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 The Icelandic Coat of Arms |
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 | | From about 1350 Iceland's arms were on a red field a silver stockfish (a split and dried cod) with a golden crown. These arms were incorporated into the arms of the Kings of Denmark, and so were a part of the Danish Royal standard until this century. Illustrated here is Tryggvi Magnusson's version. | | |  | | In 1903, the same year as Iceland got home rule, the stockfish was replaced with new arms. Icelanders felt that the stockfish was a humiliating symbol that the ruling Danes had invented. The new arms (adopted 11 December 1903) had a blue field with a silver falcon. The colours and the falcon were regarded as an ancient symbol of the country. | | |  | | When Iceland's independence was restored in 1918, a new coat of arms was designed by Rikardur Jonsson
for the kingdom of Iceland. It shows the crowned flag of Iceland surrounded by the four guardian spirits of the land: A bull to the right of the shield, a giant to the left, a vulture to the right above the bull, and a dragon to the left above the giant. | | |  | | When the Republic of Iceland was founded in 1944, a new version was introduced, this time designed by Tryggvi Magnusson. It is basically the same as the 1918 version but with the shield resting on a slab of basalt, and the crown removed, as nearly 700 years of foreign rule was over. |
About the four guardian spiritsThere are four supporters on the national arms: Bull, eagle, dragon (or a griffin) and giant. The bull and giant are standing on a basement of basalt representing Iceland. Above them are the eagle and dragon. The supporters refer to the guardians of Iceland that are mentioned in a passage in Heimskringla. The story is from the Saga of Olav Tryggvason (chapter 33) and goes like this: Then the King of Denmark had the intention to sail with his fleet to Iceland to avenge the insult which all the Icelanders had heaped on him. It had been put into the laws in Iceland that a lampooning verse about the Danish king be composed for every head in the land. The reason for this was that when a vessel owned by Icelanders was shipwrecked in Denmark, the Danes appropriated all the cargo, calling it goods drifted ashore. (...) King Harald bade a warlock to journey to Iceland and find out what he could tell him. He went in a whale's-shape. And when he came to Iceland he proceeded west and north around it. He saw that all the mountains and hills were full of land-wights, some big and some small. And when he came to the Vapnafjord he swam into the fjord, intending to go ashore there. Then a big dragon came down the valley, followed by many serpents, toads, and adders that blew poison at him. Then he swam away, heading west along the land, all the way to the Eyjafjord, and he entered into that fjord. Then there flew against him a bird so large that its wings touched the mountains on either side of the fjord, and a multitude of other birds besides, both large and small. Away he backed from there, swimming west around the land and then south to the Breithafjord and entered that fjord. Then came against him a big bull, wading out into the water and bellowing fearfully. A multitude of land-wrights followed him. Away he backed from there, swimming around Reykjaness, and intended to come ashore at Vikarsskeith. Then came against him a mountain giant with an iron bar in his hand, and his head was higher than the mountains, and many other giants were with him. (...) Thereupon the King of Denmark sailed his fleet south along the land, and then to Denmark. But Earl Hakon had all the land cultivated again and paid no more tribute to the king of Denmark afterwards.
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Courtesy of www.south.is
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