Coat of arms of Poland

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The coat of arms of Poland consists of a white eagle on a red shield. The eagle is wearing a crown and has golden claws and beak. In Poland, the coat of arms is usually called simply White Eagle (Orzeł Biały), always capitalised. Note that in heraldry there is never a "white" colour: what we see as white is normally said to be "silver" (and "yellow" is "gold"). However, the Polish eagle is the only one which is "pure" white instead of silver.

The eagle is sometimes thought to be the white-tailed eagle, although the highly stylised depiction does not connect the insignia with any specific species of eagle. Another interpretation is that it is a form of "heraldic eagle", based on the Golden Eagle.

Contents 1 Legend 2 History 3 Polish military 4 Historic coats of arms 5 See also

[edit] Legend

The White Eagle is said to have originated when Poland’s legendary founder Lech saw a white eagle’s nest. When he looked at the bird, a ray of sunshine from the red setting sun fell on its wings, so they appeared tipped with gold, the rest of the eagle was pure white.

Some historians consider the origins of the insignia to be the coat of arms insignia of either the Roman or Holy Roman Empire. The latter was mostly a black eagle, but a number of imperial places, such as Frankfurt am Main and Schweinfurt are represented with a White Eagle.

[edit] History

A white eagle is first known from coins made during king Boleslaus’s reign, initially as the Piast family’s personal coat of arms.

Przemysł II introduced the White Eagle as a national symbol.

The current version of the insignia was introduced by an amendment to the Polish Constitution in 1927. In 1945, the new communist regime removed the crown from the eagle's head and replaced (perhaps accidentally) the rosettes, which resemble stars, on its wings with stars. The crown was seen as a symbol of the monarchy. After the end of the communist regime, the crown was reintroduced in 1990, and the current version is basically the same as that of 1927, with minor cosmetic changes.

[edit] Polish military

Coat of Arms of the Polish Land Forces

Coat of Arms of the Polish Navy

Coat of Arms of the Polish Air Forces

[edit] Historic coats of arms

Coat of arms of King Przemysł II	Coat of arms of King Władysław Łokietek	Coat of arms of King Władysław Jagiełło	Coat of arms of King Zygmunt Stary
Coat of arms of King Stanisław August Poniatowski	Seal of the Dictator of the November Uprising	Coat of arms of the Second Republic of Poland (1919-1927)	People's Republic of Poland (1945-1989) Coat of arms without the crown.

[edit] See also

• Coat of arms of Lithuania
• Coat of arms of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
• Flag of Poland
• Order of the White Eagle – the highest order in Polish honours system.
• Polish coins and banknotes
• Polish heraldry