This certainly looks like Rudolph Reindeer to me. And what's up with the yellow cross?
Although Grodno was already inhabited during the first millennium C.E., it is not mentioned in historical documents until the year 1128, when it appears as the seat of its first prince, Vsevolod Davidovich. In 1224, it was destroyed by German knights, and in 1241, during the reign of its fifth and last prince, Yuri Glebovich, by the Tatars. Immediately afterward it was captured by the Lithuanians. In the early fourteenth century Grodno was part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In 1444 it was granted city status (Magdeburg city rights).
It was often attacked by various invaders, especially the Teutonic Knights.
The Coat of Arms of the Teutonic Order
The Teutonic Order is a predominantly GermanRoman Catholic religious order based in Vienna, Austria. Its members have commonly been known as the Teutonic Knights, since it was a crusadingmilitary order during the Middle Ages and much of the modern era.
Formed at the end of the 12th century in Acre, Palestine, the medieval Order played an important role in Outremer, controlling the port tolls of Acre. After Christian forces were defeated in the Middle East, the Order moved to Transylvania in 1211 to help defend Hungary against the Cumans. They were expelled in 1225 after allegedly attempting to place themselves under Papal instead of Hungarian sovereignty.
The Order currently consists of approximately 1,000 members, including 100 Roman Catholicpriests, 200 nuns, and 700 associates. While the priests are organized into six provinces (Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Slovakia, and Slovenia) and predominantly provide spiritual guidance, the nuns primarily care for the ill and the aged. The current seat of the Grand Master is the Deutschordenskirche [20] in Vienna. Near the
Active | c. 1192–Present |
---|---|
Allegiance | Papacy, Holy Roman Emperor |
Type | Roman Catholicreligious order (1192-1929 as military order) |
Headquarters | Acre (1192–1291) Venice (1291–1309) Marienburg (1309–1466) Königsberg (1466–1525) Mergentheim (1525–1809) Vienna (1809–Present) |
This looks similar to imagery in coat of arms above:
Segment from the Gundestrup cauldron, a ritual object of worked silver discovered in a Denmark peat bog and decorated with images from Celtic mythology