Gules
In heraldry, gules is the tincture with the colour red. It is one of the class of five dark tinctures called "colours", the others being azure, sable and purpure. In engraving, it is sometimes depicted by hatching of vertical lines. In "trick" or "tricking" it is marked with gu.. The term gules derives from the Old French word goules "throats", but used to refer to a fur neckpiece made of red fur. For many decades, heraldic authors have believed that the term may have arisen from the Persian word گل, but according to Brault, there is no evidence to support this derivation. Gules is the most used heraldic tincture. Through the sixteenth century, nearly half of all noble coats of arms in Poland had a field gules with one or more argent charges on them. Examples of coats of arms consisting of purely a red shield include those of: the d'Albret family, the Rossi family, the Swiss canton of Schwyz, the old coats of arms of the cities of Nîmes and Montpellier. Polish heraldry Cinnabar Murrey Sinople
Royal Order of the Seraphim
The Royal Order of the Seraphim is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the Polar Star. The order has only one class with the dignity of Knight, is the foremost order of Sweden; the three above-mentioned Orders together with the Order of Vasa form the Orders of His Majesty the King. A Swedish Knight of the Order of the Seraphim is not referred to as a Knight of the Seraphim, but rather as a Knight and Commander of the Orders of His Majesty the King; this form is used because the Swedish word orden is an old plural form which indicates that a knight has to be a Commander Grand Cross or Commander of at least one of the other Swedish Orders. Foreign Knights are for the greater part Knights of the Order of the Seraphim. A Knight of the Order may be styled "Herr" + surname, which used to be the formal style for Swedish secular Knights appointed by the Swedish King, a practice that ceased in the 17th Century.
When instituted the knights of the Order were required to supervise the major hospitals and mental asylums in Sweden, in particular, the Seraphim Hospital, a major hospital in Stockholm until it was closed in 1980. This requirement would die out as boards of physicians and other professionals made such supervision by the Knights of the Seraphim anachronistic during the course of the 19th century; as part of the reorganization of Swedish orders in 1975, appointments of Swedish citizens to the various orders ceased and conferrals were restricted to foreigners. The Order of the Seraphim was restricted to foreign heads of state and equivalents. In 1995, the law was revised and conferrals upon members of the royal family was allowed; the medieval custom of new crowned monarchs dubbing knights at their coronations as a way of specially honoring particular noblemen was accompanied in Sweden with the gift of a chain specially designed for the occasion. These chains did not indicate the initiation into an order of chivalry as this is understood, since the bestowal of a chain of a particular design only occurred at a particular coronation and was not repeated at any other coronations or royal event.
The description of some of these chains from the some of pre-Vasa coronations states that they consisted of alternating link of seraphim heads and patriarchal crosses, thus creating the impression that there had been an earlier order of the Seraphim of which the 1748 order was seen as a revival. It seems reasonable to assume, at least, that the accounts of these earlier knightly collars influenced the choice of design for the collar of the 1748 order; this medieval custom survived into the period of the Vasa dynasty as well, for Eric XIV is known to have bestowed the Order of the Saviour at his coronation in 1561. John III had bestowed the Order of the Lamb of God in 1569, it is noteworthy that a contemporary representation of this order shows a collar of alternating red-enameled seraphim heads and gold patriarchal crosses from which hangs as pendant an oval badge enameled blue and bearing the Greek letters of the Christogram IHS with a cross above and the three nails of the Passion below between the three crowns of the Swedish royal arms—the same as the central medallion of the latter Order of the Seraphim.
Charles IX bestowed the Royal Order of Jehova or Jehova Order at his coronation in 1606—perhaps as Calvinist alternative or reaction to the Catholic devotion to the Name of Jesus implied in his brother’s coronation order. Charles X Gustav’s Order of the Name of Jesus took the form of a similar circular medallion bearing the letters IHS in diamonds surrounded by a border of diamonds in the center of a cross formed of four enameled Vasa sheaves and hanging from a pink ribbon worn around the neck, of which one example survives in the collections of the Royal Armory. Queen Christina founded an Order of the Amaranth, although not at her coronation, but it did not survive her reign; because of these previous orders the first set of statutes described the Order as "revived". The French Order of the Holy Spirit may have inspired the idea of placing the earlier medallion of the Name of Jesus in the center of a white enameled Maltese cross with gold Seraphim heads between the arms of this cross guarding this medallion with their wings, just as the French order bore the white dove of the Holy Spirit surrounded by green flames on similar white Maltese cross.
Like the French royal orders of chivalry the breast stars of the Swedish orders took the form of silver crosses. Associated with the Order was the Seraphim Medal awarded to people who made significant contributions to Swedish charities to the hospitals and mental asylums patronized by the Order; this medal consisted a gold coin-like representation of the bust of the Order's founder, King Frederick I, beneath a royal crown hanging by eight small chains from a suspension bar ornamented with a design of acanthus leaves. Until 1975 the sons of the Swedish monarch received a miniature version of the order's insignia at their baptism; as part of a reform on orders and decorations, a law was passed in 1974 restricting the conferral of orders to foreign citizens. This law was revised in 1995 to allow members of the Swedish Royal Family to receive the order; that year, on her 18th birthday, Crown Princess Victoria became a member of the order. Prince Carl Philip and Princess
Lion (heraldry)
The lion is a common charge in heraldry. It traditionally symbolises courage, royalty, strength and valour, because it has been regarded as the "king of beasts". Lion refers to a Judeo-Christian symbolism; the Lion of Judah stands in the coat of arms of Jerusalem. Similar looking lion can be found e.g. in the coat of arms of the Swedish royal House of Bjelbo, from there in turn derived into the coat of arms of Finland belonging to Sweden, many others examples for similar historical reasons. The animal designs in the heraldry of the high medieval period are a continuation of the animal style of the Viking Age derived from the style of Scythian art as it developed from c. the 7th century BC. Symmetrically paired animals in particular find continuation from Migration Period art via Insular art to Romanesque art and heraldry; the animals of the "barbarian" predecessors of heraldic designs are to have been used as clan symbols. Adopted in Germanic tradition around the 5th century, they were re-interpreted in a Christian context in the western kingdoms of Gaul and Italy in the 6th and 7th centuries.
The characteristic of the lion as royal animal in particular is due the influence of the Physiologus, an early Christian book about animal symbolism written in Greek in the 2nd century and translated into Latin in about AD 400. It was a predecessor of the medieval bestiaries; the lion as a heraldic charge is present from the earliest development of heraldry in the 12th century. One of the earliest known examples of armory as it subsequently came to be practiced can be seen on the tomb of Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou, who died in 1151. An enamel commissioned by Geoffrey's widow between 1155 and 1160, depicts him carrying a blue shield decorated six golden lions rampant and wearing a blue helmet adorned with another lion. A chronicle dated to c. 1175 states that Geoffrey was given a shield of this description when he was knighted by his father-in-law, Henry I, in 1128. Earlier heraldic writers attributed the lions of England to William the Conqueror, but the earliest evidence of the association of lions with the English crown is a seal bearing two lions passant, used by the future King John during the lifetime of his father, Henry II, who died in 1189.
Since Henry was the son of Geoffrey Plantagenet, it seems reasonable to suppose that the adoption of lions as an heraldic emblem by Henry or his sons might have been inspired by Geoffrey's shield. John's elder brother, Richard the Lionheart, who succeeded his father on the throne, is believed to have been the first to have borne the arms of three lions passant-guardant, still the arms of England, having earlier used two lions rampant combatant, which arms may have belonged to his father. Richard is credited with having originated the English crest of a lion statant. Apart from the lions of the Plantagenet coat of arms, 12th-century examples of lions used as heraldic charges include the Staufen and Wittelsbach coats of arms, both deriving from Henry the Lion, the royal coat of arms of Scotland, attributed to William the Lion, the coat of arms of Denmark, first used by Canute VI, the coat of arms of Flanders, first used by Philip I, the coat of arms of León, an example of canting arms attributed to Alfonso VII, the coat of arms of Bohemia, first granted to Vladislaus II.
Coats of arms of the 13th century include those of the House of Sverre, the Ludovingians, the kingdom of Ruthenia, the House of Habsburg, the kingdom of Bulgaria and the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia. Unlike the eagle, comparatively rare in heraldry because it was reserved as an imperial symbol, the lion became a symbol of chivalry and was not restricted to royal coats of arms; the Zürich armorial has a number of coats of arms with lions, most of them of ministeriales of the House of Habsburg. The lion in the coat of arms of Bohemia is depicted with two tails. According to Ménestrier, this is due to a jest made by Emperor Frederick, who granted Vladislaus II, Duke of Bohemia a coat of arms with a lion coué, that is, with its tail between its legs. Vladislaus' men refused to follow this emblem, calling it an ape, so that Frederick agreed to improve the arms by giving the lion not just one but two erect tails; as many attitudes now exist in heraldry as the heraldist's imagination can conjure, as a result of the ever-increasing need for differentiation, but few of these were known to medieval heralds.
One distinction made, although it may be of limited importance, is the distinction of lions in the walking positions as leopards. The following table summarizes the principal attitudes of heraldic lions: Other terms are used to describe the lion's position in further detail; each coat of arms has a right and left side - with respect to the person carrying the shield - so the left side of the shield as drawn on the page is called the dexter side. The lion's head is seen in agreement with the overall position, facing dexter unless otherwise stated. If a lion's whole body is turned to face right, he is to sinister or contourné. If his whole body faces the viewer, he is affronté. If his head only faces the viewer he is guardant or gardant, if he looks back over his shoulder he is
Supporter
In heraldry, sometimes referred to as attendants, are figures or objects placed on either side of the shield and depicted holding it up. Early forms of supporters are found in medieval seals. However, unlike the coronet or helmet and crest, supporters were not part of early medieval heraldry; as part of the heraldic achievement, they first become fashionable towards the end of the 15th century, but in the 17th century were not part of the full heraldic achievement. The figures used as supporters may be based on real or imaginary animals, human figures, in rare cases plants or other inanimate objects, such as the pillars of Hercules of the coat of arms of Spain; as in other elements of heraldry, these can have local significance, such as the fisherman and the tin miner granted to Cornwall County Council, or a historical link. The arms of nutritionist John Boyd-Orr use two'garbs' as supporters. Letters of the alphabet are used as supporters in the arms of Spain. Human supporters can be allegorical figures, or, more specifically named individuals.
There is one supporter on each side of the shield, though there are some examples of single supporters placed behind the shield, such as the imperial eagle of the coat of arms of the Holy Roman Empire. The arms of the Congo provide an unusual example of two supporters issuing from behind the shield. While such single supporters are eagles with one or two heads, there are other examples, including the cathedra in the case of some Canadian cathedrals. At the other extreme and rarer, the Scottish chief Dundas of that Ilk had three supporters: two conventional red lions and the whole supported by a salamander; the coat of arms of Iceland has four supporters. The context of the application of supporters may vary, although entitlement may be considered conditioned by grant of a type of augmentation of honour by admission in orders of chivalry or by heraldic authorities, such as in the case of traditional British heraldry. Animal supporters are, by default, as close to rampant as possible, if the nature of the supporter allows it, though there are some blazoned exceptions.
An example of whales'non-rampant' is the arms of the Dutch municipality of Zaanstad. Older writers trace origins of supporters to their usages in tournaments, where the shields of the combatants were exposed for inspection, guarded by their servants or pages disguised in fanciful attire. However, medieval Scottish seals afford numerous examples in which the 13th and 14th century shields were placed between two creatures resembling lizards or dragons; the seal of John, Duke of Normandy, eldest son of the King of France, before 1316 bears his arms as. In Canada, Companions of the Order of Canada, Commanders of the Order of Military Merit, Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order: people granted the style the Right Honourable, corporations are granted the use of supporters on their coats of arms. Further, on his retirement from office as Chief Herald, Robert Watt was granted supporters as an honour. In France, writers made a distinctive difference on the subject of supporters, giving the name of Supports to animals, real or imaginary, thus employed.
Trees and other inanimate objects which are sometimes used are called Soutiens. Knights Grand Companion and Principal Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit are granted the use of heraldic supporters. In England, supporters were regarded as little more than mere decorative and artistic appendages. In the United Kingdom, supporters are an example of special royal favour, granted at the behest of the sovereign. Hereditary supporters are limited to hereditary peers, certain members of the Royal Family, to some chiefs of Scottish clans. Non-hereditary supporters are granted to life peers and Ladies of the Order of the Garter and Order of the Thistle and Dames Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath, Order of St Michael and St George, Royal Victorian Order and Order of the British Empire, Bailiffs and Dames Grand Cross of the Order of St John. Knights banneret were granted non-hereditary supporters, but no such knight has been created since the time of Charles I. Supporters may be granted to corporations which have a royal charter.
Confronted animals
Ermine (heraldry)
Ermine in heraldry is a "fur", a type of tincture, consisting of a white background with a pattern of black shapes representing the winter coat of the stoat. The linings of medieval coronation cloaks and some other garments reserved for use by high-ranking peers and royalty, were made by sewing many ermine furs together to produce a luxurious white fur with patterns of hanging black-tipped tails. Due to the association of the ermine fur with the linings of coronation cloaks and peerage caps, the heraldic tincture of ermine was reserved to similar applications in heraldry; the ermine spot, the conventional heraldic representation of the tail has had a wide variety of shapes over the centuries. When "ermine" is specified as the tincture of the field, the spots are part of the tincture itself, rather than a semé or pattern of charges; the ermine spot, may be used singly as a mobile charge, or as a mark of distinction signifying the absence of a blood relationship. On a bend ermine, the tails follow the line of the bend.
In the arms of William John Uncles, the field ermine is cut into bendlike strips by the three bendlets azure, so the ermine tails are depicted bendwise. Though ermine and vair were the two furs used in early armory, other variations of these developed later. Both in continental heraldry and British, the fur pattern was used in varying colors as a blazon atop other tinctures, e.g. "d'Or, semé d'hermines de sable" for black ermine spots on a gold field. British heraldry created three names for specific variants, rather than blazoning them longhand. Ermines is the reverse of ermine – a field sable semé of ermine-spots argent, it is sometimes called counter-ermine. Erminois is ermine with a field Or instead of argent, pean is the reverse of erminois. Erminites is alleged to be the "same as ermine, except that the two lateral hairs of each spot are red." James Parker mentions it, as does Pimbley, though by the former's admission this is of doubtful existence. Arthur Charles Fox-Davies describes it as a "silly of former heraldic writers, not of former heralds."
Flag of Brittany Flag of Norfolk Ó Donnagáin Family Crest Fox-Davies, A. C.. The Art of Heraldry: An Encyclopædia of Armory. New York: Benjamin Blom, Inc. LCCN 68-56481 Fox-Davies, A. C.. A Complete Guide to Heraldry. Whitefish, MT: Kessenger Publishing. ISBN 1-4179-0630-8 LCCN 09-23803 Koninklijke en Vorstelijke Mode, House of Orange web site, an article on royal fashion, with much attention to ermine-lined velvet cloaks and mantels Practical Advice On The Choice Of Furs. No. 4. Ermine. Continued, from Every Woman's Encyclopaedia, an article detailing the fashion and history of ermine coats and cloaks
Ursa Major
Ursa Major is a constellation in the northern sky, whose associated mythology dates back into prehistory. Its Latin name means "greater she-bear", standing as a reference to and in direct contrast with nearby Ursa Minor, the lesser bear. In antiquity, it was one of the original 48 constellations listed by Ptolemy, is now the third largest constellation of the 88 modern constellations. Ursa Major is known from the asterism of its main seven bright stars comprising the "Big Dipper", "the Wagon", "Charles's Wain" or "the Plough", with its stellar configuration mimicking the shape of the "Little Dipper"; the general constellation outline significantly features in numerous world cultures, is used as a symbol of the north. E.g. as the flag of Alaska. The asterism's two brightest stars, named Dubhe and Merak, can be used as the navigational pointer towards the place of the current northern pole star, Polaris in Ursa Minor. Ursa Major is visible throughout the year from most of the northern hemisphere, appears circumpolar above the mid-northern latitudes.
From southern temperate latitudes, the main asterism is invisible, but the southern parts of the constellation can still be viewed. Appearing in the northern sky, Ursa Major occupies a large area covering 1279.66 square degrees or 3.10% of the total sky, making it the third largest constellations in the night sky. Eugène Delporte in 1930, who set the official International Astronomical Union constellation boundaries, formed a 28-sided irregular polygon, which according to the equatorial coordinate system, stretches between the right ascension coordinates of 08h 08.3m and 14h 29.0m and the declination coordinates of +28.30° and +73.14°. Ursa Major borders eight other constellations: Draco to the north and northeast, Boötes to the east, Canes Venatici to the east and southeast, Coma Berenices to the southeast and Leo Minor to the south, Lynx to the southwest and Camelopardalis to the northwest; the three-letter constellation abbreviation'UMa' was adopted by the IAU in 1922. The "Big Dipper" is an asterism within Ursa Major composed of seven bright stars that together comprise one of the best-known patterns in the sky.
Like many of its common names allude to, its shape is said to resemble either a ladle, an agricultural plough or wagon. Starting with the "ladle" portion of the dipper and extending clockwise through the handle, these stars are the following: α Ursae Majoris, known by the Arabic name Dubhe, which at a magnitude of 1.79 is the 35th-brightest star in the sky and the second-brightest of Ursa Major. Β Ursae Majoris, called Merak, with a magnitude of 2.37. Γ Ursae Majoris, known as either Phecda or Phad, with a magnitude of 2.44. Δ Ursae Majoris, or Megrez, meaning "root of the tail," referring to its location as the intersection of the body and tail of the bear. Ε Ursae Majoris, known as Alioth, a name which refers not to a bear but to a "black horse," the name corrupted from the original and mis-assigned to the named Alcor, the naked-eye binary companion of Mizar. Alioth is the brightest star of Ursa Major and the 33rd-brightest in the sky, with a magnitude of 1.76. It is the brightest of the "peculiar A stars," magnetic stars whose chemical elements are either depleted or enhanced, appear to change as the star rotates.
Ζ Ursae Majoris, the second star in from the end of the handle of the Big Dipper, the constellation's fourth-brightest star. Mizar, which means "girdle," forms a famous double star, with its optical companion Alcor, the two of which were termed the "horse and rider" by the Arabs; the ability to resolve the two stars with the naked eye is quoted as a test of eyesight, although people with quite poor eyesight can see the two stars. Η Ursae Majoris, known as either Alkaid or Benetnash, both meaning the "end of the tail." With a magnitude of 1.85, Alkaid is the third-brightest star of Ursa Major. Except for Dubhe and Alkaid, the stars of the Big Dipper all have proper motions heading toward a common point in Sagittarius. A few other such stars have been identified, together they are called the Ursa Major Moving Group; the stars Merak and Dubhe are known as the "pointer stars" because they are helpful for finding Polaris known as the North Star or Pole Star. By visually tracing a line from Merak through Dubhe and continuing for 5 units, one's eye will land on Polaris indicating true north.
Another asterism known as the "Three Leaps of the Gazelle" is recognized in Arab culture, a series of three pairs of stars found along the southern border of the constellation. W Ursae Majoris is the prototype of a class of contact binary variable stars, ranges between 7.75m and 8.48m. 47 Ursae Majoris is a Sun-like star with a three-planet system. 47 Ursae Majoris b, discovered in 1996, orbits every 1078 days and is 2.53 times the mass of Jupiter. 47 Ursae Majoris c, discovered in 2001, orbits every 2391 days and is 0.54 times the
Government of Sweden
The Government of the Kingdom of Sweden is the national cabinet and the supreme executive authority of Sweden. The short-form name Regeringen is used both in the Fundamental Laws of the Realm and in the vernacular, while the long-form is only used in international treaties; the Government operates as a collegial body with collective responsibility and consists of the Prime Minister—appointed and dismissed by the Speaker of the Riksdag —and other cabinet ministers and dismissed at the sole discretion of the Prime Minister. The Government is responsible for its actions to the Riksdag. Following the adoption of the 1974 Instrument of Government on 1 January 1975—the Government in its present constitutional form was constituted—and in consequence thereof the Swedish Monarch is no longer vested any nominal executive powers at all with respect to the governance of the Realm, but continues to serve as a ceremonial head of state. Instrument of Government, Chapter 12, Article 1; the Instrument of Government —one of the Fundamental Laws of the Realm—sets out the main responsibilities and duties of the Government and how it relates to other organs of the State.
Instrument of Government, Chapter 12, Article 1. Most state administrative authorities, as opposed to local authorities, sorts under the Government, including the Armed Forces, Coast Guard, Customs Service and the Swedish police. While the Judiciary technically sort under the Government in the fiscal sense, Chapter 11 of the Instrument of Government provides safeguards to ensure its independence. In a unique feature of the Swedish constitutional system, individual cabinet ministers do not bear any individual ministerial responsibility for the performance of the agencies within their portfolio; the Government of Sweden is the high contracting party when entering treaties with foreign sovereign states and international organisations, as per 10:1 of the Instrument of Government. In most other parliamentary systems this formal function is vested in the head of state but exercised by ministers in such name. Chapter 6, Article 7 prescribes that laws and ordinances are promulgated by the Government, are subsequently published in the Swedish Code of Statutes.
Following a general election, Speaker of the Riksdag begins to hold talks with the leaders of the parties with representation in the Riksdag, the Speaker nominates a candidate for Prime Minister. The nomination is put to a vote in the chamber. Unless an absolute majority of the members votes "no", the nomination is confirmed, otherwise it is rejected; the Speaker must find a new nominee. This means. After being elected the Prime Minister appoints the cabinet ministers and announces them to the Riksdag; the new Government takes office at a special council held at the Royal Palace before the Monarch, at which the Speaker of the Riksdag formally announces to the Monarch that the Riksdag has elected a new Prime Minister and that the Prime Minister has chosen his cabinet ministers. The Riksdag can cast a vote of no confidence against any single cabinet minister, thus forcing a resignation. To succeed a vote of no confidence must be supported by an absolute majority or it has failed. If a vote of no confidence is cast against the Prime Minister this means the entire government is rejected.
A losing government has one week to call for a general election or else the procedure of nominating a new Prime Minister starts anew. Each appointment of a new Prime Minister is considered to result in a new cabinet, irrespective if the Prime Minister is reappointed or not. However, there is no automatic resignation following a defeat in a general election, so an election does not always result in a new cabinet. Known as the Royal Chancery, the name was changed to the Government Offices on 1 January 1975 with the current Instrument of Government entering into effect; the Instrument of Government mentions in Chapter 7, Article 1 that there is a staff organization supporting the Government known as the Government Offices. The present organizational charter for the Government Offices is found in the ordinance named Förordning med instruktion för Regeringskansliet. Since the issuance of that ordinance in 1996, all the ministries are technically entities within the Government Offices, rather than as separate organisations though they operate as such.
Below follows a short summary of the current structure. Only current ministries and offices are listed below: Government Offices Prime Minister's Office Ministry of Justice Ministry for Foreign Affairs Ministry of Defence Ministry of Health and Social Affairs
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