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| 1963, Coat of Arms Heraldic Animals 0.05 mk Finland |
1963, Coat of Arms Heraldic Animals 0.05 M Finland
Text:Suomi Finland 0.05 mk
Condition: Ø = used
Title: Lion
Weapon (XI)
Face value: 5
Stamp Currency: markka
Country/area: Finland
Year: 1963
Set: 1963
Lion
Stamp number in set: 1
Basic colour: Blue
Exact colour: Blue violet
Usage:
Franking
Type: Stamp
Theme: Heraldry
Stamp subject:
Michel number: 556 x 1
Yvert number: 576
Scott number:
Stanley Gibbons number:
Printing office: Security Printing
Press Nasik
Perforation: K 11¾
Watermark: Without watermark
Printing: Gravure
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The coat of arms of Finland is a
crowned lion on a red field, the right fore paw replaced with an armoured hand
brandishing a sword, trampling on a saber with the hind paws. The coat of arms
was originally created around the year 1580.
Background
The lion in Nordic heraldry
The heraldic lion is quite common in
Western Europe, and several European countries incorporate it into their
national coats of arms. In Nordic heraldry, the lion is first found in the coat
of arms of Denmark in the later part of the 12th century.
Starting in the 12th century, the territory
of today's Finland was gradually incorporated into the Swedish kingdom, and
this coincided with the period when coats of arms first came into use in
northern Europe. The first known use of the lion in Sweden was on the royal
seals of Erik Knutsson (died 1216) and Erik Eriksson (1216–50), who used two
and three lions on their seal, respectively. The first king of the Folkunga
family, Valdemar Birgersson (1239–1302), also used 3 lions on his seal
Finland as a duchy
Bengt Birgersson, the first Duke of
Finland (1254–91, Duke from 1284 until 1291), and Valdemar Magnusson, the
second Duke (died 1318, Duke of Finland from 1302 until 1317), both used the
later Folkunga coat of arms, which was a crowned lion rampant with three bends
sinister, the main difference being that Valdemar's arms had the field strewn
with hearts (Figure 3). This version of the arms was quite similar to the
modern coat of arms of Finland, but the lion did not yet brandish any weapon.
Creation of the arms
When John III assumed the title of
"Grand Duke of Finland and Karelia", shortened to Grand Duke of
Finland in 1577 (or soon thereafter), the lion became closely associated with
Finland through the grand-ducal coats of arms. The grand-ducal coat of arms is
thought to have resulted out of a combination of the Göta lion (originating
from the Folkunga lion) and the arms of Karelia. The result was that the lion
brandishes one weapon and treads on another.
The best-known version of the grand-ducal
coat of arms is found on the tomb of Gustavus I (1523–60) in the Uppsala
cathedral (Figure 5). It has been suggested that either Duke John himself, or
his brother Eric XIV, was leading the design work on the heraldic signs on the
tomb. Neither statement can be confirmed, but it is known that Eric XIV showed
an interest in heraldry. The monument was commissioned from Guillaume Boyen
(Willem Boy), a Flemish architect and sculptor who had worked in Sweden. He
started on the task in Antwerp in 1562, completing it 10 years later; however,
the tomb was not in place in Uppsala until the early 1580s, and the finishing
work lasted until 1591. In addition to the royal arms of Sweden and those of
Finland, the arms of the 11 provinces
are depicted. From Finland they include North and South Finland, as well as
Tavastia and Karelia. The work of Willem Boy is of exceptional quality, which
is perhaps explained by the fact that lions were a dominant feature in the
heraldry of Flanders, and he would therefore have had a great deal of exposure
to it before receiving the commission for the tomb of Gustavus I.
The earliest known blazon from this
period states that the arms of Finland represents A crowned lion of gold
holding a sword in the right fore paw and trampling with both hind paws on a
Russian sabre (ryssesabel), surrounded by nine silver roses in a red field,
over the shield a golden crown with a red cap.
As both King Gustavus I and his son, John
III, were involved in lengthy wars with Russia, it should come as no surprise
this was a central element in the arms of both the Grand Duchy of Finland, and
in that in the coat of arms of the Finnish province of Karelia, which
symbolizes the struggle between East and West.
The purpose of the nine roses remains
unknown, but are now mostly considered to be decorative only. They have
sometimes been claimed to represent the nine historical provinces of Finland,
but this hypothesis has not found support among prominent scholars. The number
of towns in the nominal "Grand Duchy of Finland and Karelia" in 1580
were also nine, but no known historical research provides support for a link
between the number of roses and the number of towns in Finland in 1580.
