Emblem of the Palaiologoi, last dynasty of the Byzantine Empire. |
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| Tradition | Byzantine |
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For most of its history, the Byzantine Empire did not know or use heraldry in the West European sense. Various emblems (Greek: σημεία, sēmeia; sing. σημείον, sēmeion) were used in official occasions and for military purposes, such as banners or shields displaying various motifs such as the cross or the labarum. The use of the cross, and of images of Christ, the Virgin Mary and various saints is also attested on seals of officials, but these were personal rather than family emblems.[1] Unlike the Western feudal lords, Byzantine aristocratic families did not, as far as is known, use specific symbols to designate themselves and their followers. Only from the 12th century onwards, when the Empire came in increased contact with Westerners because of the Crusades, did heraldry begin to be used among Byzantines. Even then however, the thematology was largely derived from the symbols employed in earlier ages, and its use was limited to the major families of the Empire. Far more common, both in seals and in decorations, was the use of cyphers or monograms (sing. συμπίλημα, sympilēma), with the letters of the owner's personal or family name arranged around a cross.
The imperial eagle continued to be used as a motif, and a variant, the double-headed eagle, is probably the most well-known Byzantine emblem. The latter's exact date of adoption is much debated; it has been associated by scholars with the Komnenoi, but is well-attested only in illuminated manuscripts of the Palaiologan period, after ca. 1327.[2]
The late Byzantine writer Pseudo-Kodinos also records the use of the Palaiologan "tetragrammic cross" on the imperial ensign (Greek: βασιλικόν φλάμουλον, basilikon phlamoulon) borne by Byzantine naval vessels, while the navy's commander, the megas doux, displayed an image of the emperor on horseback.[3][4] The four charges surrounding the tetragrammic cross can be seen either as firesteels (πυρέκβολα), as in the badges of the Order of the Golden Fleece, or as the Greek letter "Β" (beta), whence its name ("tetragrammic" meaning "four-lettered"). In the latter case they are traditionally held to represent the initials of the Palaiologan motto, "King of Kings, ruling over Kings" (Βασιλεὺς Βασιλέων Βασιλεύων Βασιλευόντων/Βασιλεῦσι, Basileus Basileon Basileuon Basileuonton/Basileusi).
Kodinos further enumerates the various banners and insignia used in imperial processions: one named archistrategos (ἀρχιστράτηγος, "chief general"); another with images of renowned prelates and eight streamers known as oktapodion (ὀκταπόδιον, "octopus"); another in the form of a cross with the images of St. Demetrius, St. Procopius, St. Theodore Tiro and St. Theodore Stratelates; another depicting St. George on horseback; another in the shape of a dragon (δρακόνειον, drakoneion); and another with the emperor on horseback.[5] A pair of each was carried in processions, while only a single example was taken along on campaign. These in turn were preceded by the dibellion (διβέλλιον), the emperor's personal ensign, whose name – most likely a mixed Greek-Latin compound meaning "double velum" – apparently describes a forked pennon, evidently of Western European origin.[6]
Another very Western design could be found on one of the now-demolished towers of the seaward walls of Constantinople, which had been restored by Andronikos II Palaiologos r. 1282–1328) and bore that emperor's emblem, a crowned lion rampant holding a sword.[7] Another example of the influence of the east was the frequent use of the star and crescent moon symbol, which appears on coins, military insignia and, perhaps, as a sometime municipal emblem of the imperial city. The symbol was clearly of eastern origin, dating from at least the second millennium BCE in Moab and Sumer.
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