Versus Mode: Coat of Arms (United States vs. Germany)
I seem to be in a competitive mood these days (by which I mean “in a mood to make others competeâ€), so it looks like the first review of the week is going to be another Versus Mode. This time, we’re looking at Coats of Arms — symbols of national identification that don’t really mean as much in our modern world. Nowadays “arms†usually refers to firearms of some kind or another, and regular old shields aren’t as effective against bullets as they were against swords. Still, I recently noticed that both the United States and Germany have eagles on their coats of arms, so it seems like an interesting comparison to make.
The Coat of Arms of the United States of America
Technically, the obverse (non-reverse) of the Great Seal of the United States is considered the country’s coat of arms. Let’s look at this, shall we? There’s an eagle, holding an olive branch and a bunch of arrows, and biting down on a ribbon that reads “E Pluribus Unum.†Also, there’s big thing floating above its head with stars surrounded by clouds or something. There’s a lot going on, and it’s very meaningful and all, but it’s a little too busy. Also, the position of the shield across the eagle’s belly makes me think of some kind of nature documentary censored by people unwilling to show the naughty bits of eagles. I mean, really, it looks like someone just pasted the shield on top. Yeesh.
The Coat of Arms of the Federal Republic of Germany
Likewise bearing the likeness of an eagle, the German coat of arms is refreshingly uncluttered in comparison to that of the United States. However, its a little too stylized and blocky to be a really good coat of arms, especially compared to some older designs. Take a look at Wikipedia’s article — see the double-headed, firebreathing eagle? Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about. On the other hand, it’s still better than the creepily angular version used by the Nazis in the 30’s and 40’s.
And the winner is…
I’m actually kind of disappointed by both of these. The guys who designed the United States’ coat of arms were obsessed with the number 13 for the thirteen colonies, and they really overdid it. Being concise with your imagery is key in these sort of things. Germany started off quite with the upper hand, but the more I look at it the more it begins to bore me, and after seeing their past insignia, it really just doesn’t seem to have much pizzazz. Thus, its margin of victory is much slimmer than it needed to be. Overall, both have room for improvement.
August 22nd, 2007 at 10:18 pm
Funny, I always had a similar thought with the US’s seal. It’s kind of like, “Why are they making bald eagle porn? Oh wait, that’s supposed to be a flag. It’s not that the eagle is spreading its legs and it’s all fuzzed over like it looks at a glance.” FTW?