Turk head (heraldry)

Coat of arms of the Hungarian town Komádi.

In European heraldry, the decapitated Turk head (Hungarian: Törökfej, Polish: Turecka głowa, Czech: Turecká hlava, Slovak: Turecká hlava, Serbo-Croatian: Turska glava), Ukrainian: Турецька голова) most often as pierced by a sword, signifies conflict and victory over the Ottoman Empire. Other depictions include the head held up by a victor or picked by a raven. It is used in modern town, municipality and village coat of arms in Hungary, Serbia and Croatia, such as Bezeréd, Derecske, Komádi, Gáborján, Hajdúdorog, Hajdúnánás, Szécsény, Tépe (in Hungary), Kikinda, Vršac (in Serbia), and Đelekovec (in Croatia).

It was adopted by some Austro-Hungarian nobility, such as:

• The Balogh of Nemčice (in Slovakia), Mezőcsávás (in Hungary), Csegö (?), Szász-Czegö (?)
• The Schwarzenberg of Český Krumlov (in Bohemia)
• The Baky
• The Benkeö of Kezdi-Sarfalva
• The Csernovics
• The Csernoevicz
• The Csokits
• The Dunca of Sajo
• The Eperjessy of Gyulafehérvár (in Romania)
• The Kajdachy
• The Karácson
• The Kovács
• The Kruchió
• The Latinovics
• The Nagy
• The Okolicsányi
• The Pótsa

See also

• Heads in heraldry
• Maure -- the use of a Moor's head in heraldry

Further reading

• Palmira Brummett (19 May 2015). Mapping the Ottomans. Cambridge University Press. pp. 209–. ISBN 978-1-107-09077-4.