The symbol appears in the following form: Horizontal line at bottom, vertical lines extend up at both ends. The square at the middle of the horizontal line is about half as tall as the vertical lines. Another vertical line rises from the top center of the square, giving an overall appearance that is close to a trident. This form is the one usually seen in modern times, often drawn on walls and fences as protest against the Soviet occupation of Lithuania.
It is notable that the ancient pre-Christian symbols of Lithuania did not follow the same strict rules of heraldry as their Western counterparts. Thus this symbol was used in or and argent, usually on the field gules, and was depicted in various shapes on flags, banners and shields.
Some Belarusian historians claim that the Columns directly go back to the symbol of the Rurikids, which was the trident.[2]
Name
The name "Columns of Gediminas" was given in the 19th century by historian Teodor Narbutt, who supposed that the symbol was Gediminas' insignia. The more exact name of the symbol is the Pillars of Gediminids, since there is no direct evidence of its connection with Grand Duke of LithuaniaGediminas.
History
In the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
According to the historical and archaeological evidence, the Columns were used by Grand Duke of Lithuania and Duke of TrakaiKęstutis. They appear on the Lithuanian coins issued by him.[3] The symbol was also used by Vytautas as his personal insignia since 1397 and appeared on his seal and coins.[4] It was suggested by historian Edmundas Antanas Rimša, who analyzed the ancient coins, that the Columns of the Gediminids symbolizes the Gates of the Trakai Peninsula Castle.[5] According to the accounts of Jan Długosz, it was derived from a symbol or brand used to mark horses and other property. The Columns were adopted by descendants of Kęstutis as their family symbol, equivalent to a coat of arms. Another user of the Columns of Gediminas was Grand Duke of Lithuania Sigismund Kęstutaitis. At first, the Columns signified the family of Kęstutis, in contrast to the Vytis which was used by Algirdas' descendants. Later on, as a symbol of a ruling dynasty, it was adopted by Jagiellons and the two symbols became state symbols of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Columns of Gediminas remained in use over the following centuries.
Reconstructed 14-15th Century armor of the Lithuanian Leičiai with dented shields decorated with the Columns of Gediminas.
Grand Duke Vytautas the Great coin of the Principality of Smolensk (minted in 1399–1401) with the Columns of the Gediminids and the Ruthenian lion or leopard.
Columns of Gediminas, painted by John of Głogów in 1514.
The Columns of Gediminas as an icon in Annales seu Cronicae incliti Regni Poloniae Liber IX-XI by Ioannes Dlugossius, 1572. Page fragment.
Columns of Gediminas from Marcin Bielski's book Kronika Polska, 1597.
Coat of arms of Lithuania Vytis (Waykimas) with Columns of Gediminas, painted in the 15th century Wernigerode Armorial. Attributed to Vytautas the Great.
Vytis (Waykimas) with the Columns of Gediminas, used during the reign of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Stephen Báthory in the 16th century.
Columns from the Castle Church in Kodno (Poland), 1885
Engraving of Pillars of Gediminas on a stone on Rambynas hill
In the Interwar Republic of Lithuania
During the period between World War I and World War II they were used by the Lithuanian Republic as a major state symbol, e. g. on Litas coins, monuments and military equipment. The Columns of Gediminas are featured on the Lithuanian Presidential Award Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas, which was started in 1928.
Flag of the Šiauliai branch of the Lithuanian Armed Forces Creators Volunteers Union (1918–1920).
Lithuanian coin of 5 cents with Vytis (Waykimas) and the Columns of Gediminas, 1925.
Banknote (reverse) of 2 Lithuanian litas with the Columns of Gediminas, 16 November 1922 edition.
An arc decorated with the Columns of the Gediminids during the unveiling ceremony of the Monument of 10th anniversary of Independence of Lithuania in Rokiškis (1931)
A Lithuanian scout Liudas Tarabilda with a model of the Gediminas Tower (a campaign of the Union for the Liberation of Vilnius) in the yard of his school in Anykščiai (1932)
Old Bank of Lithuania building with Vytis (Waykimas) and the Columns of Gediminas in Kaunas, created in 1927.
Ministry of Finance of Lithuania with portraits of Antanas Smetona, Vytautas the Great, Vytis (Waykimas) and the Columns of Gediminas in Kaunas, 1930.
Mauser rifles of the Lithuanian Army marked with Columns of Gediminas, 1924.
Browning Hi-Power of the Lithuanian Army marked with Columns of Gediminas, 1935.
Lithuanian cadets near a War School in Kaunas, 1938.
Lithuanian armoured car type Landsverk with Columns of Gediminas 1933.
Lithuanian Landsverk armored vehicles in the Lithuanian army 1935.
Lithuanian Vickers 4-ton tanks marked with Columns of Gediminas head to Vilnius 1939.
Residents of Vilnius greet Lithuanian tanks decorated with Columns of Gediminas in the Cathedral Square in Vilnius in 1939
In the Soviet Union
After the annexation of Lithuania by the Soviet Union, the symbol was officially banned. During the Singing Revolution of the late 80s, it became the iconic sign of the reform movement Sąjūdis.
Modern usage in Lithuania
The Columns of Gediminas appears in the coat of arms of Seimas and in the emblems of the Lithuanian Armed Forces, Land Force, Air Force, Navy, Military Police, National Defence Volunteer Forces and Grand Duke Gediminas Staff Battalion. The Columns of Gediminas are also featured in the coat of arms of Old Trakai, Trakai District Municipality and Šimkaičiai. The symbol is also used on many monuments throughout the country.
Use of the Columns of Gediminas in modern Lithuania
Flag of the Lithuanian Armed Forces, reverse side.
Flag of the Lithuanian Military Police.
Flag of the Lithuanian National Defence Volunteer Forces.
Flag of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas Staff Battalion.
Columns of Gediminas are widely used on Lithuanian military vehicles.
The official logo of the EuroBasket 2011, which took place in Lithuania, is composed of the Columns overlaid on a basketball board.
The Columns of Gediminas with post horn are also the official logo of the Lithuanian postal company — Lietuvos paštas. The company uses the columns on its official stamps.[6]
A combination of the Columns of Gediminas and the Menorah are used by the Litvak community as a symbol meant to identify Lithuanian Jews with content expressing the history of the Jews in Lithuania.[7]
The columns of Gediminas are in the coat of arms of Brahin in southeastern Belarus.[8]
The symbol is featured on the monument to the Grand Duke Gediminas in Lida. which was unveiled in 2019.[13]
Usage in Ukraine
In Ukraine, the coat of arms of Zhytomyr Oblast adopted an archaic form of the Vytis (Pohonia) on the second quarter, with the Columns of Gediminas on knight's shield.[14][15]
^Вяроўкін-Шэлюта, У. (2005). "Калюмны". Вялікае Княства Літоўскае. Энцыклапедыя у 3 т. [Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Encyclopedia in 3 vols.] (in Belarusian). Vol. 2. Minsk: BelEn. p. 21. ISBN985-11-0378-0.
^"На Дзень Волі – у цішотцы з «Пагоняй» ад Віталя Гуркова" [On Freedom Day - in a t-shirt with "Chase" by Vitaly Gurkov]. Belsat (in Belarusian). 2017-03-08. Мы хочам, каб Пагоня, Калюмны, магдэбургскія гербы гарадоў і мястэчак – багацце геральдычнай спадчыны нашага краю – сталі часткай культурнага кантэксту Беларусі.