The Order of the Seraphim is Sweden's foremost order of chivalry and is conferred upon members of the Swedish Royal House, foreign heads of state or individuals of equal merits. Each new knight of the order is expected to submit a proposal for a heraldic coat of arms, a Seraphim Coat of Arms, which is then painted. Heraldry has traditional and often strict rules, and the sole function of a coat of arms is to identify its owner. However, this does not prevent a coat of arms from conveying idea-content, such as specific messages and identities. This essay is a qualitative analysis of the Seraphim Coats of Arms of Finnish and Icelandic presidents, where the aim is to analyze symbols and idea-content, heraldic style as well as style development and national differences. The investigation analyzes the Seraphim Coats of Arms of eight Finnish presidents and five Icelandic presidents between the years 1925 and 2018. The essay employs semiotics as its theoretical framework and iconographic and iconological analysis as method. The results show that the weapons not only identify their owner, but also convey messages and identity – idea-content that can be intentional, but not always obvious. Symbols, idea-content and heraldic style vary. The majority represent the office of president and national symbols, such as the flag or coat of arms of the country. The Seraphim Coats of Arms of the Finnish presidents, with few exceptions, follow the strict tradition of heraldry and are generally archaically simple in their design. Among Finnish presidents, for example, policies and statements are more frequent, where the image of the president as a unifying figure is conveyed in the coats of arms. The coats of arms of the Icelandic presidents are more varied in both idea-content and style. In both countries there are examples of canting arms, arms that represent the bearer's name. The coats of arms of the Finnish and Icelandic heads of state represent a distinct heraldic time frame. The Finnish arms cover a period of just under a century, the Icelandic somewhat shorter. Together they form a unique insight into Nordic heraldry for almost 100 years.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:uu-532069 |
| Date | January 2024 |
| Creators | Nordquist, Victor |
| Publisher | Uppsala universitet, Konstvetenskapliga institutionen |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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