Sakralinės Vyčio herbo ištakos

ENDuring the centuries, the coat of arms ’Vytis’ has developed from an ancient cult of a horse and a horseman. In old times a rider symbolized a divinity ,named Jarila, perhaps in the functions of the vernal sun, fertility and war. As a prototype of Vytis this heathen symbol acquired great importance under feudalism, representing one’s duty to defend one’s motherland. The name of Vytis implied this obligation, too, and the horseman of the coat of arms - as some later chronicles witness - was related to the Duke of Lithuanian Grand Principality as the motherland’s protector.