Abstract
In European heraldry, the specificity of the iconography of the Prussian heraldic eagle has not yet aroused the interest of specialists. Drawing on the monuments of the Viking Age fi ne arts, it was possible to establish the deep roots of such a specifi c feature of the Prussian eagle iconography as the “clover stem”. This fi gure goes back to the details of the 10th century sword scabbard heads. and emphasizes the sprawling fi gure of the heraldic bird. Of course, medieval artists have fi rmly forgotten the initial sacrifi cial meaning of this stripe crossing the bird and perceived the “stem of the clover” as a symbol of the Holy Trinity. At the beginning of the 16th century. In the fi rst half of the 18th century. The “stem of the clover” becomes an indispensable detail of the Prussian heraldic eagle. During the reign of Frederick II the Great, both in Europe and in Prussia, the style of classicism, characterized by the desire to achieve maximum realism of the depiction of living beings, spreads. In particular. The Prussian eagle loses its fl at, fl attened positioning and begins to be depicted in a 3/4 turn with its left wing raised during the ascent. At the same time, the “stem of the clover” disappears from his chest. He returned here in the middle of the 19th century. It is noteworthy that the “stems of clover” never disappeared from the eagle represented on the coat of arms of Königsberg.
Keywords
Historical Prussia, heraldic eagle, “clover stem”.
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