The coat of arms that serves as the symbol of the Lublin Voivodeship, Poland depicts a white (silver) male jumping cervus (deer), with a yellow (golden) crown on its neck, placed on a red background. The current design of the coat of arms was designed by Andrzej Heidrich, and adopted in 2002.
Design
The coat of arms depicts of a white (silver) male jumping cervus (deer), with a yellow (golden) crown on its neck. The cervus is facing left. The charge is placed within a red Iberian style escutcheon.
History
Kingdom of Poland
The first mention of the dear used as the symbol of the Lublin Land comes from middle of the 14th century. In 1410, the Lublin Land was represented in the battle of Grunwald, with a red banner depicting a white (silver) jumping cervus (deer), with a yellow (golden) crown on its neck. The coat of arms is also mentioned in Annales seu cronicae incliti Regni Poloniae by Jan Długosz, written by him in years 1464–1480. In the book, the coat of arms is described with the following sentence: "Lublin Land carries a horned dear ready to jump placed on a red field, whose neck is decorated with a golden crown".
The exact origin of the design of the coat of arms remain unknown. According to some theories, the design could have originated from the coat of arms of the heraldic clan of Brochwicz. Several nobel families of that clan lived in the area of Lublin Land in the High Middle Ages. The coat of arms depicted a red cervus placed on a white (silver) background.
The coat of arms became a symbol of the Lublin Voivodeship of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, that was established in 1474. The coat of arms remained in such use until 1795, when the voivodeship ceased to exist following the Third Partition of Poland.
The coat of arms was also used in the seals of Sigismund I the Old, and Sigismund II Augustus, who ruled as the King of Poland and the Grand Duke of Lithuania, respectively, from 1506 to 1548, and from 1548 to 1572.
Congress Poland
The Lublin Voivodeship of the Congress Poland was established on 16 January 1816. Its coat of arms was divided horizontally into two fields. The top field depicted a white (silver) male jumping cervus (deer), with a yellow (golden) crown on its neck, placed on a red background. The bottom field depicted a white (silver) bear and a tree trees growing on a green grass, placed on a green background. The bear stood behind the middle tree. The coat of arms was a combination of the historical coat of arms of the Lublin Voivodeship of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and the Chełm Land. The voivodeship existed until 23 lutego 1837, when it was replaced by the Lublin Governorate, which continued using said coat of arms.
In 1844, the Podlachian Governorate was incorporated into the Lublin Governorate. As such, the new coat of arms was combination of the two formerly used by those governorates. It was divided into four fields, two on top, and two on bottom. The top fields referred to the former coat of arms of the Lublin Governorate. The top right field depicted a white (silver) male jumping cervus (deer), with a yellow (golden) crown on its neck, placed on a red background. The top left field depicted a white (silver) bear and a tree trees growing on a green grass, placed on a green background. The bear stood behind the middle tree. The bottom fields referred to the former coat of arms of the Podlachian Governorate. The bottom right field depicted a white eagle with yellow (golden) legs, rising its wings, placed on a red background. The bottom left field depicted a knight in a white (silver) armor, sitting on a white (silver) horse with a blue saddle and shabrack, standing on its back hoofs. The knight has a blue shield with a yellow (golden) cross of Lorraine on it, put on his left arm, and hold a sword in his right hand. They are placed on a red background. The coat of arms was approved by the viceroy of Poland, Ivan Paskevich, on 5 October 1845, and later, by the tsar or Russia, Nicholas I, on 26 May 1849. It remained in use until 1866.