The Evolution of the Szekler Community’s Coat of Arms

Abstract

The heraldic literature mentions an ‘old’ and a ‘newer’ Szekler coat of arms. The ‘old’ coat of arms survived in several places from the end of the 15th  century in the most frequented receptacle of the community, in the churches. The ’old’ Szekler coat of arms lived on the coats of arms of two towns and one county. The elements of the ‘newer’ Szekler coat of arms, the sun and the crescent moon gradually found their way into the official coats of arms in the era of the Principality of Transylvania. The ruling princes, next to their family coats of arms, included the symbols of the Transylvanian estates in their coats of arms. In 1659 the Transylvanian Diet codified the seals of the estates. The Transylvanian counties should have a half of an eagle, the Szeklers should have a half moon and a sun, the Saxons should have seven towns. The tinctures of the Szekler nation’s coat of arms took shape based on the custom. The tinctures were visualized in the 1765 letter-patent issued by Queen Maria Theresia, promoting Transylvania to the rank of great-principality. The coat of arms of Transylvania containing the Szekler pair of symbols, were introduced in the ’middle’ coat of arms of Kingdom of Hungary after the Austrian-Hungarian compromise, they were also built in the coat of arms enacted in 1921 for the Kingdom of Romania.