Fleur-de-lis in Medieval Bosnia
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.