Azure, a crowned eagle displayed Or beaked and membered Gules holding in its beak an Orthodox Cross Or, in its dexter talon a sword, and in its sinister talon a sceptre Argent, and bearing on its heart an escutcheon quarterly: I, Azure, an eagle displayed Or beaked and membered Gules holding in its beak an Orthodox Cross Or, in dexter chief a sun in splendour and in sinister chief an increscent of the last (forWallachia); II, gules, a bull's head caboshed Sable, in dexter base a rose, in sinister base a decrescent Argent, and between the bull's horns a mullet Or (forWestern Moldavia); III, Gules, issuant from water in base Azure a bridge of two arches embattled throughout, thereon a lion rampant Or brandishing a sabre proper (forOltenia andBanat); IV, Per fess Azure and Or, a bar Gules issuant therefrom an eagle displayed Sable between in sinister chief a decrescent Argent and in dexter chief a sun in splendour Or; in base seven castles Gules (forTransylvania); Entée en point, Azure, two dolphins urinant respectant Or (forDobrogea)
Thecoat of arms of Romania was adopted in theRomanian Parliament on 10 September 1992 as a representative coat of arms forRomania. The current coat of arms is based on the lesser coat of arms of interwarKingdom of Romania (used between 1922 and 1947), which was designed in 1921 by the Transylvanian Hungarian heraldist József Sebestyén fromCluj, at the request of KingFerdinand I of Romania, it was redesigned by Victor Dima.[1] As a central element, it shows agoldenaquila holding a cross in its beak, and amace and asword in its claws. It also consists of the three colors (red, yellow, and blue) which represent the colors of thenational flag. The coat of arms was augmented on 11 July 2016 to add a representation of theSteel Crown of Romania.
Until 1866, there were many variants of the coat of arms, regarding the background color and the number of times the two main elements where represented. In 1866, afterCarol I was elected Prince of Romania, theshield was divided into quarters: in the first and fourth aneagle was depicted, and in the second and third theaurochs; above the shield the arms of the reigningHohenzollern family was placed. After 1872, the coat of arms included the symbol of southernBessarabia (after 1877, ofDobruja), twodolphins, in the fourth quarter; and the one ofOltenia, agolden lion, in the third quarter; on the shield theSteel Crown was placed, as a symbol of sovereignty and independence, after theRomanian War of Independence.
After 1948, theCommunist authorities changed both theflag and the coat of arms. The coat of arms was rather an emblem,faithful to the Communist pattern: a landscape (depicting a rising sun, a tractor and an oil drill) surrounded by stocks of wheat tied together with a cloth in the colors of thenational flag. Until 1989, there were four variants, the first being changed shortly after 1948 (the proclamation of the republic), again changed in 1952 (a red star was added), and finally in 1965, when Romania ceased to be aPeople's Republic and became aSocialist Republic.
Immediately after the1989 Revolution, the idea came up of giving Romania a new, representative coat of arms. In fact, the very symbol of the Revolution was the flag with a hole in its middle where the communist coat of arms had been cut out.
The heraldic commission set up to design a new coat of arms for Romania worked intensely, subjecting to theParliament two final designs which were then combined. What emerged is the current design adopted by thetwo chambers of theRomanian Parliament in theirjoint session on September 10, 1992.
In April 2016, deputies of the Judiciary Committee endorsed a bill voted previously by theSenate[4] that returns thecrown on the head of the eagle and mandates the public authorities to replace the existing emblems and seals to those provided by law no later than 31 December 2018 (to mark the centenary of theUnion of Transylvania with Romania on 1 December 1918).[5] The bill was adopted by theChamber of Deputies on 8 June 2016[6] and promulgated by PresidentKlaus Iohannis on 11 July 2016.[7]
Romania's coat of arms has as a central element the golden aquila holding anOrthodox cross. Traditionally, this eagle appears in the arms of theArgeș county, the town ofPitești and the town ofCurtea de Argeș. It stands for the "nest of the Basarabs", the nucleus around which Wallachia was organised.
Since July 11, 2016 the coat of arms has been altered to include the heraldic representation of theSteel Crown ofKing Carol. A symbol of its royal past and a token for the period during 1881 and 1947 when Romania was a monarchy, ruled by the Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen house through its Romanian branch, founded by Carol.
The aquila, being the symbol of Latinity and a heraldic bird of the first order, symbolises courage, determination, the soaring toward great heights, power, grandeur
The shield on which it is placed isazure, symbolising the sky. The eagle holds in its talons the insignia of sovereignty: a mace and a sword, the latter reminding ofMoldavia's ruler,Stephen the Great whereas the mace reminds ofMichael the Brave, the first unifier of the Romanian Countries. On the bird's chest there is a quartered escutcheon with the symbols of the historical provinces (Wallachia, Oltenia, Moldavia, Bessarabia, Transylvania, the Banat, Crisana, Maramureș) as well as two dolphins reminding of the country's Black Sea Coast (Dobruja).
In the first quarter, Wallachia's coat of arms, an aquila or holding in its beak a goldenOrthodox cross, accompanied by a golden sun on the right and a golden new moon on the left, is displayed against an azure background.
In the second quarter, Moldavia's traditional coat of arms is shown, gules: an aurochs head sable with a mullet of or between its horns, a cinquefoil rose on the dexter and a waning crescent on the sinister, both argent.
The third quarter features the traditional coat of arms of the Banat and Oltenia, gules: over waves, a golden bridge with two arched openings (symbolisingRoman emperorTrajan's Bridge over theDanube), wherefrom comes a golden lion holding a broadsword in its right forepaw.
The fourth quarter shows the coat of arms of Transylvania: a shield parted by a narrow fesse, gules; in the chief, on blue, there is a black eagle with golden beak coming out of the fesse, accompanied by a golden sun on the dexter and a crescent argent on the sinister (symbolizing theSzékelys); on the base, on or, there are seven crenellated towers, placed four and three (symbolizing theSaxons).
Also represented are the lands adjacent to the Black Sea (Dobruja), on azure: two dolphins affronts, head down.
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