Talk:Coat of arms of the Province of Karelia

Sweden Low‑importance

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Finland

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Heraldry and vexillology

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Blazon

The translation of the blazon (from Finnish?) does not mention the red background. Without this the blazon is incomplete. A proper blazon would be: Gules, above two duelling arms, the dexter gauntleted holding a sword and the sinister mailed a scimitar argent hafted or, a crown of the same, in chief a ducal coronet of the same, jeweled on the rim; for a crest a ducal coronet of the same and jeweled on the rim.

I believe the straight sword/curved scimitar refers not just to Karelia's geographic position between Sweden and Russia, but to it's (and Finland's) position as the frontier of Western civilization, defending the "West" against the "East." In Finnish heraldry, The Finnish Lion, holding a straight sword, is trampling a fallen, curved scimitar. The symbolism is obvious. Finland is the last outpost of the West against the hordes of the East. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 169.253.4.21 (talk) 21:43, 19 November 2008 (UTC)[reply]