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	A Christian symbol


	Carantania (Inner Austria)


	Troubadours


	Rose seals


	In heraldry

In England


	Rose of Carantania


	Karantanska roža

Rose with six petals instead of the normal five

by Dr. Jožko Šavli

May 5, 2010

In Carantanian heraldry the rose rarely appears, and its shape does not distinguish itself from other plant symbols in Europe. It is a Christian sign, although its symbol goes back into pre-Christian time. Because of its fragrance, beauty and colour, since time immemorial, the red rose has been a symbol of love, death and paradise. In later Christianity, the rose is therefore a symbol of Minnesong and trubadours, starting with Wolfram von Eschenbach, Konrad von Saneck, Wilhelm von Schärfenberg and others.

Greeks and Romans ascribed the rose to the goddess of love (Afrodite, Venus). In Greek mythology, the red rose was supposed to have sprung from the blood of Adonis, the lover of Venus, and was symbolic of love which transcended death.

In Rome, roses were used in wreaths being carried by participants in festivals. For Roman emperors they were an expression of princely pomp. Pindar, a Greek poet, speaks about Elysium (paradise) as meadows red with roses.

The esoteric doctrines, for which the Eastern lotus stands, have been perpetuated in modern Europe under the form of the rose. The rose and the lotus are yonic emblems, signifying primarily the maternal creative mystery. Both represent spiritual unfoldment and attainment.

Noricum, Tetradrachm, 2nd/1st century BC


	•	obverse: head with diadem


	•	reverse: rider with a lance on horseback, and under his horse a rose with six petals.

The results show that in at least one case the rose has been found on a Norican coin. The interesting fact is, that it has six petals. It, too, could have been an allusion in paradise. Noricum was first an independent kingdom and thereafter a Roman province in the Eastern Alps, in the territory of the later Carantania. Its culture is not very known, but it is certain, that after the decline of the Roman Empire many Norican traditions were passed down to medieval Carantania.

A Christian symbol

In the Christian tradition, the symbolic meaning of the lily and the rose refer above all to the Song of Songs (II, 1,2). In the Vulgata the text reads literally: (1) Ego flos campi et lilium convallium, (2) Sicut lilium inter spinas, sic amica mea inter filias. English: (1) I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys. (2) As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters. - Anyway, in the ancient Hebrew text we read as follows: 1. I am the rose of Sharon, a rose of the valley, 2. As the rose among thorns, so is my darling among the daughters.

It is about an erotic idyll, which was declared unfit for the Bible. So, already Jewish scribes explain this place as the Allegory, in which God's love for the chosen people is expressed. Origen (died 254) saw in these verses Christ as the loving groom and the Church as a bride. The same position was supported by Hieronymus (died ca. 420) and finally by St. Augustine (died 430). There is no doubt among Theologians that he had perhaps the greatest influence on Christianity since the time of Jesus and Paul. Trying different philosophical and theological systems throughout his life time, St. Augustine wrote a number of works that went virtually unchallenged for over 1000 years, until the reformation.

An example of a natural rose

Furthermore, in the Bible, the rose is enumerated among the aromatic plants, which illustrate the Eternal Wisdom (Christ). The comparison rose - Martyrdom has been the basic pillar in the Christian symbolism of this flower and soon it was figurative, symbolizing the King of Martyrs, Jesus Christ, and its passion. The five petals symbolize the five wounds of Christ. The thorns symbolize the sins and their consequences, pain and sorrow. In the Middle Ages, the red rose stood for the blood shed by Jesus on the Cross and therefore represented God's love for mankind.

The rose as the 'queen of flowers' was also associated with the Virgin Mary. She is “the rose among the thorns”. Already in about 430 the poet Sedulis gave her this epithet (Forstner, 185). Since the 14th century, she is often depicted in a rose bower (Rosenhag), so by Martin Schongauer, Stephan Lochner, and other painters. In the late Antiquity and in the early Middle Ages, the starting point of diffusion of Christianity in the territory of the upper Adria and in Noricum, was Aquileia. After the decline of the Roman Empire, the Ostrogoths founded their kingdom in the former empire. Already in 568 AD, the Lombards conquered the territory and founded their own kingdom there. But they did not integrate the area of ancient Noricum. In this territory arose the independent principality of Carantania (Slovenia).

Altar of Ratchis, a Lombard duke (ca. 740 AD), Museo cristiano, Cividale.

Backrest of the bishop's chair with cross, lilies and roses (8th century AD),

Civdale, Museo archeologico.

Aquileia and the nearby territory formed the Lombard duchy of Friuli. However, Carantania continued to pertain to Aquileia, until in 812 a line of demarcation was established between Aquileia and Salzburg on the Drava River. So the early Christian period in Carantania was mostly influenced by the spiritual and cultural traditions of Aquileia and its area.

As an example of this spiritual influence I would like to attract attention to a stele found on the altar of Ratchis, a Lombard duke of Cividale (Friuli). It depicts the image of Christ Pantocrator in a laurel wreath (victory), surrounded by two angels. Outside of the wreath are found four cherubs among the stars, which represent the apocalyptic star wreath. At the bottom we see two roses, which evidently show the entire composition as paradise.

Another example of roses, which symbolize paradise, is found on a bishop’s chair (8th century AD) in Cividale: a cross of wickework put in a laurel wreath; two lily flowers appear above the cross followed by two roses below the cross. There is also a chalice in the upper left hand corner.

Carantania (Inner Austria)

With Christianization (8th century AD) the spiritual symbolism of Aquileia also spread over Carantania. But early artistic illustrations of this are lacking. They are found mostly among Christian symbols found in the finds of sites. In the following Romanesque period (11th century), they became more frequent, for example in the cathedral of Gurk (Krka) or in the abbey church of Millstatt and elsewhere.

In Aquileia, Mary’s cult was already spread at this time, and it also passed over to its metropolitan territory. So, the cathedral of Carantania (today’s Carinthia) was consecrated to Gospa Sveta (Our Lady). Another interesting fact is, that Marian symbols were also present in the daily life of Carantanians. We find them perhaps in sigillography. They are mostly bound to the above cited verses in the Song of Songs.

In the aforesaid song, the verse is generally understood as Maria being the rose and the Saviour being the lily. So it says in the Speech of Faith, written by Hartmann († 1114). Otherwise, in the Melker Marienlied both epithets “flos campi” and “lilium inter spinas” are referred to Mary. Also in the Vorauer Marienlob (12th century AD) the epithet flos campi (des veldes bluome) describes in hymn-like praise the rose.

Seal of Ulrich of Maribor – Marburg (1249)). It depicts the flower of rose with six petals.

During the Romanesque period, several symbols of Christ and Mary have been represented in Fine Arts. In sigillography we find a very interesting example from 1249 (Siegenfeld, 9). It is the seal of the knight Ulrich of Maribor (Marburg). In the middle it depicts a shield with lion (symbol of Christ), which is winning the fight over the dragon (symbol of Devil). Outside of the shield we see a half-moon or new-moon (symbol of Birth and Growth), rose (Mary), lily (Christ) and above the shield a star, which represents apocalyptic stars or the eternal blessedness.

Anyway, these symbols were very often used as badges of the ladies and maidens, who venerated Mary as their protectress. They made use of her symbols, which in particular appeared on their seals. As female flower corresponded in particular the symbols of lily and rose. So they appeared very often on female seals as badges, or strewn, or in the hand of the signet holder.

In this connection, lily and rose gradually were given a somewhat different role. The lily became a symbol of purity and virginity and was to be understood as referred to the Protectress. It was a symbol of the spiritual service of ladies (geistiger Frauendienst). Otherwise, the rose became a symbol of the mundane service of ladies (weltlicher Frauendienst). The latter was understood as courtly love (Minne), to which in Europe innumerable poems and songs of troubadours were dedicated.

Troubadours

Henceforth, the rose became the symbol of love. The cause for this was that “a woman's lips are red like a rose”. This knew the poet of the Song of Songs as well as Ulrich von Liechtenstein (1200 – 1278), the well-known troubadour and Minnesinger of Carantania (later Inner Austria).

Ulrich is famous for his supposedly autobiographical poetry collection Frauendienst (Service of the Lady). He writes of himself as a protagonist who does great deeds of honor to married noblewomen, following the conventions of chaste courtly love. The protagonist embarks on two remarkable quests. In the first quest, he travels from Venice to Vienna in the guise of Venus, the goddess of love.

He competes in jousts and tourneys and challenges all the knights he meets to a duel in the honor of his lady. He breaks 307 lances and defeats all comers. The noblewoman, however, mostly spurns his affections and demands more deeds and even mutilation for even the honor to hold her hand. In the second quest, he takes on the role of King Arthur, with his followers becoming Arthurian Round Table characters. The collection was finished in 1255.

Ulrich von Liechtenstein (Codex Manesse)

During his travel from Venice to Vienna, Ulrich von Liechtenstein also came to Carinthia. There, dressed as Queen Venus, the Goddess of Love, he was received by Duke Bernard and his knights. The welcoming company greeted him by shouting in unison the Slovenian greeting: Buge was primi gralva Venus, which means, Let us receive God, kingly Venus.

After he left Carinthia for Vienna, in the Murica (Mürz) Valley a messenger brought him a welcome-message, saying he was expected by a Slovenian lady, windisch wip, who challenged him to a friendly duel according to “chivalric customs”. Soon after, the Slovenian “lady” was identified as Otto von Buchs, the lord of the Valley.

It is possible, that Ulrich von Liechtenstein was accompanied on his travels by several other Carantanian poets and singers, like Herrand von Wildon, Konrad von Saneck, Wilhelm von Schärfenberg, Rudolf von Stadeck, Zachaeus von Himmelberg and others. They wrote poetry and sang in German language. Therefore, their works, together with those of Ulrich von Liechtenstein, belong in the linguistic sense to the German literature. However, after geographic and cultural criteria they were of Carantanian literary creation.

Rose seals

In Carantania (Inner Austria), after the travels of Ulrich von Liechtenstein, there appeared the so-called Rose seals. They represent a specialty in the sigillography and are only characteristic for the Carantania of that time. Such a seal is composed of five petals. Each “petal “ is in fact a shield with coat of arms.

The entire seal looks like a rose. In the centre of each rose there is the symbol of a rose or a star. The number of “petals” is mostly five. Anyway, there are also six petals, and in later times between three and eight.

Examples of rose seals from Inner Austria (Carantania):

Some examples of rose seals from Inner Austria (Carantania), 13th century:
From top to bottom, we see the seals of the following seigniories:

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Ulrich von Liechtenstein (1241), Wilhelm von Heunburg – Vovbre (1242)

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Wülfing von Stubenberg (1247), Heinrich von Schärfenberg (1235), and

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Hartnid von Pettau – Ptuj (1243)

The very last seal depicts a rose of six petals, which pertains to Hartnid von Pettau – Ptuj. It is about a peculiarity of Carantania (Inner Austria). Six petals instead of five are also seen on the seal of the seigniories of Maribor (1249).

It is very likely that the Rose seal fashion in Carantania was stimulated by Ulrich’s Venus-journey from Venice to Vienna, in 1227. Thus, the older preserved seal of this type from 1232 pertains to him. It probably accompanied the singer on his tours. Soon after, the Rose seal fashion was spread all over Carantania. It is of significance that between 1232 and 1250 over 10 percent of the seals have been preserved in Carantanian lands, this is, Rose seals from Styria, Carinthia and Carniola (Siegenfeld, 15).

In the 2nd part of the 13th century the fashion spread to Austria, Tirol and Friuli. Coat-of-Arms signets were worn by Austrian nobles. Wearing a signet was popular, proving their noble status, as to show in this way the coats of arms of their lands. This fashion lasted until the 15th century.

In heraldry

As can be seen from the above paragraphs concerning the tradition of rose seals, the rose flower was also a symbol of love in Carantania. It appears as a prominent feature on many seals from the 13th century when this seal fashion was in style among troubadours. In the Carantanian coats of arms, it is true, the rose appears rarely.

Anyway, we see this as well in the heraldic tradition of other European nations. And at this point I am asking myself: Is it possible to define a characteristic feature, which could be used to identify the Rose of Carantania? Absolutely, the Carantanian rose does exist. However, it is not a national symbol as it is in the case of the black panther sign. It is only a heraldic device.

The rose with six petals, which I consider characteristic for Carantania (Inner Austria) is found in the arms of Trauttmansdorf and Rosenberg. The first mentioned family had their main seat near Bad Radkersburg (Stara Radgojna), in eastern Styria. The rose appears in their seal already in 1359. Colours known from later times are as follows: per pale Gules and Argent, a rose counterchanged. The family could have been a branch of the Klechs (Klöch, Klek) from the surroundings of Radkersburg (Radgona). At the beginning of the 19th century the Trauttmansdorfs advanced to the rank of Princes of State (Reich).

Trauttmansdorf

The Rosenberg family has its origin in Graz (Gradec) and is mentioned for the first time in the 13th century under the name “de Vale” (vom Thal). They were a branch of the Graben family. Anyway, already in 1289 Konrad von Graben signs a document as "ab dem Rosenberg". It was the name of a hill above Graben, the old city quarter of Graz.

At first the Graben family bore the following coat of arms: Or, a bend Sable. It was the sign of the Eastern Command of the Carantanian army. In 1409, Wulfing Rosenberg bore in his crest a rose of five petals. In 1513, when the last member of the Klech family died, their daughter Apolonia passed the family arms to her husband Sigmund von Rosenberg: per pale Argent and Gules, a rose counterchanged. It was used for a short time by the Rosenbergs.

Rosenberg

In the following period, the Rosenbergs reached the top of their career. In 1684, under Emperor Leopold I, the Rosenbergs rose to the rank of counts and the family was allowed to bear the name Orsini. In this way, they became Counts of Orsini and Rosenberg. The Orsini family (Ursini) was a noble family in medieval Rome. It is said that a member of this family arrived in Carantania after 1150. He was the beginner of the Rosenbergs (Siebmacher’s, 66). In 1790, Leopold II elevated the Rosenbergs to the rank of Princes of State (Reichsfürsten).

Orsini Rosenberg

The Orsinis bore a traditional bear in the family crest, which alluded to their name (orso – bear). Therefore, the supporters of the shield were two bears, one on either side. On the shield was a rose Gules and above it a count's crown. The characteristic rose of six petals was no longer in use. The stamina frequently appears Or.

In the search for the characteristic rose of Carantania (Inner Austria), only the following heraldic composition combined with the historical heraldic elements correspond: Argent, a rose of six petals Gules inseminated Or. In particular, its six petals are very representative.

Above, we see the crest of the arms of Trauttmansdorf and that of Rosenberg.


	•	The first image depicts the rose in the middle of a cock tuft.


	•	In the second one, the rose is embroidered by five cock tufts.


	•	They are the sign, that both families at one time served in the highest ranks in the infantry of the Carantanian army.

Why six petals? It may have been a onetime occurence. But more likely, they reflect the symbolic number six. (Forstner, 51). In the Bible God created the World “symbolically” in seven days. On the 6th day God created man. Only in this way I can explain the number of six petals in the above illustrated rose, and for this reason only it qualifies as the Carantanian rose.

In England

One heraldic treatise stated that the rose's special status is explained 'by its special association with comfort, generosity and discretion' and continued that 'Red roses have an inevitable association with the redness of the blood that all must shed for freedom, for the Fatherland, for the Church.

In German territory roses are featured in the arms of the princely House of Lippe, which was continued in the House of Orange-Nassau (Netherlands). The English heraldic rose has a stylized form consisting of five symmetrical lobes, five barbs, and a circular seed. In heraldry, the rose is quite characteristic. Heraldic roses feature prominently in English history.

The two rival royal houses of the fifteenth century were supposedly known by their heraldic badges, the Red Rose of Lancaster and the White Rose of York, from which their long conflict was later called the Wars of the Roses. Red and white roses appear in the civic heraldry of Lancashire and Yorkshire respectively.

The red rose of the House of Lancaster and the white rose of the House of York

The rose of Tudor

The House of Tudor that came to power at the end of the wars used a combination of their two roses: the ten-petaled Tudor rose. The Tudor rose is depicted white on red on a field of gold or silver, or red on white on a field of any other colour. It is used as a floral emblem of England, just as the thistle is associated with Scotland.

There also exists the Luther Rose, also known as the Luther Seal. It is easily the most recognized symbol for Lutheranism, and for good reason. Martin Luther personally oversaw the creation of this coat of arms in the year 1519. It provides a beautiful summary of his faith, a faith that is common to all Christians, of every place and every time.

Luther’s seal

The Luther rose, a rose combined with a ring, heart, and Latin cross, was used by Martin Luther as a personal seal. The significance of its components is as follows: the rose stands for Christ, the heart for his love, the cross for his sacrifice for mankind, the blue background is heaven and the circle is eternity. The Luther rose is sometimes used as a charge in its own right, appearing on the arms of numerous German towns.

In comparison with the above quoted heraldic roses, the Rose of Carantania with its six petals is similar in appearance but very different in its symbolic meaning. Alfred Anthony von Siegenfeld, the well-known Styrian heraldist, described it in his treatise on rose seals in Inner Austria (Carantania). He evaluates its original meaning in medieval spirituality found in the divine Minnesong. Its entire significance, I think, is revealed in the earliest mention of Faith of everyday life and native spiritualy.

Sources:

Amelio Tagliaferri, Cividale del Friuli, Pordenone 1985
Manfred Lurker; Wörterbuch der Symbole, Stuttgart 1988
Kurt Ranke: Rosengarten, Recht und Totenkult, Hamburg. 1951
Alfred Anthony von Siegenfeld: Innerösterreichische Rosensiegel, Adler, Vienna 1895
Gert Oswald: Lexikon der Heraldik, Munich 1985
Zaharias Bartsch: Steiermärkisches Wappen-Buch 1567. - Faksimile-Ausgabe mit historischen und heraldischen Anmerkungen von Dr. Josef von Zahn und Alfred Anthony von Siegenfeld, Graz 1893.
Siebmacher’s großes Wappenbuch, Band 29, Neustadt an der Aisch 1980

Dorothea Firstner: Die Welt der christlichen Symbole, Innsbruck 1982