T h e COAT OF ARMS
OF THE UNIVERSITY OF SZEGED
April 17, 2004
T h e coat of arm s of the U niversity of Szeged was designed w hen the in stitu tions of higher learning of Szeged were integrated. One of the most im portant req u ire m e n ts in d esig n in g th is new em blem was th at it reveal the in stitu tions' characteristics, recalling its h isto ry and trad itio n s as well as its location in Szeged, w hile also recognizing th at the U niversity o f Szeged is the legal succes
sor of the form er H ungarian U niversity of Kolozsvár (Cluj, Romania).
T he coat o f arm s of the U niversity of Szeged is a triangular shield erect, party per fess gules and azure, its upper edge concavo-concave. In field gules an arm ed griffin or, tu rn in g toward the dex
ter, its wings abaisé and it is carrying a flam ing torch or in its outstretched front claws. In base azure two bendlets argent separate the red field (gules) from the blue one (azure), in w hich a castle argent
w ith three crenelated towers and an open arched gate are borne. T h e tallest, central tower has four loop-holes, the lower flanking towers each have two.
T he shield is enw reathed w ith two olive branches, both vert and tied w ith a swal
low-tailed ribbon gules. T h is folded rib bon bears the U niversity's m otto „V ER ITAS, V IR TU S, LIB ER TÁ S” - T ruth, Virtue, Freedom . T he legend su rro u n d ing the coat of arm s is „U niversitas Scientiarum Szegediensis” on the upper half and „Szegedi Tudom ányegyetem ” below.
T he coat of arm s of the U niversity of Szeged is one o f the so-called canting arm s (tesserae lo q u en tes). Since the upper edge of the shield recalls the con
tour of an open book, the overall shape of the coat o f arm s of the U niversity of Szeged is a reference to the bibliophile natu re of the in stitu tio n and it also reveals its insistence on and need for all
form s of inform ation both in academic research and in education.
T h e tin ctu re gules symbolizes the u n i
versity's positive outlook on life and p u r
suit o f knowledge, features also charac
te rizin g the tow n o f Szeged, w hich welcom ed the university when it had to a b a n d o n i t s o r i g i n a l l o c a t i o n i n Kolozsvár. T h e charge of the griffin, w hich is com m on to the coats of arm s of several H u n g arian no b iliary fam ilies, recognizes C o u n t K uno K legelsberg, who played a m ajor role in transferring the university to Szeged and oversaw its design and construction. T h e m ythic griffin, half eagle and half lion, sym bol
izes dom inance over both earth and sky.
It also refers to hum anity's endeavour to u n d erstan d the cosmos. In addition, the griffin em bodies strength, perseverance and wisdom - indispensable for academ ic research and the acquisition of know l
edge. In various m yths the griffin is the agent o f com m unication between this and the other world, and thus it also sym bolizes m edicine and theology. In the M iddle Ages this fabulous creature was considered the visual representative of both hum an and divine characteristics.
T h e griffin is a m o tif of high significance in the m ythology o f the O nogur people,
who arrived and settled down in the C arpathian Basin around 670 AD and from w hom the internationally known words denoting the country, H ungária, H ungary are derived. T h e b ird is also to sym bolize the Sun and thus it is also the em blem of Szeged, the 'sunshine city'.
T h e torch is to give light in darkness and it is to sym bolize the various fields of science, w hich have always played a progressive role in th e h isto ry of m ankind. A ccording to the m ost trad i
tional in terp retatio n of the symbol, the raised to rch m eans L ife, w hile one tu rn ed upside down refers to D eath. T h e raised torch in the coat of arm s of the U niversity o f Szeged can be interpreted as the sym bol o f saying 'yes' to Life and acting in the nam e of Life. T h e torch is the allegory of peace and freedom and at the same tim e it is also a device, w ith the help o f w hich the hydra of hum an m is
ery can be defeated. T he torch is to sym bolize the M oon whereas the flam ing to rch is p erceiv ed as th e co m b in ed em blem of the Sun and the M oon, both of w hich appear as com m on m otives in ancient H u n g arian m ythology: they are usually represented on the two sides of the Tree o f Life, as exem plified by the m o t i f o n t h e c o v e r p l a t e o f t h e
H ungarian Holy Crown or in the coat of arm s of Transylvania. (T his latter exam ple m ight be a reference to the city of Kolozsvár, the original location of the university).
T h e silver bendlets in the university's coat-of-arms refer to Szeged's two rivers, the Tisza and the M aros and since they are borne horizontally the bendlets also symbolize the im partiality of academia.
T h e m o tif o f th e trip le-to w e red gate was tak en from th e coat of arm s o f the tow n of K olozsvár an d in th is co n tex t th e em b lem is to sig n ify th a t th e U n iv e rsity o f Szeged is th e legal su c
cessor o f th e U n iv ersity of K olozsvár, o rig in a lly fo u n d ed in 1581 by K in g of P o lan d and P rin c e of T ransylvania, Istv án B áthory. O w ing to the co u n try 's sto rm y h isto ry th e o p e ra tio n o f the u n iv e rsity was in te rru p te d on several o c c a sio n s u n t i l in 1872 E m p e ro r b r a n d s Jo sep h I reo rg an ized it. A fter th e tra g ic T rea ty o f T ria n o n th e U n iv e rsity o f K olozsvár was tr a n s ferred to Szeged; conseq u en tly , the p re se n t-d a y U n iv e rsity o f Szeged is th e legal successor and the academ ic in h e rito r o f th e one-tim e U niversity of Kolozsvár.
T he olive branches below th e shield refer to th e scien tific and academ ic achievem ents of the university as well as to the high standard of its research and train in g program m es, and, at the same tim e, these branches are also to com m em orate those heroes and victim s who were affiliated w ith the university.
T he m otto (devise) can be in terp reted as follows: Veritas m eans the necessity for lea rn in g an d p u b lish in g academ ic tru th s; V irtus is the req u irem en t for the quest for tru th ; while L ibertas u n d e r
lines the necessity of realizing the previ
ous two principles and also refers to U niversity autonomy.
T he legend su rro u n d in g the shield sym bolizes the academ ic com m unity o f u n i
versity professors and students, who in addition to being representatives of the specific H u n g arian culture also aim at becom ing an integral p art of w orld civi
lization.
