Weighing the anchor: Lotmanian perspectives on the Fighting Poland symbol
Simple symbols occupy a unique position within the semiosphere, constituting the symbolic core of culture with their ability to condense cultural memory into nimble, economic forms. This simplicity facilitates persistence, allowing these elementary symbols to recur diachronically, penetrating multi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University of Tartu Press
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Sign Systems Studies |
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| Online Access: | https://ojs.utlib.ee/index.php/sss/article/view/23486 |
| _version_ | 1797360280804524032 |
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| author | Randall Lewis Johnson |
| author_facet | Randall Lewis Johnson |
| author_sort | Randall Lewis Johnson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Simple symbols occupy a unique position within the semiosphere, constituting the symbolic core of culture with their ability to condense cultural memory into nimble, economic forms. This simplicity facilitates persistence, allowing these elementary symbols to recur diachronically, penetrating multiple layers of cultural strata to emerge and flourish in new contexts and variations. A novel example of a symbol which illustrates these attributes is Znak Polski Walczącej – the Fighting Poland symbol. Created in 1942 by the Polish Underground State as a propaganda tool, this straightforward monogram, consisting of interconnected letters P and W, became the official hallmark of Polish resistance and is now a controversial de facto national symbol. This article employs the symbol as a case study to explore two Lotmanian symbolic concepts: the vast semantic capacity of simple symbols, and their dual nature as invariable/variable entities. Born out of a utilitarian need for simplicity in Nazi-occupied Warsaw, the efficient form of the Fighting Poland symbol was a pragmatic matter of life or death. However, further examination of its simple design also reveals an underlying archaic depth. This article argues that the Fighting Poland symbol, metonymically known as the kotwica (‘anchor’) owing to its distinct shape, can also be viewed as an “emissary” from earlier cultural epochs, namely ante-Nicene Christianity, which made use of anchor symbology during an era of persecution and upheaval. Ultimately, this article provides a new semiotic perspective on a historically active yet understudied symbol with past and present relevance.
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| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T15:37:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f279900344af4d9bb6c2788c1e8f885a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1406-4243 1736-7409 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T15:37:11Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | University of Tartu Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sign Systems Studies |
| spelling | doaj.art-f279900344af4d9bb6c2788c1e8f885a2024-01-09T19:36:16ZengUniversity of Tartu PressSign Systems Studies1406-42431736-74092023-12-01513-410.12697/SSS.2023.51.3-4.06Weighing the anchor: Lotmanian perspectives on the Fighting Poland symbolRandall Lewis Johnson0Faculty of History, Institute of Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology, Jagiellonian University, Kraków Simple symbols occupy a unique position within the semiosphere, constituting the symbolic core of culture with their ability to condense cultural memory into nimble, economic forms. This simplicity facilitates persistence, allowing these elementary symbols to recur diachronically, penetrating multiple layers of cultural strata to emerge and flourish in new contexts and variations. A novel example of a symbol which illustrates these attributes is Znak Polski Walczącej – the Fighting Poland symbol. Created in 1942 by the Polish Underground State as a propaganda tool, this straightforward monogram, consisting of interconnected letters P and W, became the official hallmark of Polish resistance and is now a controversial de facto national symbol. This article employs the symbol as a case study to explore two Lotmanian symbolic concepts: the vast semantic capacity of simple symbols, and their dual nature as invariable/variable entities. Born out of a utilitarian need for simplicity in Nazi-occupied Warsaw, the efficient form of the Fighting Poland symbol was a pragmatic matter of life or death. However, further examination of its simple design also reveals an underlying archaic depth. This article argues that the Fighting Poland symbol, metonymically known as the kotwica (‘anchor’) owing to its distinct shape, can also be viewed as an “emissary” from earlier cultural epochs, namely ante-Nicene Christianity, which made use of anchor symbology during an era of persecution and upheaval. Ultimately, this article provides a new semiotic perspective on a historically active yet understudied symbol with past and present relevance. https://ojs.utlib.ee/index.php/sss/article/view/23486archaic symbolscultural semioticsearly Christian symbologyHebrewsHome ArmyJuri Lotman |
| spellingShingle | Randall Lewis Johnson Weighing the anchor: Lotmanian perspectives on the Fighting Poland symbol Sign Systems Studies archaic symbols cultural semiotics early Christian symbology Hebrews Home Army Juri Lotman |
| title | Weighing the anchor: Lotmanian perspectives on the Fighting Poland symbol |
| title_full | Weighing the anchor: Lotmanian perspectives on the Fighting Poland symbol |
| title_fullStr | Weighing the anchor: Lotmanian perspectives on the Fighting Poland symbol |
| title_full_unstemmed | Weighing the anchor: Lotmanian perspectives on the Fighting Poland symbol |
| title_short | Weighing the anchor: Lotmanian perspectives on the Fighting Poland symbol |
| title_sort | weighing the anchor lotmanian perspectives on the fighting poland symbol |
| topic | archaic symbols cultural semiotics early Christian symbology Hebrews Home Army Juri Lotman |
| url | https://ojs.utlib.ee/index.php/sss/article/view/23486 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT randalllewisjohnson weighingtheanchorlotmanianperspectivesonthefightingpolandsymbol |