Wolfsangel

The Wolf Angel is a hunting machine that has been previously used for catching wolves.

The representation of one embodiment is used as a heraldic figure, among others, in many families and municipal coat of arms, such as forestry hooks in the arms of Katzweiler. Historians are divided on whether the sign of the hunting device or is a wall hook, an iron component, the solid parts of the wall had to connect (like defensive towers ). The assumption that it is an old Germanic runes at the Wolf Angel, could not be proved.

• 4.1 Prohibited use of the symbol

Hunting equipment

Forged iron wolf fishing have been used for centuries to catch wolves. The barbed ends were (for example, with the entrails of slain animals hunting ) stocked with lures and hanged on a tree so high that the wolf had to jump then to snap to. The wolf stayed with the mouth hanging and died. 1617 the function of the Wolf Angel has been described as: "A Wolff's Angel, one hangs and it Aas Thuet, if the animal then jumps, so it will hang it with the mouth. "

The art historian R. King wart Hausen 1889 described in the " Württemberg quarterly booklets of History " Wolfsangel as follows: "It is a ten centimeter long, both sides pointed flat iron that cut a acute angle on each side, depending on the other opposing barbs has. In the middle of the iron is pierced and hangs on a 40 inches long chain. At the upper part of the chain there is a crescent-shaped, in a spike of expiring anchor. "

The crescent-shaped anchor, the chain was attached to a tree. Parts of fishing gear are often found in coat of arms, according to Peter Kötz the anchor (often also referred to as "Angel" ), predominantly in southern Germany, the fishing mainly in the northern and western Germany.

Other Wolf Fishing were provided with a spring mechanism, which caused to the snapping and the barbs drove into the throat. This trap family could also be laid on the floor. The first reference to Wolf fishing can be found in Chapter 69 of the Capitulare de villis, a detailed regulation on the management of crown lands of Charlemagne, probably 812 AD, was written; until the end of the 19th century, this animal cruelty to type of fishing was continued.

Finds

Excavations at the Falkenburg in Detmold came in 2009 in a cellar of the 13th century over 25 Wolf Fishing evident. This finding is interpreted as evidence that the threat of the castle inhabitants must have been great through wolf packs in the forests surrounding this hilltop castle.

The Wolf Angel as a forest character in Northern Germany

The Wolf Angel as a symbol in the forestry sector has a far- reaching back story. Already in 1616 a closed border treaty between Braunschweig -Lüneburg and Hesse was the Brunswick Border marking referred to " as a Wulff Angel". It was used not only on landmarks, but there is also evidence of the use of correspondence of the forestry departments from the year 1674th

Later, the Wolf Angel was also used as a symbol on forest uniforms. In a filing convolute ( document ) of 1792, the opinions of the chief forester are reproduced to a new forestry uniform. This suggests that the chief forester Adolf Friedrich von Stralenheim to provide the uniform buttons with the letters " GR" and an icon. The symbol illustrated in the drawing of him was like the wolf Angel, but was labeled by him as " forest character".

King Ernst August of Hanover made ​​the Angel Wolf then in the middle of the 19th century, officially the symbol of the Hanoverian forestry and hunting service. The heraldic image with an application running on the lawn Sachsenross was added a Wolf Angel. This became the subject of various uniform items such as buttons, epaulettes, body belt buckles and shoulder strap fittings. The Wolf fishing were also found on the forest belt buckles of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg, but with exactly the opposite orientation of the hook.

Later, the Wolf Angel was worn as the sole badge in brass caps and to the service on the buttons of the Hanoverian forest supervisor. In Brunswick, she was the private forestry and game wardens also prescribed as a service badge on the bonnet.

Still Wolfsangel is used in various forest districts in Lower Saxony as a boundary marker, especially in departmental boundaries. This custom seems already to exist at least since the mid-19th century. So Heinrich Burckhardt wrote in 1875 in an article about the "language of the forest " something about the Wolf Angel. Among other things, he referred to the lying or standing Wolfsangel characters as Ritz brand, " he { the } Forstmann quickly into tears with the zipper hooks into the bark of the trees. " Today, the ripper is often replaced by the spray paint.

Even in hunting the wolf Angel has survived to this day. So it is part of the coat of arms of the state of Lower Saxony and hunters of the "Association Hirschmann ," who cares about the breeding and training of hunting Hanover bloodhounds.

Forms in heraldry

In heraldry, there are numerous manifestations of Wolf Angel. On the one hand, the actual Wolf double hook, some pointed, sometimes not shown, partly with cross strut, on the other hand the crescent- shaped armature with a ring at the bottom, so this is the default position. This anchor was hooked into the branches, through the ring the rope ran with the actual wolf hook with bait on the other end. Typically, this anchor Wolf appears in groups of three on each other ( pile of) found with ring down.

The following coat of arms represent the shapes of example is:

Wolf Fishing: here 's throw Parte at (Coat of Arms of Fellbach )

Wolf Angel with Palatine lions (Coat of Arms of Mannheim)

Wolf Fishing at Silver Rose with golden slugs (Coat of Arms of Dernbach (Landkreis Neuwied ) )

Wolf Angel ( Coat of arms of Frankfurt- Bornheim)

Coat of arms of the municipality Breidenbach

Uses of the Wolf Angel as a symbol

The heath poet Hermann Lons sat under his signature from 1905 is often the sign of the Wolf Angel. For this reason, the " Association of the Hermann- Lons - circles in Germany and Austria eV " is used (short: Lons - association ) it in its logo.

From 1991 to 2004, a similar symbol was the badge of the Social - National Party of Ukraine ( SNPU, since 2004: All-Ukrainian Association " Swoboda ").

Grave stone of Hermann Lons showing the Wolfsangel

Badge of the Ukrainian SNPU 1991-2004

Prohibited use of the symbol

The Wolf Angel is partially used by right-wing extremists and neo-Nazis around the world. So, for example, was already in the 1930s, founded by Hermann Bickler Alsatian autonomist young team to brown uniform of an armband with the Wolf Angel. Also in 1982, as unconstitutional Forbidden Young Front (Youth of the People's Socialist Movement of Germany / Party of Labour ) used the Wolfsangel as a distinctive mark.

The Wolf Angel is thus because of their history on the list of forbidden characters and can according to § 86a of the German Criminal Code no longer be shown as a characteristic of the organization or in a form to be confused with it ( publicly ) in the Federal Republic of Germany.

Of independent uses of the Wolf Angel as a symbol are not affected by this prohibition.

Use as a fortress building

The use of Wolfskuhlen and Wolf Fishing was in the ancient Roman military technology a means to securing marching camps and " mining " in the field. Julius Caesar describes in the book De bello Gallico 7 as the Gallic stronghold of Alesia was trapped by such a tool: