French Fleur-de-lis

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Interestingly enough, the fleur-de-lis is a stylized representation of an iris, despite the fact that the name means "flower of the lily" in French. It is an ancient symbol which has been associated with France and the French monarchy since the fifth century.

Its association with France began with the anointing of King Clovis I as the King of the Franks. According to legend, he adopted the fleur-de-lis as his symbol upon his conversion to Christianity because it represented purity.

In the Middle Ages the symbol occured frequently in religious art. Often it was used as a representation of the Virgin Mary because it symbolized purity and chastity.

The text behind the fleur-de-lis is from the Song of Roland, the oldest major work of French literature.

Et in Arcadia Ego

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This design was inspired by a relief on a monument at Shugborough Hall in Staffordshire, England known as the "Shugborough House Inscription," which was inspired by a painting by Nicholas Poussin.

The relief shows shepherds reading an inscription on a tomb which says, "Et in Arcadia Ego," which means "I am also in Arcadia, or "I am even in Arcadia." Some think that the phrase "Et in Arcadia Ego" is spoken by Death, as signified by the skull, to remind people that death is everywhere.

However, many think that the inscription is actually a secret code. In addition to the phrase "Et in Arcadia Ego," the inscription contains the letter sequence D O U S V A V V M. Furthermore, a shepherd is pointing to the n in in.

Among the theories as to the meaning of the code is one that it is a secret love letter from the owner of the estate to his late wife. A more famous theory is that the message contains a hidden clue to the whereabouts of the Holy Grail, as the original painter Poussin was a member of the Priory of Sion, the same secret society in The Da Vinci Code.

Polish Eagle

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A white eagle is the symbol of Poland because the nation's legendary founder Lech saw a white eagle in a nest bathed in the light of the sun and chose to settle and make a home for himself on that spot. He named the place Gniezdno from the Polish word gniazdo meaning nest.

The white eagle was first used on the Polish coat of arms during the thirteenth century. During the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the eagle was quartered with the Lithuanian coat of arms. Under communist rule, the white eagle remained as the coat of arms, but the crown was removed. After the fall of the Communist government in 1989, the crown was restored.

The red shield in this design is made up of words from a poem by the famous Polish poet Adam Mickiewicz

Unicorn

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A unicorn is a mythological creature. In addition to the trademark single horn in the middle of its forehead, a traditional unicorn has a billy-goat beard, a lion's tail, and cloven hooves.

The unicorn's origin is unclear, though it may have been created from inaccurate accounts of real animals, such as the oryx, the rhinoceros, or even the narwhal.

Unicorns are characterized as being wild and untamable. One legend has it that only a virgin is capable of taming a unicorn. Its wild an untamable nature may have led to its adoption as a symbol of Scotland, as seen on the royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom. The use of the Scottish motto, "Nemo me impune lacessit," is appropriate here because it means, "No on harms me with impunity."

Unicorn horns have also been highly sought after through the ages for their alleged medicinal purposes.

The Raven

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In Western culture, ravens, because of their black feathers, rasping call, and tendency to eat carrion, have always been harbingers of doom. Yet, ravens are extremely smart. They can be taught to speak. They learn through trial-and-error. They have been observed to play and even mourn for their dead. These behaviors have also made ravens a symbol of wisdom, as evidenced by the Norse god Odin's two ravens who fly around the world every day and tell him of everything.

Edgar Allan Poe used the raven's reputation to his advantage in The Raven, his poem about lost love and longing. Here's the first stanza:

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
"'Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door —
Only this, and nothing more."

Follow this link to read the full text.

Irish Harp

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Throughout the Middle Ages, the harp was the most popular instrument in Ireland, and the Irish harp, or Clàrsach, has been a symbol of Ireland since the thirteenth century. Primarily, in Celtic society, the harp was used to accompany bardic poetry. Today, the harp is still on the coat of arms of Ireland.

The words in the design are from the Gaelic song "Mo ghile mear," which is usually translated as "My dashing darling," or "My shining love." The full version in both Gaelic and English can be seen here.

Russian Eagle

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The double-headed eagle was adopted in the fifteenth century by Russia to signify its place as the successor to Byzantium, which also used a double-headed eagle as its symbol. It was used by the Russian Empire until the October Revolution of 1917. After the fall of the Soviet Union, The Russian Federation again adopted the double-headed eagle as its symbol.

The question on the banner is "And where will fate send death to me?" a line from an 1829 poem by Alexander Pushkin, one of the greatest Russian poets. Click here to see the poem in English and in Russian.