The state ofPrussia developed from theState of the Teutonic Order. The original flag of theTeutonic Knights had been a black cross on a white flag. EmperorFrederick II in 1229 granted them the right to use the blackEagle of theHoly Roman Empire.[citation needed] This "Prussian Eagle" remained the coats of arms of the successive Prussian statesuntil 1947.
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On 27 January 1701, KingFrederick I changed his arms as prince-elector of Brandenburg. The older arms of the electors of Brandenburg depicted a red eagle on a white background. Henceforth, the Prussian eagle, now royally crowned and with 'FR' (Fridericus Rex, "King Frederick") on its breast, was placed in anescutcheon on the shield with 25 quarters instead of the electoral scepter. All the helmets made way for one royalcrown.
Thewild men – figures fromGermanic andCeltic mythology representing the 'Lord of the Beasts' or 'Green Man' – that held the arms of Prussia are probably taken from the arms ofPomerania orDenmark. They are also to be found as supporters of the arms ofBraunschweig,Königsberg, and theDutch towns ofAnloo,Beilen,Bergen op Zoom, Groede,Havelte,'s-Hertogenbosch,Oosterhesselen,Sleen,Sneek,Vries andZuidwolde.[1] A wild man and a wild woman have held the shield of the principality ofSchwarzburg inThuringia and the city ofAntwerp since the beginning of the 16th century.[2] Two wild men and a wild woman have been included in the seal ofBergen op Zoom since 1365.[3]
A decree from 11 February 1701 placed a crown on the Prussian escutcheon. The king ordained that the whole should be placed on a royal pavilion after theFrench and Danish examples.
WhenWilliam III,Prince of Orange andKing of England, died on 19 March 1702, the king ordered the arms of theprincipality placed on his shield. This was to support his claim as heir general, although theFrisian branch of theHouse of Orange-Nassau claimed it as well.
In 1708 Frederick announced that he would place the quarters of the dukes ofMecklenburg in the Prussian arms to stress his rights toMecklenburg-Schwerin andMecklenburg-Strelitz if their ducal lines were to die out. Although Mecklenburg-Strelitz protested,Emperor Joseph I gave permission to Frederick in October 1712. This design was twice officially altered but was not fundamentally changed since.
The electoral scepter had its own shield under the electoral cap. Around the shield, with 36 quarters (including Veere-Vlissingen and Breda), appeared theOrder of the Black Eagle with a crowned helmet resting on top. The wild men held banners of Prussia and Brandenburg and behind the pavilion rose a Prussian banner after the example of the FrenchOriflamme. The mottoGott mit uns ("God with us") appeared on the pedestal.
Already during the reign of Frederick I there is a notable difference between the 'Gothic' representation of the Prussian eagle in the arms and the more naturally depicted and often flying eagle on most coins[4] and military standards.[5]
Frederick William I followed his father on the throne on 25 February 1713. According to Ströhl he gave the eagle a scepter and orb. He made an arrangement with the Frisian Nassaus over the title to the Principality of Orange, although it was occupied by France. Besides the arms of Orange, he officially addedVeere and Vlissingen on 29 July 1732. The king also addedEast Frisia to his arms, claiming it in case the prince would die without heir. A fourth escutcheon appeared among the 36 quarters.
Frederick II became king on 31 May 1740. He laid claim to the duchy ofSilesia after the death of EmperorCharles VI and declared war on Charles' daughter and heir,Maria Theresa of Austria, thereby starting theSilesian Wars.
Frederick II was followed by his nephew,Frederick William II, on 17 August 1786. Frederick William II inherited theFranconian cadet branches (Ansbach andBayreuth) of theHouse of Hohenzollern in 1791. For reasons of economy, however, the official seals were unchanged.
Frederick William III took the throne on 16 November 1797 and changed the arms on 3 July 1804. The reorganisation of Germany byNapoleon I of France made alterations necessary. A new escutcheon was created for Silesia and the shield held 42 quarters. TheOrder of the Red Eagle of the Franconian line was also added around the shield.
After the fall of Napoleon, Prussia gained extensive territories on theRhine and inSaxony. New arms were therefore decreed on 9 January 1817. The number of quarters rose to 48, including the horse ofWestphalia andLower Saxony. The number of escutcheons was reduced to four: the black eagle of Prussia, the red eagle of Brandenburg instead of the scepter, the burgraviate ofNuremberg (though ceded toBavaria), andHohenzollern proper.
The so-called 'middle arms' were then issued: a shield with the same four escutcheons and ten quarters forSilesia,Rhineland,Posen,Saxony,Pomerania,Magdeburg,Jülich-Cleves-Berg, andWestphalia. This was encircled by the Order of the Black Eagle and held by two wild men with clubs.
The small arms already in use on coins of the 1790s were legitimized as well.
On 7 December 1849, theSwabian lines ofHohenzollern-Sigmaringen andHohenzollern-Hechingen were annexed byFrederick William IV, who had followed his father on 7 July 1840.
Frederick William IV was followed by his brotherWilliam I on 2 January 1861. He changed the arms on 11 January 1864 by combining the escutcheons of Nuremberg and Hohenzollern. After theSecond Schleswig War of 1864 and theAustro-Prussian War of 1866, Prussia annexedSchleswig,Holstein,Hanover,Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel), andNassau. King William I of Prussia became William I, German Emperor on 18 January 1871 during theunification of Germany. TheKingdom of Prussia became the predominant state in the newly createdGerman Empire.
William decreed new arms on 16 August 1873. The number of quarters was again 48 with three escutcheons. Added were the collars of the Order of the House of Hohenzollern and the Order of the Prussian Crown. The motto was placed on the dome of the pavilion.
The middle arms of 1873 show more clearly the changes by the additions of Schleswig-Holstein, Hanover, and Hesse-Kassel and the removals of Magdeburg and Cleves-Jülich-Berg.[6]
The Hohenzollern family uses themottoNihil Sine Deo (English:Nothing Without God). The familycoat of arms, first adopted in 1192, began as a simple shieldquarterlysable andargent. A century later, in 1317,Frederick IV, Burgrave of Nuremberg, added the head and shoulders of a hound as a crest.[7] Laterquartering reflected heiresses’ marriages into the family.
With the fall of the House of Hohenzollern in 1918, the Kingdom of Prussia was succeeded by theFree State of Prussia within theWeimar Republic. The new Prussian arms depicted a single black eagle, displayed in a more natural than heraldic style. While part ofNazi Germany, the free state's arms depicted a single black eagle, more stylized than before but not in a heraldic manner, with aswastika and the phraseGott mit unsbeginning in 1933. TheReichsstatthaltergesetz of 1935 removed all effective power from the Prussian government.
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In 1947, following World War II, the state of Prussia was dissolved by the Allies, thus rendering its arms defunct.
A black eagle on white is present in the arms ofSaxony-Anhalt, to stand for what was Prussian Saxony. The Prussian eagle is also featured in the arms of theSalzlandkreisdistrict of Saxony-Anhalt, as well as the former district ofAschersleben-Staßfurt.
A black eagle on red is present in the arms ofWarmian-Masurian Voivodeship in Poland, which corresponds to what was southern East Prussia.
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