Geographic position led medieval Bosnia to the fate
of a border area, the role of a crossroads of
different civilizations, an interweaving and
blending of various influences, Eastern and Western,
Catholic and Orthodox, Mediterranean, Byzantine and
Central European. In the fourteenth, and especially
in the fifteenth, century, Bosnia was strongly
influenced by the West, which was manifested through
the acceptance of cultural models and symbols valid
throughout medieval Europe. From the wide repertoire
of the symbols, fleur-de-lis was the one that found
its place at the Bosnian royal court as well as
among the nobility. Bosnian rulers used it as a
heraldic symbol, while its adoption on tombstones
shows the influence of the courtly culture on the
other social groups. The work explores a path of
the reception, transmission and modification of the
fleur-de-lis symbol in the fourteenth and fifteenth
centuries Bosnia.
of a border area, the role of a crossroads of
different civilizations, an interweaving and
blending of various influences, Eastern and Western,
Catholic and Orthodox, Mediterranean, Byzantine and
Central European. In the fourteenth, and especially
in the fifteenth, century, Bosnia was strongly
influenced by the West, which was manifested through
the acceptance of cultural models and symbols valid
throughout medieval Europe. From the wide repertoire
of the symbols, fleur-de-lis was the one that found
its place at the Bosnian royal court as well as
among the nobility. Bosnian rulers used it as a
heraldic symbol, while its adoption on tombstones
shows the influence of the courtly culture on the
other social groups. The work explores a path of
the reception, transmission and modification of the
fleur-de-lis symbol in the fourteenth and fifteenth
centuries Bosnia.