Elk (heraldic animal)

The moose is a common figure in heraldry as a heraldic animal . It is widespread in the old Courland region of Semgallia ( Latvia ) and in its distribution area Northern Europe. The former capital Jelgava (Mitau) has an elk head in its coat of arms . But also in Neustadt (Dosse) the animal can be found striding red in the coat of arms. In general, the elk is depicted with magnificent antlers, often of a different color than the animal itself. The hooves also usually show a different color than the body. Main line of sight is heraldic right, standing with raised right leg. The coat of arms depicts the whole elk or just the head. This can also be in face , i.e. facing the viewer. All heraldic colors are possible.

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  Neustadt (Dosse) ; with raised right leg

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  Ellenberg (Württemberg) ; in face

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  Elchingen on the Härtsfeld ; trotting to the right

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  Elchweiler ; only elk antlers

• Paraheraldry
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  Moose in the coat of arms of the Norrlands dragonregemente

literature

1. ↑ Gert Oswald : Lexicon of Heraldry. VEB Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig 1984.

Web links

Commons : Moose in Heraldry  - collection of images, videos and audio files