Bulawa

The bulava or buława (Polish spelling: buława; Ukraine spelling: булава [bula'va]) is a ceremonial mace or baton or sceptre.

For other uses, see Bulawa (disambiguation).
Hetman Chodkiewicz of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, holding a buława
Buława of Polish Marshal Edward Rydz-Śmigły

Poland, Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth

Historically the buława was an attribute of a hetman, an officer of the highest military rank (after the monarch) in the 15th- to 18th-century Kingdom of Poland and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.

Hetmans typically added an image of a buława to their coats of arms.

Today the buława appears in the rank insignia of a Marshal of Poland.

Ukraine

In the Ukrainian language, a булава (bulava) is a mace or club, in both the military and ceremonial senses. The bulava was part of the Ukrainian Cossack kleinody ("jewels") that were awarded by Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky to the Zaporizhian Host.[1]

Historically the bulava was an attribute of a hetman, an officer of the highest military rank, and of the Otaman of Ukraine or the military head of a Cossack state (Cossack Hetmanate).

Under the Ukrainian People's Republic, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Army was called the "General Bulava".

The bulava is now an official emblem of the President of Ukraine, and is housed in Ukraine's Vernadsky National Library.

The bulava is widely used in Ukrainian military heraldry, particularly as a part of rank insignia for generals and admirals, as well as an element of Ministry of Defence's and NSDC's insignia.

See also

References
  1. (in Ukrainian) Definition of kleinody in the Handbook of the History of Ukraine


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