The coat of arms of the Republic of Estonia () is a golden shield which includes a picture of three left-facing blue lions with red tongues and claws in the middle, with golden oak branches placed on both sides of the shield. The coat of arms was derived from the 13th century royal coat of arms of Denmark, as the Duchy of Estonia (1219–1346) in what is now northern Estonia was part of Denmark at the time.
Description
The coat of arms depicts a golden shield, which includes three slim blue lions passant gardant with red tongues in the middle and golden oak branches along both sides of the shield. The lesser coat of arms lacks these oak branches. The three lions on the national symbol of Estonia originate from the arms of King Valdemar II of Denmark who conquered northern Estonia in 1219. The lions became part of the greater coat of arms of Tallinn (Reval), the centre of Danish government in Estonia, and the fiefdoms (German: Ritterschaften) of Harria and Viru.
In 1346, the king of Denmark sold his Estonian dominion to the State of the Teutonic Order. The three lions, however, remained the central element of the greater coat of arms of Tallinn. In later centuries, the motif of the three lions transferred to the coats of arms of the Duchy of Estonia, the Estonian Knighthood, the Governorate of Estonia, and incorporated into the greater coat of arms of the Russian Empire. The Riigikogu (parliament) of the newly independent Republic of Estonia adopted the law which confirmed it as the national coat of arms on 19 June 1925.