# Moor's head > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Moor's_head > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Moor's_head.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moor's_head > Source revision: 1349786041 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Heraldic figure "Maure" redirects here. For other uses, see [Maure (disambiguation)](/source/Maure_(disambiguation)). You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in German. (October 2018) Click [show] for important translation instructions. View a machine-translated version of the German article. Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must follow the LLM translation guideline, revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Consider adding a topic to this template: there are already 1,966 articles in the main category, and specifying|topic= will aid in categorization. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing German Wikipedia article at [[:de:Mohr (Heraldik)]]; see its history for attribution. You may also add the template {{Translated|de|Mohr (Heraldik)}} to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation. Moor's head from the [flag of Corsica](/source/Flag_and_coat_of_arms_of_Corsica) A **Moor's head**, also known as a **Maure**, since the 11th century, is a [symbol](/source/Symbol) depicting the [head](/source/Human_head) of a black moor. The term [moor](/source/Moors) came to define anyone who was African and Muslim. ## Origin The precise origin of the Moor's head as a heraldic symbol is a subject of controversy. The most likely explanation is that it is derived from the heraldic war flag of the [Reconquista](/source/Reconquista) depicting the [Cross of Alcoraz](/source/Cross_of_Alcoraz), symbolizing [Peter I of Aragon and Pamplona](/source/Peter_I_of_Aragon_and_Pamplona)'s victory over the "Moorish" kings of the [Taifa of Zaragoza](/source/Taifa_of_Zaragoza) in the [Battle of Alcoraz](/source/Battle_of_Alcoraz) in [1096](/source/1096). The headband may originally have been a blindfold.[1] Another theory claims that it represents the Egyptian [Saint Maurice](/source/Saint_Maurice) (3rd century AD).[2] The earliest heraldic use of the Moor's head is first recorded in [1281](/source/1281), during the reign of [Peter III of Aragon](/source/Peter_III_of_Aragon) and represents the [Cross of Alcoraz](/source/Cross_of_Alcoraz), which the King adopted as his personal coat of arms.[3] The [Crown of Aragon](/source/Crown_of_Aragon) had for a long time governed Sardinia and Corsica, having been granted the islands by the Pope, although they never really exercised formal control. The Moor's head became a symbol of the islands.[4] ## Flags, seals, and emblems This symbol is used in [heraldry](/source/Heraldry), [vexillography](/source/Vexillography), and political imagery. ### Coat of arms of Freising The medieval [Prince-Bishopric of Freising](/source/Prince-Bishopric_of_Freising) used a crowned Moor's head, usually with a red collar, as its coat of arms, which is continued by the modern [Archdiocese of Munich and Freising](/source/Archdiocese_of_Munich_and_Freising) and the [district of Freising](/source/Freising_(district)) (but not the city). [Pope Benedict XVI](/source/Pope_Benedict_XVI), who served as Archbishop of Munich and Freising, incorporated the device into his personal arms. ### Flag of Corsica Flag of Corsica The main [charge](/source/Charge_(heraldry)) in the coat of arms in [Corsica](/source/Corsica) is a **U Moru**, [Corsican](/source/Corsican_language) for "The Moor". An early version is attested in the 14th-century [Gelre Armorial](/source/Gelre_Armorial), where an unblindfolded Moor's head represents Corsica as a territory of the [Crown of Aragon](/source/Crown_of_Aragon). Interestingly, the Moor's head is attached to his shoulders and upper body, and he is alive and smiling. In 1736, it was used by both sides during the struggle for independence.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] In 1760, General [Pasquale Paoli](/source/Pasquale_Paoli) ordered the necklace to be removed from the head and the blindfold raised. His reason, reported by his biographers, was *"*Les Corses veulent y voir clair. La liberté doit marcher au flambeau de la philosophie. Ne dirait-on pas que nous craignons la lumière ?*"* (English: "The Corsicans want to see clearly. Freedom must walk by the torch of philosophy. Won't they say that we fear the light?") The blindfold was thereafter changed to a headband. The current [flag of Corsica](/source/Flag_of_Corsica) is the *Bandera testa Mora*, 'Flag with head of Moor', is male rather than female, and has a regular knot at the back of the head. #### SC Bastia The Moor's head appears on the logo for the Corsican football team [SC Bastia](/source/SC_Bastia), who play in the French football system's [Ligue 2](/source/Ligue_2).[5] ### Flag of Sardinia Flag of Sardinia The [flag of Sardinia](/source/Flag_of_Sardinia) is informally known as *the Four Moors* ([Italian](/source/Italian_language): *I quattro mori*, [Logudorese](/source/Logudorese_language): *Sos Bator Moros*, [Campidanese](/source/Campidanese_language): *Is Cuatru Morus*) and comprises four Moor heads. ### African Unification Front The "Maure" is the [African Unification Front](/source/African_Unification_Front)'s [flag](/source/Flag) and [emblem](/source/Emblem). The head is blindfolded representing the impartiality of justice, and the knot is tied into a stylized [Adinkra symbol](/source/Adinkra_symbols) for omnipotence ([Gye Nyame](/source/Gye_Nyame_(Adinkra))).[6] ## Modern controversy Bottle of [Mohrenbrauerei](/source/Mohrenbrauerei) Critics in [Switzerland](/source/Switzerland) have characterized the use of the Moor's head as racist, when used as a symbol by a workers guild.[7] In 2012, activists requested the brewing company [Mohrenbrauerei](/source/Mohrenbrauerei) to remove the "Moor's head" from its bottles; the company declined, saying the design was part of heraldry used by the family who started the brewery.[8] ## See also - [Blackamoor (decorative arts)](/source/Blackamoor_(decorative_arts)) - [Heads in heraldry](/source/Heads_in_heraldry) - [Turk head (heraldry)](/source/Turk_head_(heraldry)) - [Cross of Alcoraz](/source/Cross_of_Alcoraz) ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Corsica (France, Traditional province)"](https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/fr-co.html). *www.crwflags.com*. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Flag of Corsica"](https://www.traghettiper-corsica.it/en/tp-magazine/flag-of-corsica/). *Traghetti Corsica EN*. February 17, 2015. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** [""Moor's head" Peter aragon - Google Search"](https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=%22Moor%27s+head%22+Peter+aragon). *www.google.com*. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Martone, Eric (December 8, 2008). [*Encyclopedia of Blacks in European History and Culture \[2 volumes\]*](https://books.google.com/books?id=8pFxDwAAQBAJ&q=%22Moor%27s+head%22+Peter+aragon&pg=PA356). ABC-CLIO. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780313344497](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780313344497) – via Google Books. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Willis, Craig; Hughes, Will; Bober, Sergiusz. ["ECMI Minorities Blog. National and Linguistic Minorities in the Context of Professional Football across Europe: Five Examples from Non-kin State Situations"](https://www.ecmi.de/infochannel/detail/ecmi-minorities-blognational-and-linguistic-minorities-in-the-context-of-professional-football-across-europe-five-examples-from-non-kin-state-situations). *ECMI*. ECMI. Retrieved 27 March 2023. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["African Unification Front Flags & Emblems"](https://web.archive.org/web/20210911162252/http://www.africanfront.org/praetorium5.php). Africanfront.org. Archived from [the original](http://www.africanfront.org/praetorium5.php) on 2021-09-11. Retrieved 2019-01-14. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["Is the emblem of a Bern guild racist?"](https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/a-monument-to-debate_is-the-emblem-of-a-bern-guild-racist-/38740706). *SWI swissinfo.ch*. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["Racism in a beer logo (2012)"](https://blackcentraleurope.com/sources/1989-today/racism-in-a-beer-logo-2012/). April 25, 2016. ## Further reading - ["Revisiting the Symbology of Europe's Moorish Heraldry"](https://www.blackresearchcentral.com/articles/revisiting-the-symbology-of-europes-moorish-heraldry). *Black Research Central*. Retrieved July 19, 2020. - Fierro, Maribel (2008). ["Decapitation of Christians and Muslims in the medieval Iberian Peninsula: Narrative, images, contemporary perceptions"](http://www.jstor.org/stable/25659647). *Comparative Literature Studies*. **45** (2): 137–164. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1353/cls.0.0020](https://doi.org/10.1353%2Fcls.0.0020). [JSTOR](/source/JSTOR_(identifier)) [25659647](https://www.jstor.org/stable/25659647). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [161217907](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:161217907). Retrieved April 21, 2021. - ["Heart of Independent Sardinia"](http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/da2b/23e51/). *giampiero6's Orgosolo Page*. Retrieved April 22, 2005. - ["Sa Bandela de Sos Bator Moros"](http://www.sitos.regione.sardegna.it/4mori/4mori_sardo.htm), *Sardinian Autonomous Region*, retrieved April 22, 2005 which in turn cites - B. Fois (1990). *Lo stemma dei quattro mori, breve storia dell'emblema dei Sardi*. (editor Carlo Delfino) Sassari. - ["L'Histoire d'U Moru"](http://perso.wanadoo.fr/bludimare/maure.htm), *Extraits de l'Ouvrage: "Trois Etudes Sur Paoli"*, retrieved April 22, 2005 - ["U Moru (English translation)"](http://perso.wanadoo.fr/bludimare/maurang.htm), *Extracts from "Trois Etudes Sur Paoli"*, retrieved April 22, 2005 ## External links - Media related to [Moor heads in heraldry](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Moor_heads_in_heraldry) at Wikimedia Commons --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Moor's head](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moor's_head) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moor's_head?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.