Bulawa
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The bulava or buława (Polish spelling: buława; Ukraine spelling: булава [bula'va]) is a ceremonial mace or baton.
Poland, Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth[]
Historically the buława was an attribute of a hetman, an officer of the highest military rank (after the monarch) in the 15th- to 18th-century Kingdom of Poland and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Hetmans typically added an image of a buława to their coats of arms.
Today the buława appears in the rank insignia of a Marshal of Poland.
Ukraine[]
In the Ukrainian language, a булава (bulava) is a mace or club, in both the military and ceremonial senses. The bulava was part of the Ukrainian Cossack kleinody ("jewels") that were awarded by Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky to the Zaporizhian Host.[1]
Historically the bulava was an attribute of a hetman, an officer of the highest military rank, and of the Otaman of Ukraine or the military head of a Cossack state (Cossack Hetmanate).
Under the Ukrainian People's Republic, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Army was called the "General Bulava".
The bulava is now an official emblem of the President of Ukraine, and is housed in Ukraine's Vernadsky National Library.
The bulava is widely used in Ukrainian military heraldry, particularly as a part of rank insignia for generals and admirals, as well as an element of Ministry of Defence's and NSDC's insignia.
Gallery[]
Edward Rydz-Śmigły (right) receiving marshal's buława from Polish President Ignacy Mościcki, Warsaw, 10 November 1936
Coat-of-arms (two crossed buławas) of a Polish hetman
Buława of Crown Field Hetman Kalinowski
Bulava of Hetman of Ukraine Bohdan Khmelnytsky, 17th century
Bulava of Hetman of Ukraine in exile Pylyp Orlyk, 18th century
Bulava of the President of Ukraine
Toy bulavas in a Kyiv market
17th-century Russian bulat steel bulava
See also[]
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References[]
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- Ceremonial weapons
- Clubs (weapon)
- Hetmans of the Zaporozhian Cossacks
- Hetmans of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
- Regalia of Ukraine
- Marshals of Poland
- Presidency of Ukraine
- Military organization of Cossacks
- Political symbols
- Polish history stubs
- Ukrainian history stubs
- Melee weapon stubs