Unus pro omnibus
Omnes pro uno
This display came by me on my Facebook feed this morning; as a grandson of Switzerland I found it offensive (and, by the way, inaccurate):
(#1) From the Holy Roman Empire Association, the coats of arms of “European Kingdoms, Duchies and Principalities in 1519”
Switzerland is a confederation, with no ruler — not king nor duke nor prince — and has been (with occasional hiccups) since its founding in 1291. Like the Friends / Quakers, it is (in principle) radically egalitarian, as am I personally (though I concede that every person, and every human institution, is imperfect, flawed; but that’s a core principle of radical egalitarianism).
Switzerland does have a coat of arms, because of course it has an army. Wow, does Switzerland have an army; compulsory military service applies to all male Swiss citizens, with women serving voluntarily. I don’t know where the HREA got the Swiss coat of arms in #1, but here’s the one the government displays:
(#2) The Swiss coat of arms — the national flag in shield form
The nobility. Nobles constitute ‘a hereditary class, the nobility, of people with high social or political status conferred by birth (rather than accomplishment)’.
Historically, nobility is assigned, after the fact, through raw power: military conquest, murder, enslavement, exploitation, rapine, and pillage. The status is then inherited by the descendants of the bloody founders, and as a gift by holders of the status to their favorites. I do not recognize that such people have any claim whatsoever on my respect — they are no better than I am (some of them are deplorable), and they will get obedience from me only by the boot on my neck. I will not willingly bend a knee to any one of them. And I will speak to them only as my equals; I wish English still had a familiar 2nd-person pronoun (like the Quaker thee), and then I could reserve you as a mark of respect and regard.
The Holy Roman Empire Association. Words of one-syllable department. From their website:
Founded on Christmas Day In Rome in 1963, the HREA seeks to connect living descendants of the Noble families of the Holy Roman Empire. The HREA was initiated by Prince Giovanni Alliata di Montereale and Count Giancarlo Bonifazi di Statte, to unite all living descendants in the Male and Female line of individuals invested with Imperial Titles of Nobility of the Holy Roman Empire by Imperial Letters Patent.
It goes back to Charkemagne. From Wikipedia:
His reign [as King of the Franks] saw a period of expansion that led to the conquests of Bavaria, Saxony, and northern Spain, as well as other campaigns that led Charlemagne to extend his rule over a large part of Europe. Charlemagne spread Christianity to his new conquests (often by force), as seen at the Massacre of Verden against the Saxons.
Then on 25 December 800, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne Roman emperor. So began the Holy Roman Empire.
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