, we have a real possibility to get (given that VMRO-DPMNE and DUA have 2/3 majority in parliament) a state COA based on historical and heraldic traditions. Rather than all the COA based on ideology. And it is evident that the COA proposal was designed and an idea of the Macedonian Heraldry Society and as we will see below by its most prominent member and president Mr. Jovan Jonovski.
Background of the COA proposal
Having in mind the influence the Macedonian Heraldry Society has on the proposal, it was only logical to dig for more info from their web site and sites that connect them and their work. And woila - on their page one can find a short history of Macedonian COA.
First their own press release - link here, in which several paragraphs are very simillar to the text in the gov. proposal, but in describes the COA in more details. For example:
"The proposal for a new Coat of Arms the Republic of Macedonia is based on the tradition of coats of arms related to Macedonia, ranging from the illustration of Willem Verland (+1481) and the Rolls of Jerome de Bara of 1581, which through the Stematography of Vitezovich (1694) and Zhefarovikj (1741) will become land arms of Macedonia.
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Jerome de Bara (1581)
In European Armorials, the most consistent image is a red lion on a golden field. The most famous representation of it are given in the Rolls of Jerome de Bara (1581) and Jean Robin (1639), which preceded the Illyrian Armorials and come from European countries with developed heraldic tradition.
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Jean Robin (1639)
The blazon of the arms reads: Or, a Lion Rampant Gules. The shield is crowned with a golden-yellow mural crown with five towers, placed on a golden diadem adorned with rubies and pearls of Macedonia."
The PR then continues describing the gov. proposal:
"The mural crown of the arms represents the republican organization of the country. The towers of the crown represent the graphic expression of the number five, which is a symbol of statehood [as opposed to three towers which are a symbol of a city emblem]. This aims to highlight and displays the sovereignty and integrity of the state. Rubies and pearls are symbols that are associated with the land as a natural soil.
This proposal is consistent with the historical facts, and also responds to people’s perception of the times of national revival. The lion as a symbol can be unifying for all communities and citizens, as is proven in various European countries. The lion is undoubtedly a symbol of the Macedonians, Albanians and all other communities, which also represents a land symbol of the country, its territory and the state.
This is why the red lion on a golden field is the best heraldic symbol that has its own tradition, as well as its present and future of a European Macedonia. With the adoption of this Coat of Arms, Macedonia will be included in the family of European countries as a country with European aspirations, who cares about its past and its future, promoting unity and tying itself to a symbol which represents no division on any basis in itself, but rather creates a unity of all who live in it."
But first lets explain the history of the Coat of Arms of Macedonia, and group the Macedonian COA by meaning. The web page: www.heraldika.org.mk has a very good page explaining this - link here, that I recommend as a must read - very carefully. But for the sake of the topic I will shorten it, in most places quoting the author.
Coat of Arms of Macedonia - History
The Macedonain COA, are grouped in Non-Illirian Heraldry, and Illirian Heraldry. The Non-Ilirian heraldry, being the older of two, most frequently depicts a COA attributed to “The King of Macedonia”. This formulation was appropriate for the medieval idea that the land is an inherited property of the king, which is also found in other countries. A special group of the non-Illyrian arms are the attributed arms of Alexander the Great – The Macedonian, as a part of the Anglo-Saxon epos “The Nine Worthies”.2
The oldest representation, where Alexander is shown as a knight holding a shield, is from 1394. The shield has the blazon: Gules, a lion Or holding with both arms an axe Or.11 Although in other armorials the Arms of the worthies differ, or are interchanged, the most frequent representation is with the lion. Other representations are: silver wolf, His Majesty sitting on a throne, lion on a throne, two lions confronting, a griffon, three crowns etc..
The two COA that we spoke of before, by Jerome de Bara (from 1581), and Jean Robin (from 1639), are part of this group of attributed arms of Alexander the Great - the Macedonian. Below are the cover, and the page with Macedonian COA, from Jerome de Bara's armorial to show this (source interview with Jovan Jonovski on Kanal 5 youtube link here). Notice that the COA is attributed to Alexandre le Grand.
From more recent times, and based on local Balkan/Austrian heraldry comes the Illyrian heraldry.“Illyrian heraldry” is the term given to the heraldry included in the Roll of Arms alleged to be created by Stanislav Rupcic, King of Arms of King Dusan, in 1340. We know about this armorial only by its copies which state that the original roll of arms was kept on Mt. Athos....
...According to John A. Goodall,21 there are two lines of recensions [copies done later on] from the Rupcic’s original Roll. The London Roll is considered to be the oldest in the recension 1 [first]... In the London Roll [shown below], Macedonian Arms are shown as: Gules, a lion (rampant), armed gules, with crown above the lion’s head, both Or. Over the shield is an ancient crown Or.
On the Coat of Arms of Stefan Nemanja [shown below], which is a marshalled Arms containing the Arms of all Illyrian states, the Macedonian arms are shown in the first quarter.
Korenic- Neoric Roll, from 1595 [shown below], long considered the oldest copy. It is kept in the University Library in Zagreb, and is the second [oldest] of the first line of recension. It portrays Macedonian Arms, in the same style as in London Roll, but being armed Or. The crown here is, as well, separated from the head.
In the third [oldest] of the same recension, the Althan’s or Bolognas’ Roll of 1614 [seen below], the Macedonian Arms are found on their own. The crown is laying on the lions head, which is heraldically correct.
The Roll of Marko Skorojevic, (1636-1686), has the same representation of the arms. and there is a similar representation in the Belgrade II Roll of 1620 [shown below], with the difference that the shield is of a Renaissance shape. In the Nemanja’s Arms, in both Rolls, the Macedonian lion is clearly depicted as rampant.
Representative of the second line of recencion is Foynitsa’s Roll [17 century, shown below] which depicts the Macedonian Arms with lesser artistry, but by its attributes is identical with the one in the London Roll. In the Nemanja’s arms, the Macedonian lion is shown salient, with rear legs depicted thrown backwards.
A critical change is seen in Pavlo Ritter Vitezovic’s Roll (1694, printed 1701) [shown below left], which changes the blazon of the Macedonian Arms to: Or, a lion gules. It must be noted that the lion in this case is not crowned. The text below the arms, in Latin, says “the Turk has taken the crown”. Matkovski states that Vitezovic made this change unintentionally, out of lack of attention due to the similarity of the Macedonian and Bulgarian Arms. This is absolutely out of the question, since Vitezovic himself, in the second part of his Stematographia gives an explanation of the Bulgarian arms stating: “Gules, a lion crowned Or, but some mistakenly consider this to be Arms of Macedonia”.28 Here it can be seen that Vitezovic himself, for his own reasons, intentionally and on purpose made changes to a previous Roll to which he had access. Maybe it was the representation of the Arms of Alexander the Great – The Macedonian from Jerom the Bara of 1581, with the very same blazon. This breaks the long lineage of presentation of Macedonian Arms with the blazon: Gules, lion crowned Or.
Vitezovic roll recension - cover and page
Vitezovic left, Zefarovic right
In 1741 Hristofer Zefarovic translated the Stemmatographia into Slavic with Serbian redaction. Its many print runs popularized heraldry, but unfortunately with this new representation of the Macedonian Coat of Arms [shown above right in black and white but with description Red lion on golden shield], thus breaking the tradition of many centuries. The Bulgarian State with its Turnovo’s Constitution of 1879 accepted the Coat of Arms for Bulgaria as in Zefarovic’s Stemmatographia and thus validates the misconception introduced by Vitezovic.
Zefarovic's Stemmatographia was so popular among slavic people on the balkan, that for the first time among Balkan people we will see actual use of the COA described within. For example, it will be an inspiration for the new paintings in the Rila monastery after the fire of 1833. Between 1844-1846 the church was renovated and painted. Zefarovic's Stemmatographia, was not only used as a base model for the faces of saints, but also for the painted COA on the iconostasis where you can see copies of the Serbian, Bulgarian, Bosnian and Macedonian.
Later on, in the national fight for Macedonian liberation from Ottoman rule, specifically in the Razlovets uprising from 1876, we find the similarly depicted lion used on the official flag of the uprising [shown below]. The flag has a red background, and in middle is a golden yellow square with a red (or black) lion rampant, holding the name Macedonia with front feet. The motto on the flag states "Raise, so we can liberate ourselves". The flag was ordered by Dimitar Berovski, to be made by baba Nedela and Stanislava Karaivanova, teachers from Salonika. According to Jonoski, the idea for the flag is taken from then already known Zhefarovic scrolls, the only document written on slavic language. Jonoski also adds that the similar depiction of the lion was also used in the Ilinden uprising (1903). Source here
In the Ilinden uprising (1903), most of the uprising battalions, or bands, had their official flag. The flag in many, if not most, cases was with two faces. Front face, usually, on a red base is a girl (allegory for Macedonia) holding a banner with words "Liberty or Death", and broken shackles in front of her. Supporting the banner with front arms, is a small golden lion in rampant pose, and below his feet the banner of the Ottoman empire. Back face is usually dominated by a golden rampant lion, on red back, tearing the symbols of the ottoman empire. Below are some examples:
Ilinden battalion from Struga
Ilinden Battalion from Ohrid
Illinden Battalion from Kratovo
Ilinden Battalion from Zagoricani - Kostur region (here background is green)
It is interesting to comment that in the Ilinden uprising we dont find the combination of a red lion on golden background any more. Actually even when the lion is not present, almost always the background is red, and the text/lion/other application, is yellow. This same combination of colors will be kept in future (antifascist struggle flag, flag of the republic 1991, all proposals for new COA, official state flag from 1996, etc...).
After the liberation from the Ottomans, our neighbors officially adopt Zhefarovic's Stemmatografia as their state COA, Serbia takes the Serbian cross, and puts it on a white two headed eagle, and Bulgaria adopts the according solution in 1879.
We should not forget, that at that time in 18 and 19 century, Zhefarovic's Stemmatografia was the only heraldic source at that time for our forefathers, and the other scrolls produced by the western Europe hands were rather unknown on the Balkan. That is the case until 1960's.
In Macedonia in the 1960s phD Aleksandar Matkovski does research and discovers the pre-Zhefarovic Illirian scrolls that we talked about before, where consistently the Macedonian COA is shown as gold lion on red background, and the Bulgarian COA as red lion on gold background. He publishes his finds in 1970 in a book.
"With the dissolution of the Socialist Yugoslavia and the adoption of the multiparty democracy, the new political party VMRO-DPMNE, adopts the yellow lion on red shield as its logo, which gives political connotation to the land symbol. After gaining independence, Macedonian government calls for a tender for new state COA in 1992, and receives more than 3000 graphical solutions, most of them inspired by the research of Matkovski. The commission in charge unfortunately doesn't have a unified view on the subject, as the question is politicized too much, and a new state COA was never put to a vote in parliament. Unfortunately, from that time forward, many Macedonians have become alienated from the idea of the yellow lion on red background as a state solution, because in the minds of people it becomes a symbol/logo of all VMRO organisation, and in general a symbol of a right political orientation." qoute from Jonoski (source here)
To make things even worse, "Bulgaria in 1997 adopts a old-new state COA (to differ from the communist era one), which brings back the yellow lion on a red background as a solution, with the two lions shield-holders from each side. With this it became practically impossible fор Macedonia to adopt the yellow lion/red shield solution, as it would be in violation of heraldic rules, trademark rights and possibly we will not be able to register it in the UN." quote from Jonoski.
Conclusion
It seems that the new government proposal is a compromise to satisfy 3 key problems from the past:
1. The state needed a COA that will unify the people both politically and ethnically. With the adoption of the yellow lion/red background combination as a symbol of the right wing parties (VMRO), and its effect of wide spread popularization, many of the ethical Macedonians got alienated from the traditional land COA based on political views. Secondly because of the right orientation of VMRO, it became a symbol of Macedonian nationalism in the eyes of Albanian citizens. Thirdly, there are those who think that we should keep the symbols of the socialist era, because under this ideology Macedonia became a state for the first time (even though those generic symbols were chosen so to oppose the "Bulgarian fascist lion" that occupied Macedonia for 4 years). The society was totally split in complex ways.
2. There is a need for a COA based in history and with tradition of use. And the most consistent symbol here is the lion as the central figure. All other COA symbols (except the sun) are not consistent in history.
3. There is a need for a COA which is different from the Bulgarian state COA.
The weakness of the current proposal is that the color combination is widely unknown and unpopular among common people, only known and understood by historians. It breaks from the tradition of Macedonian symbolism where the yellow subject (lion/sun/star/text) was always put on a red background. This symbolism, as we said before, is consistent from 18 century until today. And another weakness is that the Albanian population doesn't see their beloved symbols on the state coat of arms, and judges current proposal as mono-ethnic, serving just the Macedonian interests.
For more on Macedonian COA:
- Hristofer Zefarovic, a good article about his life, legacy and origin (apparently his family is from Dojran - Zefarovi) can be found in the first issue of the paper Macedonian Herald, from may 2005. Download a copy of the issue here, and read about the man who maybe will be named the father of the Macedonian state coat of arms (if voted for) :).
- Mr. Jovan Jonovski explains current gov. proposal in video here
- HAEMUS lecture 04 - REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA: COAT OF ARMS -- quest for dilemma's answers?, by by the Macedonian herald Jovan Jonovski. Video here and PR here
- Kanal 5 video interview with historian Dalibor Jovanovski, defending the current gov. proposal, mostly deffending the lion as a macedonian solution. Video here
The lion in Albanian coat of arms
It has been mentioned a lot in the media and indirectly by the gov proposal, that the lion is also a symbol of Albanians. Its more correct to say, that a lion can be found on coat of arms of regions and cities that are today part of Albania. A lion is also found on coat of arms of medieval families that have origin present day Albania.
So I made an internet research, on English and Macedonian pages, and this is what came up with.... (i didn't include Kosovo in the research).
Lets first talk about DUI's comment about the lion in Tirana city COA. As shown in begging of this post, the COA is divided in two parts, from the left the Tirana clock tower build 1821-1822, and on the right the COA of the Skurraj (Scurra) family, which is the family that ruled Tirana in the Middle Ages, the 14th and 15th centuries. I couldn't find a description for the Skurraj COA, to explain the its meaning, especially because the lion conspicuously looks lika a wolf here.
Then I found sources that show the COA of city of Durres, which was allegedly used until World War II as an official COA. Shown below left (source here and here), it is remarkably similar to the Macedonian proposal. I don't understand Albanian, so I cant comment on the text. Today the official COA of Durres city is very different (shown below right, source wikipedia). It also shows a lion (but this time in reversed coloring), in floating on sea in a stylized boat, and fortress in background.
Second claim of DUI representatives is that the lion "as a heraldic sign can be found on the COA of many old and big Albanian families". I found this to be true. Below are examples taken from official Albanian post stamps, of the families of: (from left to right) Gropa, Scurra (on the current Tirana COA), Topia and Jonima, all showing a lion.
Source here The stamps are allegedly also available for sale on ebay. :)
The albanolog and professor of history from Albania Mr.Plumb Dzufi, on the public debate organised by the State University of Tetovo, had this to say: - The lion was the symbol of the oldest Albanian family from 12 century, the Scurra (can be found from Anton Scurra, in Leze monastery), but also the symbol of the latter feudal family Topia (13 c.). A lion is also a symbol of Georg Skenderbeu, in the time when his state was largely consolidated (in latter stages of Skenderbeu's state). Skenderbeu to the then official family COA (the double headed eagle), added a lion and one star. source here and here
The upper mentioned Kastrioti arms are published as a drawing by Albanian author Varfi (Heraldika Shqiptare): rampant lion with a sword held by its front foot with tail finishing in ivy, above which there is a white lily. In the right part of the coat, a double headed eagle is added. I couldn't find this drawing on the net. The lion description is the same as the COA of Topia family (shown above).
Furthermore, a short search of the term "heraldika shqiptare" on Google, shows all of the above mentioned COA, and more. For example, shown below left is the House of Comnenos-Asen, Principality of Valona 1346 - 1417. Almost exactly the same as the traditional Macedonian golden lion on red shield. On the right, two interesting COA representations of the Avloniteve (Avloniti) family.
Then I found Leke coins from the 1920-es (from the Albanian Republic), with representations of the lion. On the third coin (which is AV 20 franga, golden) the Lion is shown in context to Georg Skenderbeu on the other side.
I found that a book on Albanian heraldry exists - Heraldika Shqiptare, by author Gjin Varfi (ISBN: 99927-31-85-X). And a very long forum in albanian language with photos here. For those who want to read more on Albanian heraldry....
And we will finish with Mr. Jovan Jonoski, the president of the Macedonian Heraldry society, who in one of his elaborations, mentions that "in Albania, in the COA of places and people, the lion can be found more frequently than the eagle"... source a post on Kajgana forum here
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