Coat of arms of Lithuania
The coat of arms of Lithuania is a mounted armoured knight holding a sword and shield, known as Vytis (pronounced ['vîːtɪs]). Since the early 15th century, it has been Lithuania's official coat of arms and is one of the oldest European coats of arms. It is also known by other names in various languages, such as Waykimas, Pagaunė in the Lithuanian language or as Pogonia, Pogoń, Пагоня (romanized: Pahonia) in the Polish, and Belarusian languages. Vytis is translatable as Chase, Pursuer, Knight or Horseman, similar to the Slavic vityaz (Old East Slavic for brave, valiant warrior). Historically – raitas senovės karžygys (mounted epic hero of old) or in heraldry – raitas valdovas (mounted sovereign).
| Coat of arms of Lithuania Lietuvos herbas Vytis (Pogonia, Pahonia) | |
|---|---|
| Armiger | Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Republic of Lithuania |
| Adopted | 1366 (first documented) 1991 (current official version) |
| Shield | Gules, an armoured knight armed cap-à-pie mounted on a horse salient holding in his dexter hand a sword Argent above his head. A shield Azure hangs on the sinister shoulder charged with a double cross (Cross of Lorraine) Or. The horse saddles, straps, and belts Azure. The hilt of the sword and the fastening of the sheath, the stirrups, the curb bits of the bridle, the horseshoes, as well as the decoration of the harness, all Or. |
| Earlier version(s) | see below |
The once powerful and vast Lithuanian state, first as Duchy, then Kingdom, and finally Grand Duchy was created by the initially pagan Lithuanians, in reaction to pressures from the Teutonic Order and Swordbrothers which conquered modern-day Estonia and Latvia, forcibly converting them to Christianity. The Lithuanians are the only Balts that created a state before the modern era. Moreover, the pressure stimulated Lithuanians to expand their lands eastward into territory of Ruthenian Orthodox in the Dnieper's upper basin and that of the Eurasian nomads in the Eurasian Steppe between lower Dnieper and Dniester, conquering present-day Belarusian, Ukrainian, and Russian lands in the process. This expansive Lithuania was conveyed in the coat of arms of Lithuania, the galloping horseman. The usage of the coat of arms of Lithuania spread even further throughout the country as the Third Statute of Lithuania (adopted in 1588) required to use it on each county's seal.
The ruling Gediminid dynasty first adopted the horseback knight as a dynastical symbol which depicted them. Later, in the early 15th century, Grand Duke Vytautas the Great made the mounted knight on a red field the coat of arms of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Ever since, the Lithuanian rulers and nobles related to the ruling dynasty used the coat of arms. The knight's shield was designed for decoration with the Columns of Gediminas or the Jagiellonian Double Cross. Article 15 of the Constitution of Lithuania, approved by national referendum in 1992, stipulates, "The Coat of Arms of the State shall be a white Vytis on a red field".