Upon ascending the Russian throne in 1613, the founder of the Romanov dynasty, Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, inherited not only the title and regalia of the former Russian sovereigns, but also the state heraldic emblem - the double-headed eagle. This coat of arms was used by him and his successors. At the same time, various variants of the state eagle are known. Thus, in the first years of the reign, an eagle was used, crowned with two open crowns, with an Orthodox cross between its heads. But almost simultaneously with it, an eagle with three crowns was also used (the third, larger, closed one, “hung” above the eagle). It is this eagle with three crowns that is also known from state seals. During the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich, a scepter and an orb appear in the eagle’s paws, although there are also images where these regalia are missing or where the eagle holds a sword in its left paw instead of an orb. Small crowns on eagle heads are often depicted closed (although not always).
Did the Romanovs have a personal heraldic emblem, their own coat of arms at that time? Various points of view have been expressed in the literature on this matter. On the one hand, there was an opinion that even the Russian aristocracy in the 16th-17th centuries. did not yet have family coats of arms. During the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich, the fugitive clerk of the Ambassadorial Prikaz, Kotoshikhin, wrote about this: “Not only among princes and boyars and other chips, but also among every rank of people of the Moscow State there are no coats of arms, but they apply what kind of seal they received, and not their breed.” Kotoshikhin explains this phenomenon by the fact that coats of arms “cannot be presented to any person.” Nevertheless, something else is known: some aristocratic families already in the 17th century. under the influence of Western European and especially Polish noble culture (in the latter, the coat of arms was considered an integral attribute of belonging to the noble class), they tried to acquire heraldic symbols, which later became coats of arms in the full sense of the word or formed the basis of family heraldry. In some cases, “traveling” families, actually related to the Polish-Lithuanian clans, quite legally used the coats of arms of these clans, known not only from Polish armorials, but also from their own family seals. Such family coats of arms were preserved, for example, by the Smolensk gentry (who entered Russian service after the capitulation of Smolensk in 1654), some Ukrainian families, etc. The Russian Gediminovichs, in particular the Golitsyns, in the 17th century, like their distant relatives in Lithuania, used the family coat of arms Pahonia. The Rurikovichs, descendants of the former great and appanage princes, in search of a heraldic tradition, turn to the territorial emblems of the lands where their ancestors once reigned (although in the vast majority of the above-mentioned emblems were formed after the annexation of these principalities to the possessions of the Moscow dynasty).
The Romanovs, as you know, were also officially considered a traveling family. The first documented ancestor of their family was Andrei Ivanovich Kobyla - the founder of many Russian noble families, including the Romanovs, Sheremetevs, Konovnitsyns, Kolychevs, Boborykins, Epanchins, Sukhovo-Kobylins, Yakovlevs. Andrei Kobyla was a boyar of the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan I Kalita and his successor Simeon Ivanovich Proud. True, he is mentioned in the chronicles only once, in 1347, when, together with the boyar Alexei Razzolov, he was sent to Tver for Simeon’s bride, Princess Maria, the daughter of the Grand Duke of Tver Alexander Mikhailovich. According to the genealogy legend, Andrei Kobyla descended from the pagan kings of the Prussian tribe. His father Glanda Kembila Devonovich, defeated by the crusaders, along with his young son and many subjects allegedly went to serve the Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky and was baptized with the name Ivan.
Some other boyar families, in particular the Saltykovs, Kutuzovs, and the extinct Sheynykh clan, who considered their ancestor another native of Prussian lands - Mikhail (Misha) Prushanin, were also considered to come from Prussia, but of a different origin. From the “honest husband Leo,” according to legend, who also left Prussia to Grand Duke Ivan Dmitrievich, the Beklemishevs traced their family tree; There were other noble families who preserved similar legends about leaving.
The first of the descendants of Andrei Kobyla was drawn up for Boris Petrovich Sheremetev; this happened around 1695. The basis for it was the city coat of arms of Danzig (Gdansk): two “cavalier” crosses in a column, that is, one above the other, and above them a golden royal crown. In all likelihood, this emblem (adopted by the end of the 18th century, following the example of the Sheremetevs, by most of the other noble families listed above) was chosen quite randomly, on the “territorial principle”, and did not reflect the real heraldic tradition.
Until the middle of the 19th century. The Romanov dynasty and their female descendants who inherited the throne in 1761 (a branch of the German Holstein-Gottorp dynasty, descended from Princess Anna Petrovna and her son Peter III) did not feel the need for a separate family emblem. Nevertheless, in the middle of the 19th century, during the reign of Emperor Alexander II, during the reform of Russian state and territorial heraldry, carried out under the leadership of Baron B. Köhne (manager of the Arms Department of the Department of Heraldry), the question of developing the Romanov family coat of arms was raised. To compile it, descriptions of the ensign, the small banner of the last representative of the non-reigning branch of the family, boyar Nikita Ivanovich Romanov (cousin of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, who died in 1654), were used. This banner itself, kept in the Armory, was lost long ago, but its description has been preserved: “The ensign in the middle of the taffeta is white, the griftaft is sewn in yellow, with a sword, he holds a brand in his left paw, above the brand is a pi-sap eagle black, the edge is sewn into worm taffeta , yellow taffeta. The slopes are scooped up, the chapters of the lion are written in gold and silver, the edge is taffeta of different colors."
Baron Köhne proposed his interpretation of this drawing, drawing up a heraldic composition based on it, which on December 8, 1856 received the highest approval as the family coat of arms of the Romanovs. At the same time, the griffin, according to the rules of European heraldry, could not be depicted in gold on a silver field, so it became scarlet, i.e. red:
“In a silver field is a scarlet vulture holding a golden sword and tarch (shield - S.A), crowned with a small eagle; on a black border there are eight severed lion heads; four gold and four silver."
How accurately was Koehne able to reproduce the real composition on Nikita Ivanovich’s ensign? Reasonable doubts have been expressed about this. R. Palacios-Fernandez formulated them most clearly and in detail. “Firstly, “above the mark” means it does not sit on the shield, but is in the upper left corner, that is, in the roof. Secondly, the concept of “stamp” does not mean a round shield, but the fact that in this place there is some text indicating the identity of the owner, or a Christian quote. Most likely the first, since otherwise it is not clear why this particular ensign is associated with the royal cousin. Saints were also depicted in the marks surrounded by a cartouche, but in this case the description of the ensign would have indicated exactly what kind of religious subject was reproduced there. And the third: “...the chapters of Lviv are written in gold and silver” - does not mean their endless succession, but, as was customary then, one in each slope. And not in Western European style - in profile, but in Russian - full face, for which analogies have been preserved. By the way, there they looked clearly not severed. In addition, they wrote “the heads of Lviv” not one in silver, and the other in gold, but simply both of them.” The reconstruction of the banner proposed here is very convincing.
Returning to the composition proposed by Koehne, we see that the main emblem of the Romanovs is the griffin, a rather popular heraldic symbol. Analyzing the reasons for the appearance of the griffin in Romanov heraldry, researchers discovered that this fantastic beast was depicted on the signature ladle of boyar Fyodor Nikitich Romanov, made between 1586 and 1599/1600. (when the father of the future king was forcibly tonsured a monk and exiled); a neck is engraved under the toe of this ladle, and a lion is engraved under the handle. The image of a griffin is known on a number of palace monuments during the reigns of Mikhail Fedorovich and Alexei Mikhailovich, on the double silver throne of Tsars Ivan and Peter Alekseevich.
Trying to find out the reasons for the appearance of this emblem in the Romanov family, the famous heraldist Baron M.A. Taube suggested that it was chosen and used by Tsar Mikhail’s grandfather, boyar Nikita Romanovich Zakharyin-Yuryev, governor of Ivan the Terrible, who became famous in the Livonian War. A griffin with a sword was minted in 1572-1573. for the Polish garrison on coins of the city of Pernov (modern Pärnu). This city was taken by the boyar Nikita Romanovich Zakharyin-Yuryev in 1575, and there he sat as a governor for some time. This griffin was the coat of arms of Livonia (in Polish “Inflant”), shortly before, in 1566, granted to this province by the Polish king Sigismund Augustus and actually repeated the personal coat of arms of Hetman Chodkiewicz, who ruled this territory. According to Baron Taube, the griffin, originally the personal emblem of boyar Nikita Romanovich, was not forgotten by his descendants, although they used it only sporadically. This elegant hypothesis was accepted by most researchers, and R. Palacios-Fernandez does not dispute it, but, strictly speaking, there is no clear evidence of it. The use of traditional and widespread images borrowed from Western European heraldry by young Russian heraldry could have simpler reasons.
Another thing is more important: was it really the vulture that was the main emblem of boyar Nikita Ivanovich and his immediate descendants? And here again we note the merit of R. Palacios-Fernandez, who drew attention to the black single-headed eagle depicted on the same ensign in the roof, that is, at the top of the shaft. This is the eagle that was the coat of arms of Prussia.
The same emblem - the black Prussian eagle - was used in their coats of arms by the above-mentioned boyar clan, descended from Mikhail Prushanin (Saltykovs and Kutuzovs). Later, the black eagle appears in some of the coats of arms of other noble families, whose ancestors were considered to have come from Prussia. The famous Russian heraldist A.B. Lakier directly calls the black eagle in the coats of arms of Russian families a sign of their Prussian origin (or, in any case, claims to such origin). In all likelihood, the first of them to turn to the Prussian coat of arms was in the 17th century. the descendants of the boyar Mikhail Glebovich Saltykov, whose sons and grandsons served Sigismund III and after the Time of Troubles remained in Polish service, retaining their estates near Dorogobuzh. At the same time, the Saltykov-Soltyks used one of the variants of the Prussian coat of arms, namely the coat of arms of the western, “Royal Prussia,” which at that time belonged to Poland. Its characteristic feature is the sword hand placed on the eagle's neck.
As R. Palacios-Fernandez reminds, in the inventory of the Armory of 1687 there is also a description of the large banner of the same boyar Nikita Ivanovich: “... three hands extend from the cloud above; one with a cross, another with a crown, the third with a sword, in the middle there is an eagle in black taffeta, on it is a mark made of red taffeta, with an inscription in gold: boyar Nikita Ivanovich Romanov; The border is black with taffeta stripes of different colors, and there is multi-colored silk fringe all around.”
One can agree with R. Palacios-Fernandez that “the absence of an indication of the gphet of the panel itself, as well as the abundant painting, indicate that it is most likely a white gfet.” Trying to explain these emblems, the indicated author believes that the hand with the sword could be taken from the Soltyk coat of arms and the coat of arms of West Prussia, the crown in the second hand may symbolize the crown crowning the eagle, and the hand with the crown has been available since the 14th century. in the coat of arms of the city of Kneiphof - one of the three components of the city coat of arms of Königsberg, and a hand with a cross emerging from the cloud is the coat of arms of that very Livonian city of Pernov (Pernau). But this interpretation cannot be considered conclusively proven. After all, the emblems used here are quite traditional, and another explanation is possible: hands hold a sword as a military symbol, a cross as a symbol of the Orthodox faith, and a crown as a sign of service to the sovereign. However, there is no doubt that the black (Prussian) eagle occupies the main place on this banner. In addition, as R. Palacios-Fernandez notes, in the inventory of N.I. Romanov, after his death in 1654, who entered the treasury of his cousin, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, mentions “the clasp of gold orlik with a sparkle of diamond” and “samples of planed eagles laced with pearls in four nests.” But most importantly, the personal seal of boyar Nikita Ivanovich is described there: “Ring of gold tompaz, cut seal of an eagle with a crown.” Namely, the images on the seals were perceived not only as personal, but also as family symbols and quite often later turned into family coats of arms. From the point of view of Polish-Lithuanian heraldry (which had a great influence on young Russian family heraldry in the 17th century), it was his coat of arms that was depicted on the governor’s seal.
Thus, Nikita Ivanovich Romanov, like other descendants of clans considered to have left Prussia, turned to Prussian territorial heraldry in search of their own heraldic emblem. But is it possible, following R. Palacios-Fernandez, to admit that “The Romanovs in the 17th century. used the image of a black eagle on a white field as a family emblem, and the golden griffin with a sword and a lion occupied a secondary meaning in their symbolism, more consistent with the level of shield holders? It seems that this conclusion is not entirely accurate. Firstly, strictly speaking, this eagle was the personal symbol of boyar N.I. Romanov, and there is no evidence that he was inherited from his ancestors; Nor was he inherited by his relatives, the reigning branch of the Romanovs. In itself, the use of a black single-headed eagle by the last representative of the non-reigning branch of the Romanovs does not mean that this emblem could be perceived as a common generic one. As already mentioned, for the sovereigns of the new dynasty, the double-headed eagle, inherited from their predecessors, was also their family symbol. Secondly, we have no reason to consider the griffin and lions placed on the same banner as “shield holders”; lion heads (not lions), of course, were not shield holders; it was an additional element of the composition (as, in fact, Koehne designated it). It is no coincidence that the griffin on the ensign was described first; it was obviously perceived, at least due to its size, as the main element of the banner symbolism. And the presence of his images on Romanov household items even before the Romanovs ascended the throne shows that its use in this case could be based on this living tradition.
However, Baron Koehne’s choice of a griffin rather than a black eagle could have had some other reasons. It seems that at that moment it was unacceptable for the Russian imperial family to actually use the Prussian royal coat of arms as their family coat of arms. In addition, the single-headed eagle could cause other unnecessary associations - both with the Kingdom of Poland and with the Napoleonic Empire. Probably, it would be equally unacceptable to include in the imperial coat of arms emblems already used by numerous noble families who traced their genealogy back to a common ancestor with the Romanovs. And the very striking similarity of these noble and count coats of arms with the city coat of arms of Danzig (which then belonged to Prussia) excluded the use of their symbols of the ruling Russian dynasty. The griffin, in German dynastic heraldry used by the Ducal House of Mecklenburg, a family of Slavic origin, was perceived more neutrally.
So, with the approval of the family symbol, it became possible to use it in more complex heraldic compositions, in particular, in combination with the family coat of arms of the Golyptein-Gottorp house. Thus, “His Imperial Majesty’s Own Coat of Arms,” a heraldic symbol belonging to the head of the House of Romanov, was created and approved by Emperor Alexander II on December 8, 1856. In the XIX - early XX centuries. being one of the minor elements of Romanov dynastic heraldry, from the end of the 20th century. it is precisely this that is used by the Chancellery, the Heraldry and some other institutions of the Russian Imperial House. Here is a description of the emblem of the Office of Her Imperial Highness Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna.
“A black double-headed eagle, crowned with two imperial crowns, above which a third is the same, but enlarged, with two fluttering ends of an azure (St. Andrew’s) ribbon; This eagle holds a golden scepter and orb.
On the eagle's chest there is a dissected shield with the combined coats of arms of the Romanovs and Golgatein-Gottorp. To the right is the coat of arms of the Romanov family: in a silver field there is a scarlet (red) vulture holding a golden sword and a tarch (round shield), crowned with a small eagle; on the black border there are eight severed lion heads: four gold and four silver. To the left is the coat of arms of Schleswig-Golgatein-Gottorp: a four-part shield with a special end at the bottom and a small shield in the middle; in the first, scarlet (red) part - the Norwegian coat of arms: a golden crowned lion with a silver halberd; in the second, golden part - the coat of arms of Schleswig: two azure (blue) leopard lions; in the third, scarlet (red) part - the Holstein coat of arms: crossed small shield, silver and scarlet (red); around it is a silver nettle leaf, cut into three parts, and three silver nails with ends to the corners of the shield; in the fourth, scarlet (red) part - the coat of arms of Stornmar: a silver swan with black paws and a gold crown on its neck; in the scarlet (red) end there is the coat of arms of Ditmarsen: golden, with a raised sword, a rider on a silver horse covered with black cloth, the middle small shield is also dissected, in the right half the coat of arms of Oldenburg: on a golden field there are two scarlet belts; on the left is the Delmenhorst coat of arms: in an azure (blue) field there is a gold cross with a sharp end at the bottom. This small shield is crowned with a grand ducal crown, and the main one with a royal one. Around the shield is a chain of the imperial order of St. Apostle Andrew the First-Called.”
The system of dynastic Romanov heraldry, which developed in the middle of the 19th century, reflected the structure of the imperial family, the hierarchy that existed within it, depending on the degree of kinship of certain representatives of the House with the reigning and reigning emperors. In addition, the complication of state heraldry, the appearance in 1856-1857. large, medium and small coats of arms of the Russian Empire (finally approved together with drawings of large, medium and small state seals, samples of seals of public places, etc. on April 11, 1857) inspired official heraldists to create several variants of personal coats of arms of representatives of the dynasty, depending from the closeness of their relationship with the emperor from whom they
Coat of arms of the Romanov family.
Eagle from the reign of Mikhail Fedorovich
Eagle from the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich
Eagle from the reign of Fyodor Alekseevich.
Coat of arms of the Sheremetev counts.
Coat of arms of the nobles - descendants of Andrei Ivanovich Kobyla.
Coat of arms of Soltyk.
Rice. in the armorial of K. Nesetsky.
Ensign of boyar Nikita Ivanovich Romanov
Large banner of boyar Nikita Ivanovich Romanov.
Reconstruction by R. Palacios-Fernandez.
Large coat of arms of His Imperial Highness the Sovereign, the heir to Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich.
Large coat of arms of Her Imperial Highness the Empress Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna.
Large coat of arms of Her Imperial Highness the Empress Grand Duchess Leonida Georgievna.
Great coat of arms of the Romanov princes, Dukes of Leuchtenberg.
Coat of arms of the princes Paley.
occur in a straight line, and also depending on the title and place in the order of succession to the throne.
In accordance with the Law on Succession to the Throne, approved by Paul I at the coronation in Moscow on April 5, 1797, members of the imperial house constitute a special class, the advantages of which are due to the fact that its members, under certain circumstances, can be called to inherit the throne or are related by marriage to persons who have or may have the right to the throne. Their rights and obligations are regulated by the Establishment of the Imperial Family, also approved by Paul I on April 5, 1797 (as amended by Alexander III on July 2, 1886).
The imperial family consists of:
Emperor and Empress (the wife of the reigning emperor and the empress dowager mother, or the reigning empress if the succession to the throne passes into the female line; but the husband of the reigning empress has no right to the imperial title); by law, the imperial title belongs to the head of the imperial house and his wife from the moment of the death of his predecessor (in exile, for protocol or other reasons, the head of the house may not use this title in his acts);
The heir to the crown prince is usually the eldest son of the reigning emperor, or (if he does not currently have a son) his brother. But the same title may also belong to a more distant relative of the sovereign, who took first place in the succession to the throne. Under Paul I, the title of Tsarevich “as a reward and a greater distinction for special feats” could, at the will of the sovereign, be assigned to other members of the imperial family; in 1799, Paul’s second son, Grand Duke Constantine, also received it, and kept it until his death. From that moment on, according to the “Institution of the Imperial Family,” this title “belongs to the single, publicly declared heir to the throne.”
Under Nicholas II, before the birth of his son Alexei, his younger brothers were the heirs to the throne. The title of Tsarevich was borne by the Emperor's brother, Grand Duke Georgy Alexandrovich (until 1899); after his death, heir to the throne in 1899-1904. was their younger brother Mikhail, but he was not given the title of Tsarevich. The wife of the crown prince is called the crown princess;
Grand Dukes, Grand Duchesses, Grand Duchesses - according to the original edition of the “Institution on the Imperial Family” approved by Paul I and then Nicholas I, the title of Grand Dukes and Princesses was borne by sons, grandsons, great-grandsons and great-great-grandsons, daughters, granddaughters, great-granddaughters and great-great-granddaughters in the direct male line.
After marriage, the wives of grand dukes and grand duchesses receive the title of grand duchesses (only the wives of foreign kings and at the Russian court were titled queens).
According to the personal decree of Alexander III on January 24, 1885, reflected in the “Establishment” of 1886, the grand-ducal title was reserved only for the sons, daughters, grandsons and granddaughters of emperors. The heir to the crown prince also bears the same title (and regardless of the degree of his relationship with the emperor);
Princes, princesses of imperial blood (persons of distant relatives): in 1797-1885. this title was reserved for the emperor's great-great-great-grandsons and their male-line descendants. Since 1885, these titles have been borne by the great-grandsons and great-granddaughters of emperors in the direct male line and their more distant direct descendants. The spouses of princes of the blood and princesses of the blood who entered into corresponding marriages are titled princesses.
In 1911, by order of Nicholas II, a meeting of the Grand Dukes discussed the possibility of expanding the number of persons entitled to the title of Grand Duke. Nicholas II had only one young son, the Tsar’s brother, Grand Duke Mikhail, entered into a morganatic marriage, and pretty soon the number of Grand Dukes was to decrease sharply. Therefore, it was proposed to grant the right to this title to the eldest of the direct male descendants of each of the Grand Dukes. This issue was discussed quite hotly, as it directly affected the fate of the children and offspring of those present. The overwhelming majority spoke out in support of this proposal (only the unmarried Dmitry Konstantinovich considered it untimely, saying that while there were already enough great princes, but when there were few of them, the sovereign himself would decide who should be given this title, and besides, when there were great princes few, and they were taken into account more than now). These proposals were submitted to the sovereign for consideration, but at that moment no decision was made on this issue.
In emigration, the children of Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich, Maria, Kira and Vladimir Kirillovich, who from birth bore the titles of princesses and princes of imperial blood, in accordance with the manifesto of their father, who accepted the imperial title on August 31, 1924, received, respectively, the titles of grand duchesses and grand duke heir to the crown prince. This was a natural result of the transition to this line of dynastic seniority and the proclamation of their father as emperor (as expressly noted in the “Institution of the Imperial Family,” “those born from the eldest person of the older generation are recognized as the daughter of the emperor.” In addition, in exile on May 15, 1939, the title The Grand Duke was granted to the Prince of the Blood, Gabriel Konstantinovich.
The imperial family also included the Princes Romanovsky, Dukes of Leuchtenberg, descendants of Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna, daughter of Nicholas I, who in 1839 married Duke Maximilian of Leuchtenberg, son of the former Viceroy of Italy Eugene Beauharnais (stepson of Napoleon, married to a Bavarian princess, after the fall of the Napoleonic Empire, who received the ducal title from his father-in-law, the king).
The emperor, empress, heir and his wife, grand dukes and princesses have the right to the title of sovereign, empress (for example, sovereign emperor, sovereign grand duke). The first two have, in addition, the right to the general title “Your Imperial Majesty”, the heir and the Grand Dukes, Princesses and Princesses - “Your Imperial Highness”. The princes of the imperial blood are the great-grandsons of the emperor, and in the clan of each great-grandson the eldest son and his eldest direct male descendants in this line are titled “your highness”; Since 1886, the younger sons and daughters of the emperor’s great-grandsons and their descendants in the male line have the right only to be addressed as “Your Grace.”
The rights of a member of the imperial house are acquired only through a legal marriage with a member of the imperial family and descent from this marriage, and for the legality of the marriage it is necessary to comply not only with general civil conditions, but also with a number of additional conditions:
Consent to this marriage of the emperor (head of the imperial house);
The dignity of persons entering into marriage corresponding by origin, that is, origin from a reigning or previously reigning family.
Currently, the Russian Imperial House consists only of:
Her Imperial Highness the Empress Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna - Head of the House (born December 23, 1953);
His Imperial Highness the heir Tsarevich Sovereign Grand Duke Georgy Mikhailovich (born March 13, 1981) is the heir to the head of the House.
Members of the imperial house have the right to use the state emblem of the Russian Empire with some differences, according to the degree of their relationship with the emperor from whom they descend in a direct line.
The coats of arms of members of the imperial family, developed and supremely approved in 1856, differ depending on their title; they can exist in several versions, as large and small coats of arms. Large coats of arms are similar to the average state coat of arms, and the main element is the shield holders. The entire heraldic composition is placed on a gold canopy, with ermine lining, or (for the younger representatives of the dynasty, as discussed below) on a gold mantle.
For the coats of arms of members of the imperial house, six forms of shield were established: Byzantine (round), Varangian (triangular), French (rectangular with a point at the bottom, lower corners rounded), Spanish (rectangular with a rounded bottom), Germanic (form adopted from the 16th century, with cutouts on the right and left) and rhomboidal. The latter “is assigned exclusively to grand duchesses of imperial blood, as well as to dowager grand duchesses of imperial blood.”
The Great Coat of Arms of the Sovereign Emperor is the large Russian state emblem. The small, or personal, coat of arms consists of the small state coat of arms, in the crest of which the state eagle appears. Its shield holders are the Archangel Michael and the Archangel Gabriel.
In the family coat of arms of the sovereign emperor, as already mentioned, the coats of arms of the Romanovs and Golyptein-Gottorp are combined.
The large coat of arms of the heir to the crown prince is the medium state coat of arms, and the small one is the small state coat of arms, but with the “ancient royal crown” crowning the helmet.
The large coat of arms of the emperor's younger sons was the same as that of the heir, it included shield holders - two Varangians, and the small coat of arms was similar to the coat of arms of the Tsarevich, but with a “Romanov” border (black with torn off lion heads, as in the Romanov family coat of arms) surrounding shield.
Among the emperor's grandchildren, the large coat of arms was distinguished by shield holders - these were no longer Varangians, but golden unicorns with scarlet eyes and tongues, and the small one - by the state eagle appearing in the crest, which had only the Moscow coat of arms on the chest, without titular coats of arms.
In the large coat of arms of the princes of the imperial blood, the shield holders are two vultures with golden beaks and eyes, in the small coat of arms - an eagle in a black crest without coats of arms on the chest and wings.
A separate coat of arms, also in two versions (large and small), was also developed for the Romanov princes, Dukes of Leuchtenberg; in it their former ducal coat of arms, supplemented by some elements, is depicted on the chest of a Russian eagle, but not black, but gold:
“The large coat of arms of their imperial highnesses, their highnesses and their lordships the princes of the Romanovskys is a golden double-headed Russian eagle, having on its chest a four-part shield with a small shield in the middle. In the first and fourth parts, silver, there is an azure belt. In the second part, green, there is a silver sword: the hilt is gold, the top of the sword is surrounded by six gold stars. In the third part, on a silver field, there is a black belt, above it there are three black birds. In a small shield, on a golden field, there is a scarlet crown, crowned with a scarlet crown, the monogram of the sovereign Emperor Nicholas I (N), on the shield there is a ducal crown. The main shield is crowned with the helmet of the Holy Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky; around the chain of the Order of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called, a gold and black mantle; shield holders are two golden vultures with scarlet eyes and tongues. Instead of the imperial canopy, there is a golden mantle dotted with Russian double-headed eagles, lined with ermine; above her is the imperial crown"
“The small coat of arms of their imperial highnesses, their highnesses and their lordships of the Romanovsky princes is the same as their large coat of arms, only without the shield holders and mantle. The crest is an emerging double-headed Russian eagle, having on its chest a golden shield with a scarlet, under the same crown, monogram of the sovereign Emperor Nicholas I (N).”
The wives of emperors and other members of the imperial house combine the coat of arms of their spouse with their family coat of arms.
“The large coat of arms of the grand duchesses and princesses of the imperial blood is the same as the large coat of arms of their spouses, with the only difference being that the coats of arms surrounding the main shield are placed together with it on the same shield and in the middle of it, above the small shield, is the crown of Monomakh. To this coat of arms, on the same or another shield, is added the family coat of arms of the Grand Duchess or Princess of Imperial blood. The shield or shields are crowned with a small imperial crown and decorated with the insignia of the Order of the Holy Great Martyr Catherine. Shield holders, an imperial canopy or, instead, a mantle - just like in the spouse’s coat of arms.”
“The small coat of arms of the grand duchesses and princesses of the imperial blood is the same as the small coat of arms of their spouses, connected with the small coat of arms of the family of the grand duchesses or princesses of the imperial blood; The shield is crowned with an imperial crown and decorated with the insignia of the Order of the Holy Great Martyr Catherine.”
So, the coats of arms of the grand duchesses and princesses of the blood on the shield bear the same images that are assigned to the male descendants of the emperor in the same degree of kinship, they use the same shield holders; but, as already mentioned, a rhomboidal shield is used.
The large coat of arms of the emperor's daughters, like those of his sons, is a small Russian state coat of arms, but in a diamond-shaped shield, topped with an imperial crown and decorated with palm branches and insignia of the Order of the Holy Great Martyr Catherine. Shield holders - two Varangians. The coat of arms is surrounded by an imperial canopy, topped by an imperial crown
The small coat of arms of their imperial highnesses, daughters of the emperor, is the same as the large one, only without shield holders and canopy.
The large coat of arms of their imperial highnesses, the emperor's granddaughters in the direct male line (from the imperial sons), is similar to the coat of arms of the emperor's daughters and differs only in the shield holders; like the great princes - the emperor's grandchildren, these are golden unicorns with scarlet eyes and tongues.
The small coat of arms of Their Imperial Highnesses, the emperor's granddaughters, is the same as the large one, but without shield holders and canopy and with the addition of a border from the coat of arms of the Romanov family.
The large coat of arms of Their Highnesses the great-granddaughters of the emperor (after 1882, who bore the titles of princesses of the blood) is similar to the coat of arms of the daughters and granddaughters and differs only in the shield holders; these are black unicorns, with golden horns and hooves, with scarlet eyes and tongues. Their small coat of arms is the same as the large one, but without coats of arms on the eagle’s wings, without shield holders and canopy.
The large coat of arms of their lordships, the princesses of the blood, the great-great-granddaughters of the emperor, is similar to the coat of arms of the emperor's daughters, but without coats of arms on the wings of an eagle, and its shield holders are golden vultures with scarlet eyes and tongues. Their small coat of arms is the same as the large one, but without shield holders and canopy and with the addition of a border from the coat of arms of the Romanov family to the coat of arms.
Thus, in the coats of arms of princes and princesses of imperial blood, the Moscow coat of arms is not depicted on the chest of a double-headed eagle and the coats of arms of kingdoms and great principalities on its wings, and the imperial canopy (assigned to the title of grand duke) is replaced by a gold one, lined with ermine and dotted with black double-headed eagles. This group of coats of arms also uses the “Romanov” border, taken from the family coat of arms of 1856.
Special versions of the coat of arms were also developed for even more distant descendants of sovereigns who bore the title of lordship.
The large coat of arms of their lordships, the princesses of the blood, the daughters of the great-great-grandsons of the emperor and subsequent princes of the imperial blood, is a double-headed Russian eagle without coats of arms on the chest and wings, in a diamond-shaped shield, under the imperial crown. The shield is decorated with palm branches and insignia of the Order of the Holy Great Martyr Catherine. The shield holders here are two black vultures with scarlet eyes and tongues; instead of the imperial canopy, a golden mantle is used, dotted with black double-headed eagles and lined with ermine. Their small coat of arms is the same as the large one, only without shield holders and a mantle.
The large coat of arms of Their Imperial Highnesses, Their Highnesses and Their Lordships the Romanovsky princes is the same as the large coat of arms of Their Imperial Highnesses the Romanovsky princes, with the difference that it has a diamond-shaped shield under the imperial crown; The shield is decorated with palm branches and insignia of the Order of the Holy Great Martyr Catherine. Their small coat of arms is the same as the large one, only without shield holders and mantle.
The procedure for using a large or small coat of arms was not strictly regulated. As was established in 1856 (§ 33), “it is up to their Majesties, their Highnesses and their Lordships to determine in what places and on what objects their major and minor coats of arms should be depicted. On small things large coats of arms can be depicted without the imperial canopy and without the coats of arms located around the main shield.”
As we see, the Romanov coats of arms contained images of orders. In accordance with the “Establishment of the Imperial Family” and the statutes of the Russian imperial and royal orders, the head of the Russian Imperial House is the hereditary grand master of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called and the supreme superior of all Russian imperial and royal orders. Members of the Russian Imperial House are hereditary holders of this Order of St. Andrew and receive it: the Grand Dukes - at baptism, the princes of the imperial blood who have the title of Highness - upon reaching dynastic majority, and the younger members of the dynasty who have the title of Lordship, only “by the will of the Imperial Majesty "(all holders of the Order of St. Apostle Andrew the First-Called are simultaneously recognized as holders of the Orders of St. Alexander Nevsky, White Eagle, St. Anna 1st degree and St. Stanislav 1st degree and receive their signs, if they have not already been awarded them before). Women of the Russian Imperial House have the hereditary right to the female order of the Holy Great Martyr Catherine and receive its grand cross: grand duchesses - at baptism, princesses of imperial blood and those with the title of highness - upon reaching dynastic majority, and those with the title of lordship - “by the will of the imperial majesty.” The same order is received, after marriage, by the spouses of members of the imperial house, in accordance with the rank of their husbands. In this case, the empress (wife or widow of the sovereign) is the master of the order (head) of this order for life. For this reason, the coats of arms of members of the imperial house also include images of, respectively, the two highest orders with which they were awarded: for men - the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called, for women - St. Catherine. Both of these orders can be seen simultaneously only in the coats of arms of empresses - the consorts of sovereigns, to whom, in general, the “male” Order of St. Andrew has been awarded at coronation since 1797. An example of such a relatively modern coat of arms is the large coat of arms of Grand Duchess Leonida Georgievna, wife of Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich (who headed the Russian Imperial House in 1938-1992). This coat of arms contains both attributes of rank (signs of the orders of St. Andrew and St. Catherine), and the family coat of arms of the Bagration-Mukhrani princes (who, from the end of the 19th century, formed the senior branch of the Georgian royal house).
Additional, personal elements of the coats of arms of representatives of the imperial house could be symbols indicating their specific functions in military administration, added with the permission of the reigning emperor. So, for example, members of the imperial family who held the post of Admiral General (Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich, then Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich) added images of an anchor to their coats of arms, and two cannons were added to the coat of arms of Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich, General-Fieldmaster. Such special signs distinguished their coats of arms from the coats of arms of other members of the dynasty of the same degree of kinship.
Thus, in the middle of the 19th century. A rather complex system of Romanov family heraldry developed, which included, along with the ancient symbols of the Russian state, family emblems that belonged to the German ancestors of the imperial house, and emblems dating back to the Romanov family early heraldic monuments.
9 Troinitsky S.I. Coat of arms of the House of Romanov on objects stored in the Moscow Armory // Herbologist. February. St. Petersburg, 1913. True, in the design of the throne of Ivan and Peter Alekseevich, images of several other animals and birds are also used, and the griffin and lion occupy a rather modest place on this monument, located on both sides of the Moscow horseman striking the serpent, acting as if shield holders; the throne is crowned by three double-headed eagles (see: Solntsev F.G. Antiquities of the Russian State Det. P. Ancient royal rank, royal utensils and clothes. M., 1851).
11 As R. Palacios-Fernandez emphasizes, “the images of griffins and lions with other mythological characters found on royal household items have a different, state orientation, and sometimes simply decorative. So, for example, we find the coats of arms of four large prefectures used in the Byzantine Empire (an eagle for Italy, a vulture for Thallia, a unicorn for Asia and a lion for Illyria) on many things of the Moscow kings: on the saadak of the large outfit of Mikhail Fedorovich in 1628. together with the double-headed state eagle and the Moscow coat of arms (“a man on a horse, piercing a snake with a spear”), on a rifled arquebus, etc. Moscow, which proclaimed itself the “Third Rome,” quite consciously used Byzantine symbols from the time of Ivan III, by the 17th century, perhaps forgetting where these mythological characters came from and what they originally defined. Some of them were more loved by individual Moscow sovereigns, for example, Ivan the Terrible - the unicorn. However, they hardly had anything to do with the family symbols of the Romanovs who ascended the Moscow throne in 1613.”
12 Ibid. pp. 301 - 308. See also: Kulakov V.I. Heraldry of the Prussians and the genealogical roots of the clans traced in Russia to people “from Prussia” // Genealogy. Sources. Problems. Research methods. M., 1989.
13 In the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, having become the Soltyks, they used their own coat of arms (the name of which - Soltyk - comes from their surname), and crowned with a princely miter. See: Niesiecki K. Herbarz Polski. Lipsk, 1841. T. VIII. S. 458-464.
14 Barsov E.V. Painting of all sorts of things, money and supplies that remained after the death of the great boyar N.I. Romanova // CHOIDR. 1887. Book. 3. Dept. 1.
15 Later, in 1882, 1883,1891 and 1895. new designs of the large, medium and small coats of arms of the empire were approved. For more details, see, for example: Vilinbakhov G.B. State emblem of Russia. 500 years. St. Petersburg, 1997. pp. 47-51; Lebedev V. Sovereign Eagle of Russia; and etc.
16 Code of Laws of the Russian Empire (hereinafter SZRI). T. 1. Part 1 “Code of Basic State Laws.” Ch. 2 “On the order of succession to the throne.” St. Petersburg, 1906. Art. 25-38.
25 NWRI. T. 1.4. 2. Ch. 1 “On the degrees of kinship in the imperial house.” Art. 133.
26 Gabriel Konstantinovich, leader. book In the Marble Palace. St. Petersburg, 1993. pp. 7-8; Grebelsky P.Kh. House of Romanov and Russia. pp. 219-220.
27 For more information about this family, see: Grebelsky P.Kh. Dynastic connections between Russia and Europe. Los Angeles, 2003. pp. 109-114.
28 NWRI. T. 1 “Code of Basic State Laws.” Part 2 “Institution of the Imperial Family.” Ch. 5 “On the civil rights of members of the imperial house.” Art. 183 (“a marriage committed without consent is not recognized as legal”).
29 Ibid. Art. 188 (“A person of the imperial family who has entered into a marriage with a person who does not have the corresponding dignity, that is, who does not belong to any reigning or sovereign house, cannot communicate to either him or the offspring who may come from this marriage the rights belonging to the members imperial family").
30 Ibid. Ch. 3 “About titles, coats of arms and other external advantages.” Art. 154-156 and Appendix II “Detailed description of the coats of arms of members of the Russian Imperial House.” An attempt to systematize these monuments was made in 1993 by V.A. Durov (Personal coats of arms of members of the imperial family // Herboved. No. 4. P. 10-14).
31 The author of these drawings was the talented Russian heraldist artist A.A. Fadeev, employee of the Arms Department of the Heraldry Department of the Governing Senate. Subsequently, new coats of arms were created, in particular, for empresses and grand duchesses-consorts; in addition, in connection with changes in the state emblem, the coats of arms of the emperor and crown prince changed accordingly. The birth of Nicholas II's daughters, and in 1904 the heir, Tsarevich Alexei, was marked by the approval of their personal coats of arms, with all the attributes required by rank.
32 The “Romanov” border, as a secondary element of dynastic clan heraldry, could also be used in the coats of arms of the morganatic descendants of the Romanovs. An example is the coat of arms of the Most Serene Princes Paleev, approved by Nicholas II on February 26, 1916, the coat of arms of the morganatic wife and children of Grand Duke Pavel Alexandrovich, who received this title instead of the previously received German title of Counts von Hohenfelsen after the outbreak of the First World War. See: Dumin S.V. Princes of Paley, Counts von Hohenfelsen // Grebelsky P.Kh. House of Romanov and Russia / Ed. S.V. Dumina. Los Angeles, 2001, pp. 244-246.
33 NWRI. T. 1. Part 2 “Institution of the Imperial Family.” Ch. 3 “About titles, coats of arms and other external advantages.” Art. 154-156, and Appendix II “Detailed description of the coats of arms of members of the Russian Imperial House.”
34 PSZR. T. 1. Part 2 “Institution of the Imperial Family.” Ch. 3 “About titles, coats of arms and other external advantages.” Art. 157-160.
35 Dumin S.V. Large coat of arms of Her Imperial Highness the Empress Grand Duchess Leonida Georgievna // Herbologist. 1998. No. 3 (29). pp. 39-45.
06.10.2003 // R. Palacios
Since the last century, the concept of “coat of arms of the House of Romanov” means one compiled by Baron B.V. Kene during the reign of Emperor Alexander II, the coat of arms of the dynasty ruling in Russia since 1613. The funny thing about the situation was that during this reign the process of acquiring coats of arms by the Russian nobility, not to mention the ancient noble families, was practically completed. And almost the only ones who did not have heraldically decorated family symbols were members of the ruling dynasty. This was due to the fact that from the moment they came to power they used the state emblem, i.e. double-headed eagle as personal, not realizing for the time being the need for his own generic symbolism. Moreover, with the death in 1654 of the childless boyar N.I. Romanov - a cousin of the first Russian Tsar from this boyar family - the non-Tsarist branch of the Romanovs was cut short. And finally, the imperial family in the second half of the 19th century. wanted to acquire her own family coat of arms. The then King of Arms Baron B.V. Kene, based on the Romanov legend and the drawing on the ensign of the aforementioned boyar N.I. Romanov, creates a coat of arms, which receives the Highest approval on December 8, 1856, despite the lack of logic and the inconsistency between the history of the family and the symbolism of the new coat of arms.
Fig.1. The coat of arms of the Romanovs, compiled by Baron B.V. Köhne: “...Coat of arms of the Romanov Family: in a silver field there is a scarlet vulture holding a golden sword and tarch (a shield with a hole in the middle - R.P.), crowned with a small eagle; on a black border there are eight severed lion heads; four gold and four silver” (PSZ. T.32. 1857. No. 31720).
Let us turn to the thing from which, in fact, the main subjects for the newly created Romanov coat of arms were taken. It is generally accepted that all of them were depicted on N.I.’s ensign. Romanov, kept in the Armory. In some publications we can even see a drawing of this memorial item and make sure that, as on the coat of arms of the Romanovs performed by Baron Quesne, on the round shield of the griffin sits a small eagle with lowered wings, and in both slopes (tails) of the ensign, alternating, chopped lion heads in profile - silver, gold, silver, gold, etc. A round dance of these heads surrounds, accordingly, the inner shield of the Romanov coat of arms. It turns out that Bernhardt Koehne only replaced the gold color of the griffin from the ensign with a red one in the silver field in the coat of arms, apparently implying the Livland (?) roots of the family name, since Livland has been since the 16th century. had the reverse color combination of its coat of arms - a silver griffin in a red field. And this despite the fact that the Romanov legends clearly indicated that the founders of the family left Prussia, and not Livonia.
The fact is that Baron Quesne never saw this flag, since the last one was irretrievably lost long ago. And that same drawing is nothing more than a reconstruction of the second half of the 19th century. according to a description taken from the publication “Moscow Armory Chamber” by Veltman (1860). This description was made in the second half of the 17th century, after which traces of the ensign were lost. And if we read the original text again, and more carefully, we will avoid those practically fundamental errors that filled the “reconstruction” of the ensign made in the 19th century. and, accordingly, migrated to the officially approved coat of arms. So: “The ensign in the middle is white taffeta, the neck is sewn into yellow taffeta, with a sword, he holds a brand in his left paw, above the brand there is a black eagle, the edge is sewn into worm taffeta, yellow taffeta. The slopes are black, the chapters of Lviv are written in gold and silver, the edge is taffeta of different colors.” Firstly, “above the mark” means it does not sit on the shield, but is in the upper left corner, i.e. in the roof. Secondly, the concept of “stamp” does not mean a round shield, but the fact that in this place there is some text indicating the identity of the owner, or a Christian quote. Most likely - the first, since otherwise it is not clear why this particular ensign is associated with the royal cousin. Saints were also depicted in the marks surrounded by a cartouche, but in this case the description of the ensign would have indicated exactly what kind of religious subject was reproduced there. And the third: “... the chapters of Lviv were written in gold and silver,” does not mean their endless succession, but, as was customary then, one in each slope. And not in Western European style - in profile, but in Russian - full face, for which analogies have been preserved. By the way, there they looked clearly not severed. In addition, they wrote the “heads of Lviv” not one in silver and the other in gold, but simply both.
Fig.2. Ensign of boyar Nikita Ivanovich Romanov. Author's reconstruction based on the description of the Moscow Armory Chamber.
Baron Quesne was let down by many things: a lack of understanding of Russian designations for things and images of the 17th century, and adherence to purely Western European approaches in Russian heraldry, and, apparently, the urgency of fulfilling a “social” order. All this led to a rather mediocre result, which, however, due to its existence for more than a century, itself became a familiar historical fact.
As a result, clearly minor subjects, namely the griffin and lions, became dominant, and the griffin received the “status” of the family emblem. The small eagle, for some reason with drooping wings, turned from the main figure into such a run-of-the-mill one that in the description of the approved coat of arms they even forgot to write that it was black. Apparently, for this reason, there are color images of the Romanov coat of arms with a red (!) Eagle.
However, let’s return to the griffin: whatever one may say, his figure is the largest on the ensign. There is an elegant hypothesis about this by Baron M.A. Taube, set out by him in the article “On the history of the coat of arms of the House of Romanov” in the July “Herbologist” of 1913. Through beautiful and competent comparisons, he deduces that the Romanovs acquired this symbol from the grandfather of Tsar Mikhail - boyar Nikita Romanovich Zakharyin-Yuryev, the famous governor of Ivan the Terrible, who became famous in the Livonian War. At the same time, the respected author proves the significance of the griffin as an exclusively personal emblem of the boyar Nikita Romanovich, which was not subsequently forgotten by his descendants. But the author of the article simply did not find any traces of the Romanov family symbols. Baron Taube points to the image of a griffin with a sword on the coins of the city of Pernov taken by the boyar in 1575, where he later sat as a governor. Most likely, this was the case, especially since the royal patron, Ivan the Terrible, appropriated the emblems of the conquered lands, often using local money, which usually led to heraldic incidents. Perhaps Nikita Romanovich settled on the emblem of Livonia and made it personal in memory of his exploits. But subsequently, if not the boyar Nikita himself, then his descendants, including Tsar Mikhail Romanov, had to recognize that the coat of arms received by Livonia in 1566 was the own coat of arms of Jan Chodkiewicz, the Polish ruler of Livonia. And if this emblem received a “registration” from the Romanovs at first, it was probably not as the main one, especially after the Time of Troubles. Apparently, the coat of arms of the Chodkiewicz was seen more than once by the future Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, sitting with the Polish garrison in the Kremlin besieged by his future subjects in August 1612. Then the troops of the Great Lithuanian Hetman Jan Karol Chodkiewicz were unable to break through to China Town and the Kremlin. They went into battle with many banners, as there are eyewitness memories. Most likely, the commander's coat of arms was one of the most common emblems on the banners of this army of interventionists. If the griffin with a sword was already established among the Zakharyins-Yuryevs and the Romanovs as a kind of emblem, then after 1612 even the non-reigning branch of the Romanovs could hardly have wanted the Khodkiewicz coat of arms as their symbol.
Fig.3 (from left to right):
- a coin with the coat of arms granted to Livonia in 1566, minted in 1572-1573. for the Polish garrison of the city of Pernau;
- coat of arms of the Principality of Prussia on the banner (1542);
- coat of arms of West (Royal) Prussia (1542).
It’s another matter if the griffin and lion were, for similar reasons, chosen not to be of primary importance, but still inherent in the Romanov family. And this can be found indirect confirmation. The earliest item that has come down to us, specially made for members of the Romanov dynasty, is a ladle with the inscription “ladle of boyar Fyodor Nikitich Romanov...”. This item dates back to the end of the 16th century, since in 1599 Mikhail Fedorovich’s father was tonsured a monk under the name Filaret. So, under the toe of this ladle there is an engraved neck, and under the handle there is a lion. Perhaps the image on the back of the double throne of Tsars John and Peter Alekseevich on one side of the neck, on the other, of a lion, also has something to do with this. Although, as noted above, the reigning Romanovs abandoned their tribal symbols, replacing them with state symbols. And the images of griffins and lions with other mythological characters found on royal household items have a different, state orientation, and sometimes simply decorative. So, for example, we find the coats of arms of four large prefectures used in the Byzantine Empire (an eagle for Italy, a vulture for Gaul, a unicorn for Asia and a lion for Illyria) on many things of the Moscow kings: on the saadak of the large outfit of Mikhail Fedorovich in 1628. together with the double-headed state eagle and the Moscow coat of arms (“a man on a horse, piercing a snake with a spear”), on a rifled arquebus, etc. Moscow, which proclaimed itself the “Third Rome,” quite consciously used Byzantine symbols from the time of Ivan III, by the 17th century, perhaps forgetting where these mythological characters came from and what they originally defined. Some of them were more loved by individual Moscow sovereigns, for example, Ivan the Terrible - a unicorn. However, they hardly had anything to do with the family symbols of the Romanovs who ascended the Moscow throne in 1613.
So what remains for us? Black eagle, which in the middle of the 19th century. practically no attention was paid. The situation was complicated by the fact that the Romanovs, together with the Sheremetevs, Kolychevs and other ancient noble families, traced their ancestry back to Glanda Kambila (after baptism - Andrei Kobyla), who arrived in the service of the Moscow Grand Dukes, most likely in the last quarter of the 13th century. However, all of them, except the Romanovs, acquired them at the beginning of the 18th century. coats of arms based on the Gdańsk City Council, which was very logical based on the legend of the family, and perhaps had more serious roots for their coats of arms than was still generally believed. But this topic is worthy of a separate article.
In addition to the descendants of Glanda, there was another branch in Rus' (Saltykovs, Sheins, Kutuzovs), which considered as its ancestor another native of Prussian lands, namely Mikhail Prushanin. At the same time, they quite logically used the black Prussian eagle in their coats of arms. Since Prushanin went to Rus', according to legend, presumably before 1231, it is quite logical that they used the black raven as the family emblem of the Prussian warriors, which was subsequently transformed into the heraldic black eagle under the influence of Christianity. Prussian warriors were forced out of their homeland as a result of a conflict with the priestly elite at the turn of the 11th-12th centuries. And Prushanin could have gotten to the Moscow prince in the 12th century. not necessarily directly from Prussia, but from Lithuania, where quite a lot of Prussian emigrants lived, or from the Prusskaya Street of Veliky Novgorod, which arose at least before 1215. The descendants of Glanda Kambila, who left much later (at the end of the 13th century, and maybe in the 14th century), used in their coats of arms a theme opposed to the black eagle - crosses and oaks, since their ancestor belonged to another wave of Prussian emigration - those warriors who obeyed the priests and remained in their homeland, but were driven out of there in the 13th century. Teutonic knights. The whole story of the waves of Prussian emigration is described in sufficient detail in the works of a specialist in Prussian archeology and history V.I. Kulakova. Based on the presence of a black bird in Romanov symbolism and the fact that the rest of the descendants of Glanda Kambila took it at the end of the 17th and beginning of the 18th centuries. himself the Gdansk coat of arms, he concludes that Gland Kambila left Prussia earlier than the 13th century, i.e. was a vigilante.
Fig.4 (from left to right):
- horse head pendant from the Prussian burial of Irzekapinis (ca. 1000-1050);
- tip of a sword scabbard from the Prussian burial ground Rzhevskoye (ca. 975);
- cartouche from the book of P. Terletsky with the coat of arms of B.P. Sheremetev (1698)
V. Kulakov’s hypothesis was based on a seemingly well-known fact - the artificiality of the coat of arms of Count B.P. Sheremetev, since this coat of arms was invented by Peter Terletsky and published in a book published in 1698. Accordingly, other related families used the coat of arms of the city of Danzig (Gdansk) attached to the family legend. However, Terletsky’s book itself, which contained a drawing of this coat of arms, was published in 1695, and not in 1698, and was not a consequence of B.P.’s European tour. Sheremetev 1697-1698 In addition, we have information that allows us to assert that the Sheremetev coat of arms was only finally formed by the end of the 17th century, and some of its semantic and color elements were used by members of the clan earlier.
Various family symbols of the descendants of Glanda Kambila and the Romanovs may refer the latter to the first wave of Prussian emigration, i.e. to Mikhail Prushanin, Voivode Gavrilo or someone else.
It’s strange that we were able to find an image of an ensign who has a clear connection to the Romanovs. In other Russian clans, when established in the 18th century. It didn’t even have its own emblem. True, boyar Nikita Romanov was famous during his lifetime for his love of Western European innovations, but can one conclude on this basis that he consciously used family symbols on household items and banners? Probably, the drawing on the ensign is not enough for this statement. Although in similar plot ensigns of military units of that time we find: “...from the shaft in the brand there is a double-headed eagle...” or a cross, and in the middle there could be a griffin or another image, but the presence of a double-headed eagle in the roof clearly indicated to belong to the public service. And the one-headed one among the Romanovs belongs to the clan.
Fig.5. Banner of boyar Nikita Ivanovich Romanov. Author's reconstruction based on the description of the Moscow Armory Chamber.
But in addition to the description of such a thing, in general, not of primary importance as an ensign, there is a description of the large banner of the same boyar. According to the inventory of the Moscow Armory Chamber in 1687, it was like this: “... three hands extend from the cloud above; one with a cross, another with a crown, the third with a sword, in the middle there is an eagle in black taffeta, on it is a mark made of red taffeta, with an inscription in gold: boyar Nikita Ivanovich Romanov; The border is black with taffeta stripes of different colors, and there is multi-colored silk fringe all around.” The lack of indication of the color of the panel itself, as well as the abundant painting, indicate its most likely white color. It is probably no coincidence that the hands emerging from the cloud are holding a cross, a crown (an open crown) and a sword. A hand with a sword, together with a black eagle, is an obligatory part of the Polish coat of arms of Soltyk and the coat of arms of West Prussia - part of the Kingdom of Poland. The crown in the second hand is the crown on the bird's head. The hand with the crown dates back to the 14th century. in the coat of arms of the city of Kneiphof - one of the three components of the city coat of arms of Königsberg. But the hand with a cross coming out of the cloud is simply the coat of arms of that very Livonian city of Pernov (Pernau), significant for the military glory of the Romanovs. So, having reconstructed the banner of N.I. according to the description. Romanov, we almost get the coat of arms of the Prussian Electorate (since 1525), i.e. black single-headed eagle in a silver (white) field.
And one last thing. After the death of N.I. Romanov, his property went to the sovereign treasury, since his direct heir was the royal cousin Mikhail Fedorovich. In the lengthy inventory of the deceased’s belongings, there is practically no mention of images on the utensils, except for: “... a gold eagle covered with sparkles of diamonds...” and “... samples of planed eagles laced with pearls, great four nests...”. But most importantly, the boyar’s signet is described in detail: “...a ring of gold tompaz, an eagle with a crown cut seal...”. Since the possibility is excluded that the boyar, as a private individual, could seal his papers with a double-headed state eagle, there is no other option than a single-headed one under the crown!
Fig.6 (from left to right):
- coat of arms of the city of Pernova (Pernau);
- Polish coat of arms Soltyk;
- coat of arms of the city of Kneiphof.
Based on the symbolism of the banner, ensign and seal, we believe that the Romanovs in the 17th century. They used the image of a black eagle on a white field as a family emblem, and the golden griffin with a sword and a lion occupied a secondary meaning in their symbolism, more consistent with the level of shield holders. These were, for example, the two lions in the Sheremetev coat of arms. Thus, the opposition of crows - a tree, which arose in Prussia at the turn of the 11th-12th centuries, is realized in the coats of arms of both Prussian secular state entities: the Electorate of Prussia and West Prussia of Poland - a black eagle and the Prussian city of Danzig (Gdansk), independent of them, - an idolatrous oak . The same situation was repeated in two lines of Russian clans “from the Prussians”. The only question remains: if both the Sheremetevs and the Romanovs descended from Andrei Kobyla, then why did the latter use an earlier version of symbolism?
Bibliography:
1. Barsov E.V. Painting of all sorts of things, money and supplies that remained after the death of the great boyar N.I. Romanova // CHOIDR. 1887. Book 3. Dept.1.
2. Bobrovsky I.O. History of the Life Guards Preobrazhensky Regiment. T.1. St. Petersburg 1900.
3. Coats of arms of cities, provinces, regions and towns of the Russian Empire. M., 1991.
4. Lerman G.M. Historical heraldry of the city of Koenigsberg // Herbologist. No. 10 (2.1996), M.
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In the history of the Romanov dynastic coat of arms there are no less blank spots than in the history of the dynasty itself. For some reason, for a long time the Romanovs did not have their own coat of arms at all; they used the state coat of arms, with the image of a double-headed eagle, as a personal one.
Their own family coat of arms was created only under Alexander II. By that time, the heraldry of the Russian nobility had practically taken shape, and only the ruling dynasty did not have its own coat of arms. It would be inappropriate to say that the dynasty did not have much interest in heraldry: even under Alexei Mikhailovich, the “Tsar’s Titular Book” was published - a manuscript containing portraits of Russian monarchs with the coats of arms of Russian lands.
Perhaps such loyalty to the double-headed eagle is due to the need for the Romanovs to show legitimate continuity from the Rurikovichs and, most importantly, from the Byzantine emperors. As is known, starting with Ivan III, people begin to talk about Rus' as the successor of Byzantium. Moreover, the king married Sophia Palaeologus, the granddaughter of the last Byzantine emperor Constantine. They took the symbol of the Byzantine double-headed eagle as their family coat of arms.
In any case, this is just one of many versions. It is not known for certain why the ruling branch of the huge empire, which was related to the noblest houses of Europe, so stubbornly ignored the heraldic orders that had developed over the centuries.
The long-awaited appearance of the Romanovs’ own coat of arms under Alexander II only added more questions. The development of the imperial order was undertaken by the then king of arms, Baron B.V. Kene. The basis was taken as the ensign of the governor Nikita Ivanovich Romanov, at one time the main oppositionist Alexei Mikhailovich. Its description is more accurate, since the banner itself was already lost by that time. It depicted a golden griffin on a silver background with a small black eagle with raised wings and lion heads on its tail. Perhaps Nikita Romanov borrowed it from Livonia during the Livonian War.
The new coat of arms of the Romanovs was a red griffin on a silver background, holding a golden sword and tarch, crowned with a small eagle; on the black border there are eight severed lion heads; four gold and four silver. Firstly, the changed color of the griffin is striking. Historians of heraldry believe that Quesne decided not to go against the rules established at that time, which prohibited placing a golden figure on a silver background, with the exception of the coats of arms of such high-ranking persons as the Pope.
Thus, by changing the color of the griffin, he lowered the status of the family coat of arms. Or the “Livonia version” played a role, according to which Kene emphasized the Livonian origin of the coat of arms, since in Livonia since the 16th century there was a reverse combination of coat of arms colors: a silver griffin on a red background.
There is still a lot of controversy about the symbolism of the Romanov coat of arms. Why is so much attention paid to lion heads, and not to the figure of an eagle, which, according to historical logic, should be in the center of the composition? Why is it with lowered wings, and what, ultimately, is the historical background of the Romanov coat of arms?
A coat of arms for a nobleman is like a uniform for a soldier. For a person involved in military service, it is enough to look at the uniform and the military rank, branch of service, or even unit will immediately become clear. What educational institution did you graduate from, what was awarded, whether you were wounded, how many times you jumped with a parachute, and much more. And this is not only a demonstration of merit, a designation of the merits of the owner of the uniform, but also a clear, unambiguous designation of his place in the military hierarchy. At first glance, it becomes clear who is in charge here and a management system is being formed. That is why the army is so attentive to the uniform, strictly prosecuting violations of it. So it is in heraldry. The owner's coat of arms carries a lot of information about the owner and that is why there is such a discipline as heraldry, which not only studies the artistic merits of coats of arms (and many of them are of artistic value), but rather forms strict rules for the design of coats of arms.
It was from the point of view of understanding heraldry as an exact science, whose task is the semiotic (symbolic) design of the status of the owner of the coat of arms, his place in the noble hierarchy, that I became interested in the coat of arms of the Russian Imperial dynasty (Romanovs). I’ll make a reservation right away. I am not a specialist and to some my article will seem amateurish and the questions asked naive. Therefore, I propose to consider this material as an invitation to conversation and would be grateful if a heraldry specialist expresses his opinion by clearly and unambiguously deciphering the family coat of arms of the dynasty that ruled in Russia.
Let's start with the description:
“Coat of arms of the Romanov Family: in a silver field there is a scarlet vulture holding a golden sword and tarch, crowned with a small eagle; on the black border there are eight severed lion heads; four gold and four silver.”
- “PSZ. T.32. 1857. No. 31720"
This is an exact reproduction of the description approved by Alexander the Second, an official document, so the expression “torn off lion heads” immediately raised questions. Why did the authors of the description not limit themselves to mentioning that the heads are depicted, but specified that they are separated from the bodies and not just separated, but in a crude barbaric way? The lion has always been a symbol of power and military valor. Therefore, it is more “decent” for the head of the bearer of power to be cut off on the chopping block or in battle. And here they are “severed”.
What does the presence of dead lion heads mean in principle? Representatives of the clan who died a violent, ignoble death? Or, on the contrary, defeated enemies who, in the opinion of the owner of the coat of arms, did not deserve a noble death? Why are there eight of them? Why are four of them gold and four are silver? There is a beautiful hypothesis that these are the murdered Russian emperors and heirs. But it doesn't add up. At the time of the creation of the coat of arms, there were three dead emperors: Peter the Third, Paul the First, Ivan the Sixth. Was there anyone else that the general public doesn't know about? What happened to the heirs is not at all clear.
Now the griffin. It symbolizes power, might, speed and strength. It combines the characteristics of two royal animals: the eagle - the king of birds and the lion - the king of beasts. Theoretically, this beast should symbolize power over rulers. But then where does this sign come from on the coat of arms of the nobles who were not the most titled and well-born before their accession? It is reliably known that Nikita Ivanovich Romanov, for example, used a griffin on his ensign; an image of a griffin is available on the Chambers of the Romanov Boyars on Varvarka.
Why does the coat of arms depict a black single-headed eagle, which is historically associated with Prussia? Russia's relations with Prussia have always been far from ideal. Was it worth placing this notorious irritant for many on the coat of arms of the Russian emperors?
Now about the time of creation of the coat of arms. Until the mid-19th century, Russian emperors managed just fine without their own coat of arms. Why are you suddenly concerned? Peter the Great, having adopted much from Europe, did not bother to provide a coat of arms for his own dynasty. Paul the First established the “General Arms of the Russian Empire”, but also did not remember his own surname. But literally immediately after the death of Nicholas the First (in 1855), the coat of arms was developed and approved. I would venture to suggest that according to the current heraldic rules, the Romanovs were entitled to a coat of arms with a low status, indecent for the status of an emperor. How indecent it is for an army commander to wear the insignia of a major. Perhaps, for these reasons, both Peter and Paul decided that none was better than this?
Why are there no Russian symbols on the coat of arms of the Russian emperors, for example an Orthodox cross or the same double-headed eagle?
Probably, all my questions have simple answers, and a qualified heraldist will simply and intelligibly decipher the coat of arms of the dynasty that ruled Russia for 300 years.
The dynastic situation in the Russian Imperial House is not simple, but in order not to complicate things, we will call them the Romanovs, after the surname of the first holder of the imperial title and simplicity.
Let us remember that nobles in the Middle Ages had their heads cut off; this was considered a noble form of execution.
Representative of the Brunswick branch of the Romanovs, great-grandson of Ivan V. Born in 1740, reigned in infancy (1740-1741) under the regency of Biron, and then of his mother Anna Leopoldovna. Overthrown by Elizabeth, killed during the conspiracy of Lieutenant Mirovich in 1764.
The original article is here.
Since the election of sixteen-year-old Mikhail Romanov to the throne in 1613, for more than two centuries the kings of the Romanov dynasty used the state coat of arms (the Double-Headed Eagle) as both a personal and family coat of arms. His family coat of arms (unlike the European kings and emperors, starting with Ancient Rome, whose coat of arms was the Golden Eagle: not double-headed, unlike the symbol of Byzantium - although the Empire of Rome with its capital in the city of Rome was located in both Europe and Asia - but most normal, single-headed, like all living things) the kings did not have the Romanov family. Which was pragmatically justified, since the Romanovs were inferior in nobility to many boyar families, not being Rurikovichs or Gedeminovichs. As well as the Chingizids. The nobility of which from Ivan Kalita to approximately Tsar Boris (not Yeltsin, Godunov), a Tatar by birth, was revered not lower but higher than the Rurikovichs. That in the state of the Genghisids, which stretched over two continents, even after the collapse of the Great Eurasian Mongol Power (the capital of which was moved to Beijing from the steppe by Genghis Khan’s grandson), it was completely natural for a principality that was part of the Empire. The presence of the Romanov Family Coat of Arms and the names of each Emperor would immediately draw attention to the lack of nobility of the family, and this in turn was a potential source of discontent, gossip, whispers and attempts to change the dynasty. Which, by the way, happened with every weakening of the Romanov Autocracy. To Khovanshchina, in particular. And after the death of Peter the Second. And also after the reforms of Alexander the Liberator: as he freed the peasants from slavery, attempts began to attempt to change the system. Well, there is nothing to say about 1905 and 1917, everyone knows about this - and you and I also know about our destinies.
The decisive young tsar, twenty-nine-year-old Nicholas I, conceived the idea of creating the Romanov family coat of arms immediately after the suppression of the Decembrist Uprising. Deciding to stop, after two hundred years of rule by the Empire of his ancestors, to be ashamed of his own ancestry, which was not from the most noble families, revered in heraldry, as well as according to the rank books. From the records in which one could see the history of each clan, not only by name and who the parents of each boyar and nobleman were, but also what place each of its representatives occupied in the sovereign service, starting with the first representatives of each boyar clan. Class books, which could not be forged and which were kept in Rus' for centuries, by order of Peter the Great's half-brother Fyodor Alekseevich, who reigned from 1675 to 1682, were destroyed (about which act of the son of Alexei Mikhailovich, truly one can say super-historical, the textbooks of Russian History do not tell ). Thus, the destruction of the past in order to replace it and rewrite History in Russia is not an innovation of the communists (as one might think when reading textbooks and the liberal press), but has ancient (not only Russian) roots.
Nicholas the First decided to stop the two-hundred-year “game of hide and seek” between the Romanovs and their family tree. Immediately after ascending the throne, he decided to show that he was absolutely confident in the “naturalness” (aka sacredness and therefore inviolability of the Rulers: and this was after the murder of his father and grandfather!) of his power. Having established (after a two-hundred-year delay) the Coat of Arms of the House of Romanov. This is the background to the creation of the first coat of arms of the Romanov family - it is also the background. I say the first, because the second followed the first. Fundamentally different from the Nicholas Coat of Arms of the House of Romanov. What about heraldry, which is super-conservative, is generally speaking strange. If, of course, you look not from Mother Rus' (in which absolutely everything is possible for good or for that which is opposite to good), but from “ossified” Europe. The nominal coat of arms of the Romanovs, created in 1826 but not advertised among the people (which also, if you “look” from Europe, is “a little” not standard), looked like this:
Immediately after the accession of Nikolai Pavlovich’s son, Alexander II, to the throne of the Russian Empire, the new tsar decided to radically change the family coat of arms. That in heraldry, we repeat once again, is absolutely not accepted - but in Russia the Absolute Ruler, even the Liberator and Liberal, can command absolutely everything! (to command does not mean to turn it into reality, but it can command). To create the New Coat of Arms of the Romanovs (as well as other coats of arms), by order of the Sovereign, an Arms Department was created, headed by Baron B. Kene. This is what the new coat of arms of the family, adopted by Alexander as the family coat of arms of the Romanovs, looked like:
Along with this, a more complete than the ancestral house of the Romanovs, His Imperial Majesty's Family Coat of Arms, was adopted:
the verbal description of which is as follows: “The shield is cut. To the right is the coat of arms of the Romanov family: in a silver field there is a scarlet vulture holding a golden sword and tarch, crowned with a small eagle, on a black border there are eight severed lion heads, four gold and four silver. To the left is the coat of arms of Schleswig-Holstein: a four-part shield with a special end at the bottom and a small shield in the middle. In the first scarlet part there is the Norwegian coat of arms: a golden crowned lion with a silver halberd, in the second golden part there is the Schleswig coat of arms: two azure leopard lions, in the third scarlet part there is the Holstein coat of arms: a crossed small shield, silver and scarlet, around it is silver, cut into three parts, a nettle leaf and three silver nails with ends to the corners of the shield, in the fourth part - the Stormaran coat of arms: a silver swan with black paws and a gold crown on the neck, at the scarlet end - the Ditmarsen coat of arms: a golden rider with a raised sword on a silver horse covered black cloth, the middle small shield is also dissected: in the right half is the coat of arms of Oldenburg - on a golden field there are two scarlet belts, in the left - the coat of arms of Delmengorst - in an azure field there is a gold one, with a cross at the sharp end at the bottom. This small shield is crowned with a grand ducal crown, and the entire shield is crowned with a royal one.”
It would seem beautiful and mysterious. Here’s just one tiny detail, if you look at least a little and think about it, it’s amazing: ON THE NAMED ROMANOV’S COAT OF ARMS – BOTH THE ONE THAT WAS ESTABLISHED BY NICHOLAS THE FIRST, AND THE ONE THAT WAS APPROVED BY HIS SON ALEXANDER THE SECOND, THERE IS NOT A SINGLE RUSSIAN SYMBOL. NOT A SINGLE RUSSIAN DETAIL SAYS THAT THIS IS THE COAT OF ARMS NOT OF ANY EUROPEAN PRINCES OR KINGS, BUT OF RUSSIAN TSARS. NOT A SINGLE RUSSIAN NATIONAL TRAIT, SYMBOL OR IMAGE, WHICH IS CHARACTERISTIC FOR EUROPEAN HERALDRY, IS ON THE COAT OF ARMS OF THE HOUSE OF ROMANOV! IS IT NOT STRANGE TO YOU, GENTLEMEN RUSSIANS, THE ELECTORATE AND THE GOVERNMENT, BUSINESSMAN AND THE HOMELESS, HOUSEWIVES AND THE PRESIDENT?!
If someone says: “national symbols shouldn’t be like that on heraldry,” then he is deeply mistaken. On the small coat of arms of the Russian Empire there is a “double-headed eagle” (which became the State Emblem, and not just an image on coins, under Ivan the Terrible, and after the collapse of the Russian Empire and then the USSR, the Emblem of the Federation with minimal changes, such as a horseman trampling a serpent, as emphasized in description, is not the coat of arms of Moscow, as on the small Coat of Arms of the Russian Empire: a difference that can only be noticed by a heraldry specialist) - there were several national symbols: an orb and a scepter in the paws of an eagle (first placed in the coat of arms under Alexei Mikhailovich); three crowns of Russian sovereigns with an Orthodox cross above two eagle heads, which first appeared on the great seal of Boris Godunov, remained on the small coats of arms of Russia until 1917 and reappeared on the coat of arms of the Federation without specifying the symbolism); Well, it goes without saying that the Coat of Arms of Moscow is on the chest of an Eagle with two Heads. And all of them - every single one - were removed from the Romanov family coat of arms! Isn't it amazing?
There were even more national symbols on the Great Coat of Arms of the Russian Empire, adopted at the very beginning of the reign of Alexander the Second’s son Alexander the Third.
The description of which begins as follows: “in the golden shield there is a black double-headed eagle, crowned with two imperial crowns, above which is the same, but in a large form, crown, with two fluttering ends of the ribbon of the Order of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called. The state eagle holds a golden scepter and orb. On the chest of the eagle is the coat of arms of Moscow: in a scarlet shield with gold edges, the Holy Great Martyr and Victorious George, in silver weapons and an azure cape (mantle), on a silver horse, covered with crimson cloth with gold fringe, slaying a golden, with green wings, a golden dragon, with an eight-pointed cross at the top, a spear. The main shield (with the State coat of arms) is crowned with the helmet of the Holy Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky” and so on. Whatever the symbol is, it’s Russian, national. And in the family Coat of Arms of the Romanov family there are not a single national symbol! All national symbols of the Coat of Arms of the Russian Empire on the Coat of Arms of the Romanov Family are absent - or rather, removed. Which couldn't have been accidental. On the Romanov Family Coat of Arms you will find the Schleswig-Holstein coat of arms, the Norwegian coat of arms, and the Schleswig coat of arms in addition to the Schlewig-Holstein coat of arms (“two azure leopard lions, in the third scarlet part”) and the Holstein coat of arms, and the Stormaran coat of arms, and the Dietmarsen coat of arms (which is this a kind of Ditmarsenia, as well as Stormarnia? But if they placed Russian symbols on the coat of arms of the Romanovs, but they did not consider it necessary to place Russian symbols, then Ditmarsenia and Stormarnia were more important for the “Orthodox Russian tsars” than the whole of Russia: how else can one understand?) , coat of arms of Oldenburg, coat of arms of Delmenhorst (again: what is Delmengoria and why is it on the family Coat of Arms of the Russian Tsars?). And also - “in an azure field there is a golden cross with a sharp end at the bottom.” The cross, I note, is not Orthodox, but surprisingly reminiscent of the sword of the crusaders. Well, just one in one sword-cross of the Crusades, sharpened with a kriza and with a hilt... And this entire shield-symbol is crowned with a grand-ducal (not royal - ducal) crown, and the entire shield is crowned with a royal one. Not royal - royal!!!
No less curious is the description of the left side of the shield (itself a symbol of the Romanov Family, adopted upon the accession of Alexander II to the throne): “Coat of arms of the Romanov Family: in a silver field there is a scarlet vulture holding a golden sword and tarch, crowned with a small eagle; on the black border there are eight severed lion heads; four gold and four silver." Nightmarish, if you look at least a little, Coat of Arms. Not someone seedy, but the kings of the most imperial empire of the New Time! Bosch is taking a break from these apocalyptic nightmares depicted on the coat of arms of the Romanov house. A griffin resembling a dragon (not defeated, as on the small Coat of Arms of the Russian Empire with a double-headed eagle, but triumphantly living and marching), whose heads were torn off from their bodies... And by the way: whose eight heads were torn off? Why is there no verbal explanation of these symbols in the official verbal descriptions of the family coat of arms of the Russian Tsars, nor in encyclopedias or textbooks? Perhaps they contained Alexander’s premonition of a terrible fate predicted for him and seven assassination attempts, the last of which would kill him? But why, in this case, are there not seven but eight goals? Maybe the eighth head of Alexander II's grandson Nicholas II? Maybe they encrypt the past of the Romanovs, many of whom, as we know, were killed? Catherine the Great alone killed two emperors at once: the grandson of Peter the Great, who was also HER husband, Peter the Third, and Ivan Antonovich, the great-great-grandson of the co-ruler of Peter the Great, Ivan the Fifth. So maybe the severed lion heads are about these murders? Or do they also foresee the future tragic fate of both Alexander II himself and his family? Who tore off heads and to whom: the Romanovs or the Romanovs? Why is the symbolism of the Romanov family coat of arms classified? No less than, say, the secrets of the Bolshevik Putsch, as a result of which the anti-Bolshevik communist Yeltsin came to power, the lists of KGB informers and the secrets of the NKVD dungeons? Since the descendants of the Romanovs are alive, why don’t they declassify this symbolism (since they claim patriotism and even power in some Future in the Russian Empire), and also just so that no new questions arise for their ancestors (whom there's plenty of that already). Moreover, the interpretation of the symbols on the Romanov family coat of arms (just like the symbol on the coat of arms of the kings of England and Spain, as well as the coat of arms of the Lovers in long-non-monarchical France) should become part of Russian history programs at school. Since it is no less than the coat of arms of the Emperors who ruled the Superpower Empire!
What was the purpose of removing Russian symbols and details from the Family Coat of Arms of the Romanovs (both Nikolaevsky and Aleksandovsky)? Question for readers and experts. I will express my own assumption based on common sense. Letting readers and heraldry experts (if they are not extinct) express their versions. And also correct me if I'm wrong.
It seems to me to say, looking at the Family Coats of Arms of the House of Romanov. This is what follows. The Russian Emperors felt themselves to be Europeans to a much greater extent than Russians. Which by blood they were not. In textbooks and literature, it is casually noted that in each subsequent generation there was less and less Russian blood in the Russian tsars (decreasing in the genes of Nicholas II to 1/(2^7) = 1/128. In reality, the “Russian Orthodox Sovereigns” felt themselves as Russians to about the same extent as their blood was Russian. Their European roots, affairs and ancestors worried them to an incomparably greater extent than what was happening in the country entrusted to their leadership, much like the directors of the enterprise appointed by the nomenklatura, thrown out of Moscow. for example, to Kazakhstan (like Brezhnev by Khrushchev in 1954) or, like Malenkov after his overthrow, by the power plant in Ekibastuz. From Peter until the fall of the dynasty, Russian sovereigns and the vast majority of members of the House of Romanov married into the ruling dynasties of Europe. connections with Europe are higher than everything that happened in Russia. And according to this, Russia was viewed as a country entrusted to them, which was considered to belong to them (approximately like the control of property today by oligarchs, bankers, and generals appointed by the government). At the same time, they do not consider themselves Russians.
It sounds crazy, I agree. How else can we understand this, looking at the Coat of Arms of the Romanov Family, on which there is not a single Russian symbol, but instead there are many European symbols?
Another thing is that the fact that Russia, starting with Petrova’s daughter, was ruled by emperors with a German (European) worldview) may be good. They tried to at least change Rus' about which ancient Russian chronicles wrote “ Our land is great and abundant, but there is no order in it, come reign and rule over us.” So they came to reign (reign): not from Scandinavia, like Rurik and his brothers, but mainly from Germany. Trying for more than two hundred years to restore at least some order. Another thing is how successful they were. Everyone can check the degree of success of the two-hundred-year project of establishing German (European) order in Rus', and at least some kind, by watching the “Time” program on any day. Looking around, wherever you are. And also, so to speak, looking in the mirror. And also for your life.
Sounds strange, unpatriotic and wild? Glad to be wrong. But the Family Coats of Arms of the House of Romanov, on which many symbols are placed, seemed to be completely secondary, looking from the historical removal and from Russia in general, but from which all Russian symbols were carefully removed, it seems that they do not allow any other interpretation. What do you think?