Elementy przyrody ożywionej w symbolice państwowej Islandii

Abstrakt

Iceland is a Nordic country, located on the island of the same name. This country is known for its great care for the protection of the natural environment. Iceland also uses very rich nature motifs in its state symbols. This work analyzes the state symbolism of the country in terms of the occurrence of these motifs. Plant motifs do not appear there at all, which is probably due to the poor vegetation of the country. Among animal motifs on Icelandic symbols there are utilitarian animals (seafood), wild animals, and fantasy animals (originating from legends). The work also compares the symbols of Iceland with those of other Nordic countries. The lion motif, one of Iceland's state symbols, appears in no other country in this group. This may be due to the geographical isolation of Iceland and its poorly developed heraldic traditions (compared to other Nordic countries). In terms of the type of natural motifs used, Iceland is not significantly different from other Nordic countries. It is worthy of note, however, that Iceland has the largest number of different motifs on its symbols. The Nordic countries, among them Iceland, are characterized by their great care for the natural environment. The presence of representatives of native wildlife on their symbols may be related to this fact.