The Origin of the Symbols of the Prague Jewish Town. The Banner of the Old-New Synagogue. David’s Shield and the „Swedish Hat“
The Origin of the Symbols of the Prague Jewish Town. The Banner of the Old-New Synagogue. David’s Shield and the „Swedish Hat“

Summary/Abstract: The oldest large banner of the Jewish Town, preserved in the Old-New Synagogue was probably procured under the rule of Wladislaus Jagellon (1471 - 1516) in connection with authorization for the Jews to take part in public ceremonies in honour of the ruler. Its existence has been documented for the first time in 1490. The banner was renewed under Ferdinand I (1526 - 1564), i. e. replaced by a larger banner which served until 1716 when its considerable deterioration made it necessary to substitute it by a replica, till this day exhibited in the Old-New Synagogue. In 1598 Mordechai Mayzl had another banner made for his private synagogue along the pattern of the older banner. This banner was destroyed in a fire and replaced by a replica in 1702. No other large banner was added to these two, neither in 1648 nor later. Last time the two banners were carried in public was probably in 1741. The Shield of David (hexagram) became the emblem of the town probably in 1530’s. At first it was possibly accompanied by Solomon’s seal (pentagram). The rise in popularity of the Shield of David can be attributed mainly to the newly stressed messianic significance of the symbol. The Jewish hat was later inserted in the hexagram; the oldest reliably documented image of the sign with the hat comes from 1620. Two legends emerged about the origin of the oldest banner and emblem-the first was the product of a renaissance fiction and forgery by Václav Hájek of Libočany, the second was probably the result of an error commited by an unknown amateur history enthusiast from the ghetto in the 1840’s.

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