Frequently Asked Questions:

1. Are there heraldic features of Hungarian Heraldry that make it stand out from other countries or regions?

According to Peter Gwynn-Jones in The Art of Heraldry Origins, Symbols and Designs, "Hungarian heraldry is closely akin to that of Austria and Germany, but differs in two particular respects.  First, there is a marked preference for devices associated with Turkish wars, a perennial feature of Hungarian history from the fifteenth to the eighteenth centuries.  The second characteristic is the occasional extravagance typified by the arms of the Hajduboszormeny, charged with a firing gun, beneath which are burning logs and above a friendly sun, the whole encircled by a green dragon bearing a patriarchal cross." 

"Hajduboszormeny with its 32 thousand inhabitants is one of the most important cities of the North Pannonian Plain region. As for its territory it is the fifths of the country's biggest cities.  Boszormeny in the name of the city refers to a Turkish-Bulgarian ethnic group which carried out an important commercial and economic activity at the time. This may show that the first inhabitants of the commune were the boszormenys. The prefix hajdu refers to a military shepherd group which members – with the direction of duke Isvan Bocskai – "shed their blood and gave their life" for true faith and freedom during the sole victorious revolution in Hungarian history." - www.hajduboszormeny.hu ***

According to an article posted on www.heraldica.org some years ago by an author sharing with a news group. Please click here to pull up that article regarding unique characteristics if Hungarian heraldry.

According to Wikipedia "Eastern European heraldry is in the traditions developed in Serbia, Croatia, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine, and Russia.  Eastern coats of arms are characterized by a pronounced, territorial, clan system — often, entire villages or military groups were granted the same coat of arms irrespective of family relationships. In Poland, nearly six hundred unrelated families are known to bear the same Jastrzebiec coat of arms.  Marks of cadency are almost unknown, and shields are generally very simple, with only one charge. Many heraldic shields derive from ancient house marks. At the least, fifteen per cent of all Hungarian personal arms bear a decapitated Turk's head, referring to their wars against the Ottoman Empire.[48][49]"

 

*** Proper Hungarian accent marks have been removed due to problems with Internet fonts