The Griffin (or Gryphon) is a legendary creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle. Combining the attributes of the "King of the Beasts" and the "King of the Air", it was thought to be especially powerful and majestic. Griffins appear widely as school sports team mascots, in heraldry and in corporate logos.
National symbols
The coat of arms of Latvia has a griffin on the shield and a griffin as a supporter. The griffin on the shield is holding a sword and is the symbol of Vidzeme and Latgale (Eastern Latvia), one of the historical territories making up modern day Latvia. The coat of arms of Lithuania also features a white griffin as a supporter. Historically, the coat of arms of Austria-Hungary featured a black-gold griffin as a supporter.
Subdivisional and municipal coats of arms
Some municipalities have griffins derived from state or county arms, e.g. many towns in the ancient province of Pomerania in Germany (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) and Poland (Pomeranian Voivodeship and West Pomeranian Voivodeship) have the Pomeranian griffin in their arms.
Subdivisions
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Historical
| Image | Subdivision | Type | Years | Country | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Bad Doberan | district | 1995–2011 | Germany ( Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania) | |
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Banie | village | until 2003 | Poland ( West Pomeranian Voivodeship) | |
 |
Belz Voivodeship | voivodeship | 1462–1772 | Kingdom of Poland | |
 |
Bjarkøy | municipality | 1986–2013 | Norway | |
 |
Gdańsk Voivodeship | voivodeship | 1462–1793 | Kingdom of Poland | Coat of arms of the Pomeranian Voivodeship |
 |
Jaunjelgava Municipality | municipality | 2009–2021 | Latvia | |
 |
Pomeranian Voivodeship | voivodeship | 1466–1772 | Kingdom of Poland | Coat of arms of the Pomeranian Voivodeship |
 |
Troms | county | 1960–2020 | Norway |
Schools and universities
- Northeast Magnet High School in Bel Aire, Kansas, a suburb of Wichita, Kansas
- The Beacon Academy in Biñan, Philippines.
- The Cambridge School of Weston in Weston, Massachusetts.
- Canisius University in Buffalo, New York.
- Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
- College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.
- Downing College, Cambridge in Cambridge, England.
- Fontbonne University in Clayton, Missouri
- Gale Ranch Middle School in San Ramon, California
- Glendale Preparatory Academy in Peoria, Arizona
- Golden Gate University in San Francisco, California.
- Grossmont Community College in El Cajon, California.
- Gwynedd Mercy University in Gwynedd Valley, Pennsylvania.
- Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts.
- International School of Indiana in Indianapolis, Indiana.
- Jamaica College in Kingston, Jamaica.
- Johnson & Wales University
- Lehigh University
- Marymount Manhattan College in New York City.
- Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph, Missouri.
- Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.
- Redwood Middle School in Saratoga, California.
- Reed College in Portland, Oregon.
- Rocky Mount High School in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.
- Sarah Lawrence College in Yonkers, New York.
- Seton Hill University in Greensburg, Pennsylvania.
- Trinity College, Oxford in Oxford, England.
- Westminster University in Salt Lake City, Utah.
- Buchtel High School in Akron, Ohio.
- Dutchtown High School in Geismar, Louisiana.
- Eric Hamber Secondary School in Vancouver, British Columbia.
- Lincoln-Way East High School in Frankfort, Illinois.
- Los Alamitos High School in Los Alamitos, California.
- Pomfret School in Pomfret, Connecticut.
- Winnetonka High School in Kansas City, Missouri. [1]
- St. John Vianney High School in Kirkwood, Missouri.
- Springville-Griffith Institute in Springville, New York
- Spartanburg Day School in Spartanburg, SC
- Abingdon School in Abingdon, Oxfordshire.
- Raffles Institution in Singapore.
- University of Guelph in Guelph
- MacEwan University in Edmonton
- Father McGivney Catholic High School in Glen Carbon, Illinois
- San Juan College High School in Farmington, New Mexico
- Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Diller-Odell Public Schools in Odell, Nebraska
Sports and Athletics
- The former home ground of English football team Brentford F.C. was called Griffin Park because of the griffin that features in the logo of Fuller's Brewery, which had previously owned the land. A local pub next to the ground is also named The Griffin.
- Grand Rapids Griffins, a team in the American Hockey League.
- Guelph Gryphons; the University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
- London Griffins; a rugby league club.
- Waterloo Rugby Club 's badge features a griffin in the centre of a red Lancastrian Rose.
- Genoa CFC; a professional Italian football and cricket club based in the city of Genoa.
- T.S.V. Gascogne; a fencing club based in the city of Enschede
Other uses
- Busch Gardens Williamsburg in Williamsburg, Virginia has announced their new roller coaster for 2007 will be The Griffon, designed by Swiss manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard.
- Midland Bank used a griffin as its symbol before it was subsumed into its HSBC parent company.
- Norwegian Army 2nd Battalion has a griffin insignia
- The United States Army's 470th Military Intelligence Brigade uses a griffin head superimposed on a basic rendering of the Panama Canal in the MI colors as its shoulder sleeve insignia
- The Lithuanian State Security Department used a griffin on its coat of arms, which holding a banner with the inspection "Patria et veritas" (Homeland and Truth).
- The Saab auto company features a profiled griffin head in its logo. Saab Aerospace built a fighter jet, the JAS 39 Gripen, meaning "griffin" in Swedish.
- Scania, a Swedish truck and bus manufacturer, uses the griffin as its trademark.
- Sprecher Brewery features a heraldic black griffin in its logo. A cartoon griffin named Rooty appears on bottles of Sprecher Root Beer.
- Vauxhall Motors of Luton, England, uses the griffin as its trademark.
- The 367th Training Support Squadron unit patch is a Griffin holding a Globe and Torch.
- Merv Griffin Entertainment used a griffin as its mascot & logo in its heyday.
- The Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (HQ Stamford, UK) uses griffins in its coat of arms to signify protection (of money/valuables)
- Stoewer, a defunct auto manufacturer used griffin as its logo
References
- ^ "Winnetonka High School". Archived from the original on 2007-08-10. Retrieved 2009-11-07.