Coat o airms o Poland

The White Eagle (Pols: Orzeł Biały) is the naitional coat o airms o Poland. It is a stylized white eagle wi a golden beak an talons, an wearin a golden croun, in a reid shield.

Design

Legal basis

The coat o airms o the Republic o Poland is describit in twa legal documents: the Constitution o the Republic o Poland o 1997^[1] an the Coat o Airms, Colors an Anthem o the Republic o Poland, an State Seals Act (Ustawa o godle, barwach i hymnie Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej oraz o pieczęciach państwowych) o 1980 wi subsequent amendments^[2] (henceforth referred tae as "the Coat o Airms Act").

Legislation concernin the naitional seembols is far frae perfect. The Coat o Airms Act haes been amendit several times an refers extensively tae executive ordinances, some o which hae niver been issued. Mairower, the Act conteens errors, omissions an inconsistencies which mak the law confusin, open tae various interpretations an aften no follaed in practice.^[3]

Graphic design

John III Sobieski's coat of arms crowning the Royal Chapel in Gdańsk, 1681

Accordin tae Chapter I, Airticle 28, paragraph 1 o the Constitution, the coat o airms o Poland is an image o a crouned white eagle in a reid field.^[1] The Coat o Airms Act, Airticle 4, further specifies that the croun, as well as the eagle's beak an talons, are golden. The eagle's wings are ootstretcht an its heid is turned tae its richt.^[2] In Inglis heraldic terminology, the airms are blazoned as Gules an Eagle Argent crouned, beakt an airmed Or. In contrast tae classic heraldry, whaur the same blazon mey be rendered intae varyin designs, the Coat o Airms Act allous ae ane offeecial renderin o the naitional coat o airms. The offeecial design mey be foond in attachment no. 1 tae the Coat o Airms Act.^[2]

The nearly circular chairge, i.e. the image o the white eagle, is heichly stylized. The heraldic bird is depictit wi its wings an legs ootstretcht, its heid turned tae the richt, in a pose kent in heraldry as 'displayed'. The eagle's plumage, as well as its tongue an leg scales are white wi gradient shadin suggestive o a bas-relief. Each wing is adorned wi a curved baund extendin frae the bird's torso tae the upper edge o the wing, terminatin in a heraldic cinquefoil. Note that a cinquefoil is a stylized five-leaft plant, no a starn. Three o its leaves are embossed lik a trefoil (note seemilar trefoils in the medieval designs o the eagle). In heraldic terms, the eagle is "airmed", that is tae say, its beak an talons are rendered in gowd, in contrast tae the body. The croun on the eagle's heid consists o a base an three fleurons extendin frae it. The base is adorned wi three roughly rectangular gemstanes. The fleurons– o which the twa ooter anes are ae pairtly visible– hae the shape o a fleur-de-lis. The entire croun, includin the gems, as well as spaces atween the fleurons, is rendered in gowd.

The chairge is placed in an escutcheon (shield) o the Modren French teep. It is a nearly rectangular upricht isosceles trapezoid, roondit at the bottom, whose upper base is slichtly langer than the lawer ane, frae the middle o which extends downwards a pyntit tip. Awtho the shield is an integral pairt o the coat o airms, Pols law stipulates, in certaint cases, tae ae uise the chairge athoot the escutcheon. The shades o the principal tinctures, white (Argent) an reid (Gules), which are the naitional colours o Poland, are specified as coördinates in the CIE 1976 colour space.

Legend

The White Eagle emblem oreeginatit whan Poland's legendary foonder Lech saw a white eagle's nest. When he leukit at the bird, a ray o sunshine frae the reid settin sun fell on its wings, sae thay appeared tipped wi gowd, the rest o the eagle wis pure white. He wis delichtit an decidit tae settle thare an placed the eagle on his emblem. He an aa named the place Gniezdno (currently Gniezno) frae the Pols wird gniazdo (nest).

This tale coud be considered as an allusion tae the legend o the ceety o Roum which wis foondit bi Romulus an Remus. Auspicium is the auncient rite o observin birds o prey flights in order tae get support o gods for future arranged actions. A less romantic version assumes that Poland adoptit the emblem frae Roman Empire (lik mony ither European kintras).