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SERBIAN FIRESTEELS (OCILA)

   Serbian firesteels are one of the most common used symbols on Serbian coats, and at the same time one of the most mysterious ones. Whenever you see a firesteels coat you will see a cross in the middle of it. There is only one exception in still official (communistic) coat of Republic of Serbia. In the fields divided by cross are positioned four firesteels, turned back to each other (not always though). Firesteels are "tool" which our ancestors used to start a fire. They also had some kind of "mystic" meaning.

   People often think that these firesteels are four Cyrillic letters, "S" (Latin letter "C" is Cyrillic "S"). Therefore they assign different meanings to this letters - most often is "Samo Sloga Srbina Spasava" ("Only Unity Saves the Serb"). This is not so bad motto also. Some people believe that this letters "S" came from Byzantine letters "B" ("Basileus Basileon Basileuon Basileusin"), which means: "King of Kings Rules over Kings", or more probably "King of Kings (Jesus), Save the King". Many experts would agree with this idea, but there are some of them who think that firesteels have quite different origin, and that they aren't Byzantine symbol at all.

   Those researches also have their arguments. They might say that in middle Ages in Europe was quite common to put symbol with four letters and a cross on a coat (so this isn't actually Byzantine symbol), but it always had to be letter, never object (like firesteels). This might not seem like significant difference, but in heraldry it has grater value.

   Since both groups have their arguments, and researches are not over yet, we can't say whose opinion is correct. There is another theory: firesteels actually aren't firesteels, but two-sided axe. If we look at the picture (right), we can see these "axe".