Communist Heraldry

General Heraldry subjects
Jonathan Webster
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Communist Heraldry

Postby Jonathan Webster » 27 Oct 2012, 22:47

Well; I appreciate that the vast majority (but by no means all) of what constitutes 'Communist Heraldry' was not only aesthetically horrendous, a sizeable amount of them don't even constitute heraldry at all since they do not involve a shield
That aside though; are there any examples of this bizarre branch of heraldry that anyone thinks are good heraldry? Personally; I always liked the arms of the former Russian Federative Soviet Socialist Republic: simple, blazonable and rather striking in all honesty. Oh; and on a shield. That; and a few of the examples the Hungarian government devised for the municipal heraldry of various cities were okay in my eyes. Also, I believe Jiri Louda designed some of the municipal arms of various cities in Czechoslovakia during the communist period, not that I've seen any examples of them.

So what does everyone else think? A period of European heraldry best forgotten? Or were there any examples of good heraldry behind the Iron Curtain during this period?
Last edited by Jonathan Webster on 28 Oct 2012, 13:40, edited 1 time in total.

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Chas Charles-Dunne
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Re: Communist Heraldry

Postby Chas Charles-Dunne » 28 Oct 2012, 12:56

Jonathan, could you please post an image or a link to the arms in question (Russian Federative Soviet Sosocialist Republic)? Just so that we are all talking about the same arms.

Thanks.
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Chas
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Ryan Shuflin
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Re: Communist Heraldry

Postby Ryan Shuflin » 28 Oct 2012, 15:07

I believe it is this one Image

Jonathan Webster
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Re: Communist Heraldry

Postby Jonathan Webster » 28 Oct 2012, 17:17

That's the one Ryan. As communist-style 'heraldry' goes, that's okay.

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Mike_Oettle
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Re: Communist Heraldry

Postby Mike_Oettle » 22 Mar 2015, 21:22

Okay, Jonathan? What about the lettering in chief?

While a few communist emblems were armorial or something akin to armory, most were not. I would not use the term heraldry or armory for any but those that qualify.
Even the RSFR “arms” follow a pattern that became normative for communist emblems: the central device is supported or wreathed by a grain crop, and there is a “crest” of a star floating in mid-air (not that I would expect to see it associated with any kind of helmet).
Finally there is a scroll at the bottom (again aping heraldry), but it bears not a motto by the name of the republic.
The Soviet Union used a motto on its many scrolls, but it was repeated in so many different languages that the scrolls or ribbons are unable to carry wording that is readily visible, especially from a distance.
Regards,
Mike
The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life.
[Proverbs 14:27]

Marcus Karlsson
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Re: Communist Heraldry

Postby Marcus Karlsson » 30 Jan 2016, 11:46

In Communist Romania there was a attempt to create a system of Municipal Heraldry conforming to the policy of the time. This included a enschuteon with the Communist State emblem on a Field per fess the Flag of the Communist Party and the Country.

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Bucharest Municipality.

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Constanta Municipality.

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Lugoj Municipality.

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Dîmbovița County

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Michael F. McCartney
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Re: Communist Heraldry

Postby Michael F. McCartney » 31 Jan 2016, 02:24

Playing Devil's Advocate, while lettering on the shield is discouraged and quite rare, there are examples that are unquestionably heraldic -- SPQR on the arms of Rome; Libertas on the arms of one of the Swiss cantons; religious mottoes like Ave Maria on some historic Spanish arms (e.g. Mendoza?); Gothic letter T on at least one old English family, etc. Not to be encouraged certainly, and arguably not "good" heraldic design, but heraldic nonetheless. The Communist Russian arms shown above, viewed apart from the generic flora around the shield, aren't bad; and while the flora folderol, fussy shield shape and maybe the motto ribbon may make for an annoyingly generic achievement, none of that detracts from the acceptability of the arms themselves, which can be shown on any shield shape and with or without this sort of external decoration.

So to my mind, these are acceptable heraldic arms for an otherwise unacceptable, and thankfully former regime.
Michael F. McCartney
Fremont, California


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