Krikščionybės simboliai miestelių heraldikoje ir kultūrinė atmintis: Šiaurės Lietuvos atvejis | Christian Symbols in the Heraldry of Small Towns and Cultural Memory: Case Study of Northern Lithuania
Volume 27 (2013): Krikščioniškosios tradicijos raiška viduramžių – naujausiųjų laikų kasdienybės kultūroje: europietiški ir lietuviški puslapiai = The Development of Christian Tradition in Every-day Culture in the Late Middle Ages and Early Modern Period …, pp. 149–159
Pub. online: 19 December 2013
Type: Article
Open Access
Open Access
Published
19 December 2013
19 December 2013
Abstract
This article studies the coats of arms of seven small northern Lithuanian towns which depict Christian symbols. A town‘s heraldry comprises a coat of arms, an heraldic flag and an heraldic seal. The coat of arms forms the basis for both flag and seal. The heraldic device has a certain meaning and gives information about its owner. It also reflects what was important for those who obtained the arms and it should be important too for modern inhabitants of the towns. Therefore the study attempts not only to present a concise account of how urbam coats of arms were formed but also to examine what such coats of arms mean to townsfolk today. Can coats of arms with Christian devices occupy an important place in the cultural memory of people in small towns? What efforts should be made to ensure that such coats of arms are not forgotten or misunderstood?