National and historical symbols of Hungary

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Váchartyán

(County Pest)

Shield erect, couped en pointe, pierced flanche-wise, the base curved to a point. In the field argent, issuing from a heart gules three olive branches vert, fructed or, all borne alaisé. The shield is bordered by a Baroque cartouche or, lined gules and adorned with griffin heads. Across the top a heraldic coronet or, lined gules and ensigned with gems gules and azure. Under the coat-of-arms, in the middle field of a tripartite swallow-tailed concave scroll or the settlement's name VÁCHARTYÁN is borne in majuscules sable.

When the settlement's coat-of-arms was designed, there were two old seal charges to rely on. The seal made in 1824 bears three olive branches issuing from a heart, whereas on the oldest seals a shield with Baroque ornaments is borne, emblazoned with three roses issuing from a heart. This latter seal, exactly 290 years old in 1998, owns a heraldic character, since it bears the settlement's coat-of-arms. For 138 years, between 1705 and 1843, it served as the authentic coat-of-arms of the village.

As regards the interpretation of the two charges, the rose issuing from the heart is a popular symbol of Christian iconography, and is related to the cult of the Virgin Mary, which spread after the Counter-Reformation.

It carries the principal message of the veneration of the Virgin: turning wholeheartedly to Mary, the "Queen of Roses". The symbol has several meanings: since Jesus Christ is Mary's son, the heart symbolising Mary and the rose that symbolises Christ refer to the relationship between mother and child. The veneration of the heart of Jesus Christ was due to the influence of mediaeval mysticism, mainly as a result of immersion in the torments of Christ.

The later seal charge, the three olive branches issuing from the heart, is in fact the transcription of the motif described above. In Christian iconography the olive branch, since it is an evergreen plant, symbolises the eternity of life, thus the branches fed by the heart are meant to convey the idea of immense vitality. In addition, they are to be shown as fructiferous, because since the Middle Ages the olive branch and olive oil have been symbolising the healing power of the Virgin Mary. The olive branch is also a reference to Christ. The trees in the Paradise, the species of which were not defined by the Bible, were occasionally thought to have been olive trees. In the Old Testament the olive tree is the symbol of benediction, grace, wisdom and faith in God. Since old Christian art avoided depicting Christ's humiliation and suffering as a human, or the scene of the crucifixion, the events that took place by the foot of the Mount of Olives in the Garden of Gethsemane were only referred to symbolically, with Christ standing between two olive trees. According to the legend, the cross itself was made of three kinds of wood. Although descriptions are varied, the olive, the cedar, the pine, the cypress and the palm tree are always mentioned. The cedar represents the kingdom of Christ, the cypress symbolises resurrection, the pine is the symbol of immortality, the palm represents Christ's martyrdom, whereas the olive is the symbol of the peace announced by him. Hence the olive branch in the beak of the dove of peace.

Apart from their religious character, the two symbols issuing from the heart are also related to popular belief. The form itself resembles the three-branched "tree of the world" (i.e. birth, life and death), whereas the rose motif is reminiscent of the "tree of the Sun" as well, since the position of the roses suggests the path of the Sun in the sky: down at sunrise, culminant at noon and down again at sunset. Further ethnographical features worth mentioning are the triple bough stuck in the wedding cake or the three-branched fructiferous bough fixed to the top of the wooden grave post. In addition, from among the motifs of folk art woodcarving and embroidery, the trinity described above is still a living symbol of earthly love.

The coat-of-arms is framed by a golden Baroque cartouche, which bears resemblance to the one that frames the coat-of-arms of the county, as if symbolically signifying where Váchartyán belongs.